Data Shows Gang and Cartel Violence Warrants a Federal Crackdown

Overview

For Gang Violence Prevention Week 2025, President Donald J. Trump honored Americans who have suffered at the hands of gangs by reaffirming his administration’s commitment to defeating organized crime and dismantling the criminal networks responsible for unleashing death and destruction upon our country.

Federal efforts to bring law and order, such as Operation Midway Blitz, the Memphis Safe Task Force, and the National Guard deployment to Washington, D.C., have proven effective as they restore safety to our cities. Already, crime has plummeted as federal law enforcement continues to arrest violent criminals convicted of assault, robbery, rape, and murder. Many arrested individuals are members of notoriously brutal transnational gangs, including Tren de Aragua, the Two Six gang, and the Latin Kings.

Despite strong evidence of improvements to public safety, local politicians have resisted the Trump-Vance Administration’s increased law enforcement efforts by repeatedly claiming that violent crime is on the decline and thus does not require federal intervention. These statements are based on an intentionally distorted interpretation of crime data. In most large American cities, crime has indeed declined slightly from its overall highs experienced during the “COVID years” of 2020–2022 but remains at historically high rates.

Additionally, some large city district attorneys and prosecutors are simply ignoring or intentionally not prosecuting crimes, which effectively hides the real crime rate from public view. For example, in New York City, District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced in 2022 that his office would not prosecute resisting arrest, prostitution, most trespassing cases, and marijuana misdemeanors. Other district attorneys, including Fani Willis of Georgia and George Gascón of California, have refused to prosecute entire classes of offenses, further hiding the true extent of criminal behavior in their jurisdictions.

Data on Gang and Cartel Crime

The American people deserve the truth from their elected officials. Let’s dig into the numbers.

Washington, D.C.: In Washington, D.C., the epicenter of the Trump Administration’s crackdown on violent crimes, the average yearly homicide rate from 2005 to 2015 was approximately 143. From 2016 to 2024, that rate increased by nearly 30% to 185, including the record-high year of 2023, which tragically saw 274 people die by homicide in our Nation’s capital.

Chicago, Illinois: In Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) has claimed that “there’s no emergency happening in Chicago,” and that their crime prevention strategy has been “working.” Nothing could be further from the truth. According to the Pew Research Center, Illinois is home to at least 550,000 illegal immigrants. In the past two months, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has arrested more than 500 illegal aliens in Illinois with significant violent histories from numerous cartels and gangs.

Gang Violence Trends: The FBI’s 2021–2024 Gang Activity Report demonstrates that, though the rate of gang activity incidents per 100,000 inhabitants has generally declined since 2021, the number of gang activity incidents has risen dramatically. Gang activity incidents increased 15% from 2021 to 2022 and a further 24% to 2023, before tapering in 2024. While gang activity decreased marginally from 2023 to 2024—feeding the media’s talking point—gang activity still rose 21% relative to 2021.

Fentanyl Seizures: The data also reveal that cartel activity, including drug smuggling and human trafficking, flourished under the Biden-Harris Administration and has been on the rise for years. From fiscal years 2020 to 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a 462% increase in fentanyl seizures. Drug smuggling is not a violence-free crime, and these historic surges of drugs into our country often lead to follow-on violent crimes such as theft and murder, as well as the tragic deaths of tens of thousands of Americans trapped in the cycle of drug addiction. More than 400,000 Americans have died of drug overdoses, most commonly of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids peddled by the cartels.

These numbers are not abstract. They represent lives lost, including Americans like Jocelyn Nungary, Kayla Hamilton, and Rachel Morin—all murdered by gang members in the U.S. illegally. Before the wave of illegal immigration encouraged by the Biden Administration’s reckless open borders policies, such crimes were almost unheard of in the United States.

International Gangs and Cartels in America

Gang and cartel activity is not an issue exclusive to the dimly-lit alleys of inner cities, nor are the consequences of gang violence confined to carjackings, drug dealing, and drive-by shootings. Neither do cartels stop operating north of the southern border. Many of the most powerful and savage gangs in the U.S. are direct extensions of sprawling, international cartels.

President Trump has rightly designated many of these transnational gangs as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” providing essential resources and authorities to counter the growing threat gangs pose. U.S. forces in the Caribbean have struck three vessels stocked with drugs and operated by narco-terrorists headed for America. President Trump has also leveraged economic sanctions to deter countries providing deadly starter chemicals and abetting drug traffickers.

President Trump has identified the scope of the problem and, unlike his predecessors, recognized that terrorists abroad work in conjunction with gangs in the U.S. President Trump’s strategic international missions, coupled with select deployments of federal law enforcement throughout the country’s crime centers, have allowed the federal government to fight terrorist networks that threaten our country from without and within.

The Time for Action is Now

The facts are clear: increased violent crime, gang, and cartel activity all warrant a strong federal response. National Guard deployments, federal task forces, and other new strategies are making a meaningful impact on the safety and well-being of the American people – and the evidence from cities like Washington, D.C. is clear.

While pro-crime politicians seek to score political points by purposefully obfuscating the truth as their states suffer from proliferating gang networks, growing drug crises, rampant murder, and increasing threats against law enforcement, President Trump is taking action.

This is not about politics; it is about survival. Many American communities are disproportionately targeted by gangs and cartels. Elected officials at all levels of government have a moral responsibility to tell the truth to their constituents, protect them from harm, and work across our federal system to arrest violent offenders and criminal illegal aliens. This includes a meaningful and action-oriented defense of the American people from all forms of gang violence.

Gang Violence Prevention Week may have ended, but the fight for safer streets and stronger communities should continue until every American can live free from the shadow of gang and cartel terror.