Fmr. NYPD Head on Operation Aurora: Some Cities ‘Have Been Sort of Invaded’ and Federal Task Force Would Help

On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who also served as Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service and Under Secretary for enforcement at the U.S. Treasury Department under President Bill Clinton, commented on the Operation Aurora plan announcement from 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump by saying that “We know that major cities have been sort of invaded by several gangs, including this one that is the most violent, that Tren de Aragua.” And “task force with the NYPD or other major cities’ police departments would be helpful.”

Kelly said, “We know that major cities have been sort of invaded by several gangs, including this one that is the most violent, that Tren de Aragua. And we know that they’re in cities such as New York, Chicago, Dallas, El Paso. And I think that gives some jurisdictional basis for the federal government to get involved. And I think a task force with the NYPD or other major cities’ police departments would be helpful. We want to stop this as soon as possible, because they’re a particularly vicious gang, this Tren de Aragua. If you look at their history in South America, a lot of murders, a lot of drug trafficking, a lot of human trafficking. So, — and also, the police departments — major police departments in this country are short of police officers. It’s very difficult to hire the replacements for police officers that are leaving in inordinately high numbers. So, I think it’s something that should be seriously explored.”

After the discussion turned to scooter crime in New York City, Kelly said, “Well, this is sort of their trademark, at least that’s what they’re doing in other cities as well. As I said before, if you look at their history in South America, it’s very, very violent. The NYPD is, quite frankly, short of people. They just don’t have enough folks to cover this type of crime in-depth. So, the gang division, I think, coupled with the FBI, with federal resources, could make a big difference.”

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