**Previous Episode: [[BDE358]]** **Next Episode: [[BDE360]]** %%Post image thumbnail below.%%  > [!abstract|no-i] **Episode Overview** **Date Aired:** [[09-03-2024]] **Title:** The Art of the Gaslight **Episode:** 359 **Description:** The narratives surrounding Venezuelan migrants from the last few years, compared to actions and statements from the Biden-Harris regime. **Link:** https://rumble.com/v5djzrw-big-dig-energy-359-the-art-of-the-gaslight.html **Tags:** %%<https://historydraft.com/happened/what-happened/1-January/world>%% ## Replay %% Get embed URL then highlight and hit ALT + I%% <iframe src="https://rumble.com/embed/v5b8v6s/?pub=6eeyh" allow="fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" style="height:100%;width:100%; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; "></iframe> <br> ## Greetings & Announcements 1. Gamer Words on Wednesday! 2. We are relocating the server from Guilded back to Discord. I know, I know. But between Guilded requiring people to sign up for Roblox to have an account now and the general bugginess of the platform, I think it's the best move. The link is in the show description if you would like to join. ## Segments ### The Art of the Gaslight Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse or manipulation in which the abuser attempts to sow self-doubt and confusion in their victim's mind. Typically, gaslighters are seeking to gain power and control over the other person, by distorting reality and forcing them to question their own judgment and intuition. - Gaslighting is a form of abuse, most often perpetrated within ==romantic relationships==, in which one person tries to control the other by causing them to doubt and question themselves. - Examples of gaslighting behaviors are ==denying something the other person knows is true==, spreading rumors about them, and blaming the victim. - The mental health impact of gaslighting includes feelings of powerlessness, confusion, isolation, disorientation, and low self-esteem. #### It's Rare Guize  [Article Archive](https://archive.ph/OAeSu) --- > Only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in this fall's election for president and other top offices. While that is nothing new, the potential for noncitizens to register or vote has been receiving a lot of attention lately. > > Citing an influx of immigrants in recent years at the U.S.-Mexico border, Republicans have raised concerns about [the possibility that noncitizens will be voting](https://apnews.com/article/voting-immigrants-noncitizen-trump-republicans-2024-1c65429c152c2a10514b5156eacf9ca7) and they have taken steps in numerous states to address that prospect, even though cases of noncitizens actually voting are rare. > > GOP officials have undertaken reviews of voter rolls, issued executive orders and placed constitutional amendments on state ballots as part of an emphasis on thwarting noncitizen voting. Some Democrats contend the measures could create hurdles for legal voters, are unnecessary and lead people to believe the problem of noncitizens voting is bigger than it really is. --- [Noncitizen Voting: The Missing Millions](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/noncitizen-voting-missing-millions) <iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" title="Noncitizen Voting: The Missing Millions" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/347347131/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-ZFcaW0jc0hu2TZvn611k" tabindex="0" data-auto-height="true" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><p style=" margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block;" ><a title="View Noncitizen Voting: The Missing Millions on Scribd" href="https://www.scribd.com/document/347343715/2017-NoncitizenVoting-Final#from_embed" style="text-decoration: underline;">Noncitizen Voting: The Miss…</a> by <a title="View The Brennan Center for Justice's profile on Scribd" href="https://www.scribd.com/publisher/51968051/The-Brennan-Center-for-Justice#from_embed" style="text-decoration: underline;">The Brennan Center for Justice</a></p> ## What Does the Law Say? A [1996 U.S. law](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:18%20section:611%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section611)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true) makes it illegal for noncitizens to vote in elections for president or members of Congress. Violators can be fined and imprisoned for up to a year. They can also be deported. When people register to vote, they confirm under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens. Federal law requires states to regularly maintain their voter rolls and remove anyone who is ineligible, a process that could identify immigrants living in the country illegally. ### A High-Trust Society I want to live in a high-trust society. What do I mean by that? In his 1995 novel titled 'Trust: The Social Virtues & the Creation of Prosperity,' Francis Fukuyama [postulates on](https://archive.org/details/trustsocialvirtu0000fuku/page/n1/mode/2up) the notion that impact of culture on economic life. Fukuyama defines culture as a society's inherited ethical habits.  The first section of the book (**==The Idea of Trust: The Improbable Power of Culture in the Making of Economic Society==**), Fukuyama hones in on such factors as trust (**==a community's shared expectation of honest, cooperative behavior outside the family==**) and social capital (**==the values created by tradition, religion, or other means==**), and he examines the ability of various peoples to organize effectively for commercial purposes <u>without relying on blood ties or government intervention</u>. Fukuyama surveys emergent as well as established industrial powers (the US, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, et al.) to determine which might have superior reserves of social capital. These reserves are important. Despite the sort of pervasive national identity of Americans as rugged individualists governed by individual rational choices, Fukuyama suggests that there are far more unspoken and unwritten ties which bond us together that also facilitate our social and economic well-being in the United States. He warns, though, that ==ongoing deterioration in the ties that bind== (e.g., declines in church attendance and membership in fraternal or voluntary organizations), ==coupled with a persistent rise in divorce rates and **special-interest groups**, could deplete the nation's social capital and over time levy an economic toll==. Simple things like the decline in the number family-run businesses are a symptom of this ongoing decay in societal trust. But we no longer live in a high trust society. We live in a society that is designed to pit us against our neighbors and to fear strangers. The fear is not unwarranted, though, and it has been enabled in many ways by the Biden-Harris regime's immigration policies. ### Venezuela Enters the Chat  ---  Over the last week in particular, there has been a high level of interest in a story stemming from Aurora, Colorado, involving several apartment complexes that have been alleged to be overrun with illegals from Venezuela, as well a notorious Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua. From [The Prospector](https://www.theprospectordaily.com/2024/02/27/venezuelan-gang-tren-de-aragua-a-threat-to-borderland-cities/) in February: > The Tren de Aragua or "Aragua Train" emerged in the Tocorón prison in Aragua, Venezuela around 2012 and is led by Héctor Rustherford Guerrero Flores or better known as "Niño Guerrero." The gang expanded to several Latin American countries including Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador. Most recently, the group has made their way across the border into the United States. > > Tren de Aragua took control of the Tocorón prison due to Venezuela's government handing control to "Pranes," the crime bosses. This freedom allowed the gang to spread their influence on the outside world by taking over nearby neighborhoods and forming alliances with smaller gangs; eventually expanding to at least five Venezuelan states. > > According to Ammon Blair, a former Border Patrol agent who spent 10 and a half years on the force and has done intelligence analysis on national security threats appearing from the border, the Trend de Aragua has violent tactics used by the gang within the prison and in different cells of the organization. > > "They are specifically known for their violence and their extorsion," Blair said. "Meaning if you don't pay your tax, he (Guerrero) first shoots your wrist, if you don't pay it again, he shoots you in the ankle, if you mess up and don't pay it again, you're dead." > > In 2018, The gang targeted fellow Venezuelan's who were migrating to different countries to escape economic and political crisis. Using this tactic, between 2018 and 2023, the Tren de Aragua has been able to expand by following and exploiting Venezuelan migrants, which led them to the U.S. > > Blair shares how the gang has three phases to creating transnational ties. The first phase is the exploration phase where they exploit migrants going to other countries. The second phase is known as the penetration phase where they enter local criminal economies and clash with local gangs. > > The last phase is consolidation face, and this is when they're established in certain regions, and begin to develop sophisticated money laundering schemes, start corrupting local security forces and peruse rival gangs. > > Blair says based on the recent happenings, ==the gang is in phase two in the U.S. with New York, Chicago, Boston and Dallas being the target cities==. They are targeting migrant shelters and sending mass messages offering money and protection and posting graphic videos of execution, torture and murder to show their power against rival gangs. > > According to Angella Villón, the president of the Sex Workers Movement of Peru, one these videos, depicted the murder of trans sex worker Rubi Ferrer. Following Ferrer's death, came the death of Priscila Aguado and six other women. > > Additionally, Blair shared that the gang was not on the Department of Homeland's radar and saw it as a Venezuela problem or South American problem. > > This means that if a Tren de Aragua member comes through the border, they may be able to enter as they will have no criminal record. The only way Border Patrol agents may be able to identify a member is through tattoos, but members either hide them or do not get the tattoo until they have entered the U.S. > > Blair shares how law enforcement have only recently started getting involved and the message they have for local communities. > > "The only way to try and mitigate this is leaders in the Venezuelan community getting together with local PD and establishing a neighborhood watch and a system of direct access with law enforcement," Blair said. "A call to action will have to be from Hispanic communities rising whether that is local or in politics, getting together with state legislatures, council men and women and state representees. You just need a nationwide awareness of this transnational criminal organization." > > With a large Venezuelan migrant population currently in El Paso, there is an elevated risk and Blair believes there is a need for concern over Tren de Aragua. > > "We know that the cartels exist, but the problem is they want the borders open, so they are going to shy away from violence because they need to move narcotics however these guys (Trend de Aragua) don't care," Blair said "They operate different than the cartels they are super hyper violent, and they work in the immigrant communities, so all these Hispanic communities, immigrant communities are their number one target, 100% border communities have to be concerned." --- CNN Espanol last November: [The Aragua Train arrives in the US: 38 detained by border authorities](https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2023/11/09/narcofiles-tren-aragua-estados-unidos-detenidos-frontera-sur-orix/) #### Media Reporting is Lacking [Aurora lawmakers insist, without evidence, Venezuelan gang responsible for apartment closure](https://www.cpr.org/2024/08/09/aurora-venezuelan-gang-apartment-closure/) --- [Police: Armed robbers in Aurora home invasion claim to be delivery workers](https://kdvr.com/news/local/aurora-armed-robbery-home-invasion-claim-to-be-delivery-workers/)  <div class="scripps_iframe_embed" style="position:relative"><div style="display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:56.25%;"></div><iframe id="da-iframe" allowfullscale="" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" border="0" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://assets.scrippsdigital.com/cms/video/player.html?video=https://content.uplynk.com/00a1335e5f8c4c4a9ac9bb738cf88c80.m3u8&mp4=https://x-default-stgec.uplynk.com/ause/slices/00a/0e3a3b3bc3ae4d6eac785fb8a26bdb6b/00a1335e5f8c4c4a9ac9bb738cf88c80/00a1335e5f8c4c4a9ac9bb738cf88c80_e.mp4&autoplay=false&purl=/news/crime/they-didnt-have-to-hurt-the-kids-armed-robbers-pose-as-delivery-drivers-invade-aurora-home&ads.iu=/6088/ssp.kmgh/news/crime/they-didnt-have-to-hurt-the-kids-armed-robbers-pose-as-delivery-drivers-invade-aurora-home&ads.proxy=1&poster=https://x-default-stgec.uplynk.com/ause/slices/00a/0e3a3b3bc3ae4d6eac785fb8a26bdb6b/00a1335e5f8c4c4a9ac9bb738cf88c80/poster_74da7aeeb7494e5790e9d54313ac244b.jpg&title=%2527They%20didn%2527t%20have%20to%20hurt%20the%20kids%2527%3A%20Armed%20robbers%20pose%20as%20delivery%20drivers%2C%20invade%20Aurora%20home&kw=Aurora%2CAurora%20news%2CDenver%2CNews%20in%20aurora%2Caurora%20crime%2Caurora%20home%20invasion%2Caurora%20police%20%2Caurora%20police%20department%2Ccrime%20stoppers%2Ccrime%20stoppers%20denver%2Cdelivery%2Cdriver%2Crobbery%2Caurora&contplay=*recent&mute=0&tags=News%2CHomepage%20Showcase%2CMobile%20Showcase%2CLocal%20News%2CDenver%2CAurora%2CCrime&section=Crime&cust_params=temp%3D%26weather%3D&host=denver7.com&s=kmgh&env=production&ex=1" allow="autoplay; fullscreen"></iframe></div>  ### See Also [Judge says NYC can’t let noncitizens vote in city elections](https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-rights-new-york-city-lawsuits-561688df6e0c2213334ae2c1acaa6133) %%Footer Starts Here%% --- ![[Brain Icon 1.png|center]] <b><font color="#ffffff"> <center>You might not have noticed it… but your brain did.</center> </font></b> --- ### Tags ### Linked Pages & Footnotes