South American ‘Burglary tourists’ strike again: Now foreign armed gangs are targeting wealthy San Diego neighborhoods after flying in to America on Visa Waiver Program

Organized criminal gangs have now begun targeting San Diego’s wealthiest neighborhoods as part of an operation dubbed “burglary tourism,” according to a shocking new report.

‘The house has been carefully selected. They watched from rented cars blending into wealthy neighborhoods. They are masked, gloved and care little for cameras. They can be in and out of your house in minutes,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan told NBC this week.

‘If someone breaks into it, it’s your home, you never feel the same again. This is organized. This is not a child,” he added.

Prosecutors say the gangs come from South America and take advantage of the Visa Waiver Program, which allows residents of certain countries to come to the U.S. after filling out an online form.

Stephan said that while the program is intended to boost tourism, it has become a “burglary tourist visa.”

The crooks target goods they know they can quickly convert, such as “jewelry, coin collections, cash and luxury wallets.”

Authorities have so far managed to arrest eight suspects who are Chilean nationals, Stephan said. The prosecutor said the suspects are difficult to identify because they are not citizens.

“The mother country has a responsibility to sort things out and ensure that they do not grant these visas to unvetted people with criminal records,” the prosecutor continued.

The most recent robbery committed by a tourist gang in the San Diego area occurred on March 29.

In February, a group stole a gun safe containing assault rifles in the Mira Mesa section of the city. The San Diego Union Tribune reported at the time. The crime remains unsolved.

Despite existing extradition laws with countries benefiting from the waiver program, Stephan said authorities prefer to reserve that right for the most serious crimes.

The waiver system allows people from certain countries to enter the U.S. without restriction for 90 days.

Conservatives claim that many will one day come from the South

Meanwhile, 2,300 miles away in Detroit, officials said this week that they are preparing for a new wave of burglaries by Chilean tourists, reports The Detroit News.

Authorities in the area said the burglaries began in 2023 in the city’s affluent suburbs. The main targets of the crimes are Asian American families.

Michigan investigators described the group using “military-like tactics” and wearing “camouflage clothing.” They are armed with electronics that can jam home alarms and crack safes.

“We saw these gangs come to Bloomfield Township in February of 2022, and that crew was captured and linked to similar cases in Indiana,” Bloomfield Township Police Officer Nick Soley said. The Detroit News this week.

“We didn’t see any cases for a while, and then towards the end of the summer (of 2023) we were hit hard, until about the week of Thanksgiving,” Soley continued.

“We knew these gangs were coming back, and we’re confident they’re back. We think they’re going to stick around, so we’re definitely preparing for that.”

Local Republican Sheriff Michael Bouchard of Oakland County called on President Joe Biden to remove Chile from the waiver program as a result of the crimes.

Other burglary gangs enter the US illegally from countries such as Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

Closer to San Diego, in Los Angeles, criminals are shamelessly slashing tires, shattering windows and even planting trackers on their victims’ cars.

One jeweler, Stacy Nolan Soper, found herself in danger on October 18 when she drove home from the jewelry district in downtown LA with a bag of valuable merchandise.

Soper’s vehicle was suddenly ambushed by masked thieves on the on-ramp from the westbound 10 Freeway to the southbound 405.

‘It seemed like [he] would attack me,” Soper told the newspaper LA times. As traffic slowed, a car in front of her stopped abruptly, and three men, including two wearing ski masks, attacked her vehicle – slashing the tires, smashing the windows and one pulling out a gun – which looked like something from a action movie.

Soper’s experience mirrors several similar incidents targeting jewelry stores on Los Angeles freeways.

Another Hong Kong jeweler was the victim of a robbery on the 10 eastbound just six days later.

The shocking moment the driver was run off the road and then robbed in broad daylight as he knelt on the road with his arms in the air was caught on camera.

Four men wearing ski masks deliberately crashed into a black Alfa Romeo on eastbound I-10 west of Arlington Avenue in South Los Angeles.

“The victim’s vehicle was disabled as the suspects proceeded to rob the victim,” the California Highway Patrol later confirmed.

A passenger in a passing car filmed the terrifying moment the robbers surrounded the victim and began searching his vehicle.

Police said the suspects, who were armed with a hammer and a crowbar, then fled the scene in a white Chevrolet Malibu.

A witness, who also filmed the incident, later told Eyewitness News ‘it looks like they knew what he had in his car… I felt really sorry for him, I thought it was over for him, but he did it right one.’

Organized crime and theft have become a growing problem for the Democratic-led city, with officials blaming the no-cash bail policy.

This escalating trend, including additional thefts in Orange County, indicates a coordinated effort among South American gangs.

Authorities, including the LAPD’s Commercial Crimes Division and the California Highway Patrol, are investigating these crimes.

According to Captain Francis Boateng, the robberies follow a pattern: thieves target jewelers on the road and create scenarios to force them to stop, such as slashing tires or staging accidents.

These highway robberies look like a scene from an action movie as they exploit the potential of the highways to ensnare victims and delay the authorities’ response.

LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton highlighted the continued presence of such gangs, while emphasizing that recent incidents reveal an increase in their activity.

“There’s not one team doing all these crimes,” he told the LA Times. “Essentially, these individuals come together for individual jobs or a series of jobs.”

The Los Angeles Police Department launched a task force in March to crack down on burglary tourists.