And we will be caught in the middle.

For this one, I am going to steal heavily from Peter Grant A.K.A. Bayou Renaissance Man.

My initial intention was to write about an article from the NY Post about Venezuelan gangs invading already occupied territory in Chicago, but Peter already did a good job, plus he added a couple of interesting tidbits.

I don't think that local gangs are yet aware of the very bloody history of South American gang conflict, either. Their "hood" and their reputation won't scare anybody who's lived on the streets of Caracas, Rio de Janeiro or other crime-ridden cities like them.

I am from a part of Caracas that the US Embassy has declared a “Red Zone, Do Not Visit” for many decades, even before Chavez and his Communist descendants let the gangs flourish. The criminals there are different from what the average US-Born American criminal has ever experienced. I guess I can define it as exceedingly cruel, but that applies only if you have not lived with it, and it is not the normal you breathe for decades.

There is detachment in the way US gangs enforce their attack on enemies, as it is based on Spray and Pray use of firearms in a Hit and Run. South American gangs do the Close and Personal thing and have no problem hanging around to make sure people know who did it, why and what will happen to you if you cross them.

One of the punishment/execution methods used many times in the barrios of Caracas was to find out where a target lived, visit it late at night while he and his family were sleeping, seal the exits and quickly toss Molotov cocktails through the windows. Architecture has a role in this method of killing. Wood is very expensive in Venezuela, so every house, even in the poorest of barrios is built with cement or clay blocks. And because of the crime, windows and doors are covered with steel bars to keep criminals out, but the maxim of “If they can’t get in, you can’t get out” comes into play: They will toss a couple of incendiary devices, fire catches on furniture and what you get is a deadly and painful combination of oven and gas chamber. Your last moments on this planet are punctuated by the feeling of choking with obnoxious fumes while your flesh is burn to a crisp. And the culprits are outside, watching and hearing you and yours die horribly while neighbors may peek nervously from their homes scared shitless about what is happening while praising God it was not them.

Who do you think will have the greatest impact? Local Blood or Crip emptying a Glock with a switch on an unsuspecting crowd outside a bar while running by or a group Tren members having beers and cheering while they watch you abode with memaw, baby mama, the kids and the target get the arson treatment?

Again, stealing heavily from Peter:

Friends who still work in that environment tell me that it's becoming a necessary security element to rigorously check incoming inmates for membership of South American gangs, and keep them out of general population if there's already a strong Crips, or Bloods, or Gangster Disciples presence on the yard. If members of the "wrong" gang are released into their company, bloodshed is almost assured. I won't be surprised to learn that in the not too distant future, certain prisons will be "reserved" for South American gangs, and other prisons for US gangs, in an effort to prevent them coming into contact with each other.
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The problem is made worse by the relationship between certain gangs and city administrators - even certain police forces. If some gangs are in a relationship with the authorities in any way, the latter may order their law enforcement agencies to act against certain other gangs. That, in turn, will make the cops into targets for those other gangs, and that can lead to utter anarchy on the streets. (Think it can't happen? Think again. It's nothing new.)

Here is a clip from CNN en Español about the Tocoron prison where the Tren de Aragua members were “serving” their sentences before it became such an embarrassment for the socialist government that they had to intervene and clean out. Of course, part of the solution was to “allow them” to migrate to the US. The videos are in Spanish, but I believe language will not be an issue for the readers.

Children’s Park, pools, bars, a zoo, farm animals for consumption in their restaurant, a bitcoin mining operation, tunnels to egress the prison at their convenience and bring “visitors” of the loose moral female kind and even, surprising no one in Venezuela, more guns than the prison guards and local PD had and an assortment of explosive devices.

If a local government here in the US is already compromised (or suspected to be easily compromised), which way do you think they will turn? Those with the money or those with the money and infinite amount of what we define as unchecked cruelty? How do you think they managed to get materials and equipment to transform their prison into a frigging country club? Asking pretty please of simply flexing muscle in the evillest of ways while passing some cash?

If you live in any American city that already has a gang problem, brace yourselves . . . it's about to get a lot worse (and more dangerous).

I agree with this forecast. The question is, how will you be able to respond to it.

Hint: Everything you know about Legal Self Defense as it stands today will not apply.