from Your News:
A former DEA special agent warns that the presence of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in Texas could be the start of a larger criminal expansion.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The violent Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) is increasingly active in Texas, and a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent warns that this may only be “just the beginning” of their operations in the state. Michael Brown, who now serves as global director of counter-narcotics at Rigaku Analytical Devices, cautioned that the gang’s influence could rapidly expand if left unchecked.
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“TdA is a criminal organization and they grow, they metastasize,” Brown told NBCDFW. “Right now, within some communities in Texas, there may be one or two members. Six months from now, it could be 600 members.”
Tren de Aragua has been flagged as a growing threat to Texas’ border security. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director, Colonel Steve McCraw, stated during a recent Senate Committee on Border Security hearing that El Paso has become the epicenter of TdA’s activity. “El Paso is the hot spot, the hottest spot right now, for the reasons we talked about,” McCraw said.
Earlier this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott officially designated the TdA gang as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, providing Texas law enforcement with additional resources to combat its presence. The move is intended to help disrupt the gang’s criminal operations and prevent them from establishing a stronghold in Texas. “We will not let them use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens,” Abbott said in a statement.
The rise of TdA activity comes amid a massive increase in Venezuelan migrants crossing into Texas. According to Texas DPS, nearly 499,000 Venezuelan migrants have been apprehended by Border Patrol agents from FY21 through FY24 year-to-date, a dramatic spike compared to 465 Venezuelan migrants apprehended during Fiscal Year 2020, under the Trump administration.
Governor Abbott emphasized Texas’ commitment to combating the gang’s influence, stating that TdA members “have a target on their back, and we are going after them.” He added, “Texas is the wrong state for them to try to do business in.”
With the state’s enhanced efforts to tackle the growing threat, authorities remain vigilant in their fight to prevent the expansion of Tren de Aragua within Texas’ borders.
Venezuelan Migrants Entering Texas-Based Border Sectors (Texas Department of Public Safety)
From FY21-FY24 year-to-date, Border Patrol agents apprehended nearly 499,000 Venezuelan migrants who illegally entered the United States in the five Texas-based Border Patrol Sectors, Texas DPS officials reported.
“Our goal is to defend Texas from the growing threat of the gang,” Abbott concluded in his address on Monday. “We will not let them use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens.”
“They have a target on their back, and we are going after them,” the governor stated. “Texas is the wrong state for them to try to do business in.”
