With operations throughout the country, an infamous Venezuelan gang dubbed the “epitome of evil” reportedly relocated just outside one of the safest cities in the United States.
Already suffering a death by a thousand cuts, eroding American national sovereignty under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ administration appeared to invite a new national security threat. According to officials in El Paso, Texas who spoke with the Daily Mail, Tren de Aragua was no longer operating out of Tocorón prison in Venezuela, but instead had established a headquarters in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
“El Paso officials, who asked to remain anonymous, now fear gang violence will spill over into Texas’ sixth largest city — which is currently ranked among the top ten safest in America by the FBI,” the Mail reported.
The gang is said to be led by Héctor Guerrero Flores, better known as “Niño Guerrero.” The FBI is offering a $5 million dollar reward for the gang leader for listing violations that include conspiracy to participate in transnational organized crime such as money laundering, narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, and human smuggling.”
Speaking with the mail, Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales (R), whose district stretches from El Paso to San Antonio, asserted, “Tren de Aragua is the epitome of evil.”
“This gang is known to rape children, spearhead murders, and cause widespread chaos,” he added.
A previous report indicated that the Venezuelan national alleged to have murdered 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley was believed to have ties to TdA and that the gang was suspected of aligning itself with Mexico’s Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, as criminals with ties to the organization were believed responsible for increased crime across New York City.
At the end of July, NewsNation correspondent Ali Bradley detailed that Homeland Security Investigations “reported that Tren De Aragua (TdA) criminal organization members in Denver have been given a ‘green light’ to fire on or attack law enforcement in Denver, Colorado,” and that at least 1,000 members of the over 5,000-strong gang were suspected of being in the United States.
SCOOP: More than 1,000 known Tren De Aragua (TdA) members are in the U.S. and have been given the “green light” to fire on and attack law enforcement according to an internal bulletin that went out across Border Patrol—The agency has encountered nearly 70 TdA members since… pic.twitter.com/CYxds818eq
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) July 30, 2024
“We’re tracking them in Ciudad Juarez, that’s where they specifically have their principal point of operations,” Mexican State Secretary of Public Safety Gilberto Loya told the Mail. “They’re not an easy gang to track, because they don’t act like a traditional gang.”
Law enforcement officials have been on the lookout for a myriad of tattoos associated with the gang, but additional problems with handling identified members arose even before chaos erupted in Venezuela following their recent election which included the country not accepting citizens deported from the United States.
NEW: CBP source provided an internal CBP intelligence bulletin revealing tattoos/identifiers for Tren De Aragua, the Venezuelan prison gang that has been entering the U.S. illegally through the southern border.
Both CBP source & an ICE source expressed frustration that these… pic.twitter.com/Vnd13Z4y2Q— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 7, 2024
The increased threat also comes as the Biden administration abruptly halted the Department of Homeland Security’s mass-parole program amid rampant fraud. A spokesperson said, “Out of an abundance of caution, DHS has temporarily paused the issuance of advanced travel authorizations for new beneficiaries while it undertakes a review of supporter applications.”
The program facilitated inbound flights for hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
“They can do a lot of harm to us: they can make us disappear and many other things they can do to us,” a Venezuelan national told Despacho 505 of the threat posed to foreign nationals attempting to reach the United States.
Mexican state prosecutor Carlos Manuel Salas said, “According to the security reports we have, this group of Venezuelans, Tren de Aragua, control which migrants can ride the train.”
Gonzales explained that in an effort to combat the threat, “I’m working with Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar to create the first intelligence unit located within a jail in Texas. This initiative will go a long way in helping law enforcement at all levels combat gang activity.”
“The unit would be located within the Bexar County Jail — which is the largest jail near the Texas-Mexico border,” he went on. “Now it’s time for action. Designating Tren de Aragua as a transnational criminal organization was step one.”
“Step two is strengthening our intelligence capabilities to ensure our law enforcement personnel have the tools they need to track down these criminals,” the congressman added.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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