What you need to know about the Venezuelan gang targeting Texas

“What you need to know about the Venezuelan gang targeting Texas” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — on public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

What is the Aragua Train?

Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan gang that began in a prison in the state of Aragua and has since spread across Central America and the United States, including Texas, New York, Colorado, and Wisconsin. The group focuses on human smuggling and other criminal activities targeting migrants, such as kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking.

According to a report by Transparency Venezuela, the group adopted its name between 2013 and 2015, but may have begun its activities earlier.

What is Texas doing to target the gang?

Governor Greg Abbott signed a proclamation on Sept. 16 declaring the gang a foreign terrorist organization. He also directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to mobilize a strike team of state troopers, Texas Rangers and other law enforcement groups to pursue the gang wherever it is known to be active in Texas.

The gang’s designation as a foreign terrorist organization means that gang members face higher penalties for crimes such as trafficking illegal drugs. State law also provides for civil penalties against foreign terrorist organizations.

There is no database in Texas to track people associated with Tren de Aragua, but Abbott announced that law enforcement would work to set one up.

How does the gang proceed?

The group began by extorting businesses in Venezuela and then began trafficking people to Colombia, Peru and Chile. Abbott said the organization is trying to infiltrate countries and establish a base of operations for its criminal activities. DPS Director Steve McCraw said El Paso is the gang’s “ground zero.”

Does the gang pose a major threat to public safety in Texas?

According to Abbott, Tren de Aragua operations have been ongoing in Texas since 2021. He said more than 3,000 undocumented immigrants from Venezuela have been arrested in Texas for crimes such as human smuggling, and more than 200 more are wanted.

Michael Shifter, a senior fellow at the foreign policy think tank Inter-American Dialogue, said the gang poses a greater threat to Latin American countries such as Peru, Colombia and Chile. Nevertheless, the organization must be taken seriously, Shifter said.

“It’s clearly a big problem that needs to be addressed,” he said. “I think there’s reason to be confident that U.S. law enforcement can handle it.”

Did the gang take over a hotel in El Paso?

During his press conference, Abbott mentioned that more than 100 TDA members had been arrested at the Gateway Hotel in downtown El Paso on charges including human smuggling and illegal drug possession. Some media reports spoke of a “takeover” of the hotel by the gang.

The 121-year-old hotel was closed Sept. 12 because of broad criminal activity, not a specific gang, according to the El Paso District Attorney. The hotel was operating without a valid occupancy permit and was the scene of ongoing criminal activity, including aggravated assault, trespassing, public intoxication and burglary, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Police reports indicate that criminal activity at the hotel has increased because of the Tren de Aragua.

What role do the gang’s activities play in US politics?

Announcing the federal crackdown on the gang, Abbott said Texas was seeing “slow but increasing TDA activity in our state,” which he blamed on President Joe Biden. “The fact is that this exploded after the president declared that if you’re Venezuelan, you’re allowed to come to the United States.”

In January, the Biden administration announced a humanitarian parole program that would allow certain people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to live and work legally in the United States for up to two years.

Abbott’s press conference came immediately after the presidential debate, during which former President Donald Trump addressed right-wing online reports about Venezuelan gangs “taking over” a Colorado apartment complex.

Shifter said Abbott’s actions must be viewed in the context of the upcoming presidential election, as Trump continues to push the narrative that undocumented immigrants are invading the country, committing crimes and stealing Americans’ jobs.

“Trump highlighted this clearly in the debate and tried to stoke fear,” Shifter said. “I think Governor Abbott is trying to make it even worse by saying this is a large transnational group and the Biden-Harris administration has not been able to contain it.”

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune under

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