The Texas Department of Public Safety apprehended two members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) in San Antonio last week, according to a press statement. Officials stated that the alleged gang members were apprehended during a traffic stop. According to the news release, the San Antonio Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations aided with the arrests, and the two males were taken to a federal detention cell. Additional information on the arrests, including the men’s identities, was not immediately available.
MySA has contacted DPS, SAPD, and HSI for additional information on the arrests. DPS also provided a map of statewide TdA suspected and documented activity. Suspected activity has been recorded in New Braunfels, Houston, Dallas, and far West Texas near El Paso. Documented activity has been reported in the same area of far West Texas, along the Texas-Mexico border at Piedras Negras, far South Texas, Houston, and North Texas near Cleburne and Dallas. The arrests came one week after Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced a “comprehensive, statewide operation that will aggressively target” the gang, which he has also labeled as a terrorist group. On September 16, he announced the operation to ” disrupt their criminal operations and deny them a foothold” in Texas.
On Monday, September 23, Abbott offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of TdA gang members. Tips should be made to the Texas Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477) or online to the DPS.
According to Reuters, the US sanctioned the Venezuelan gang with jail origins in July. According to the research, the gang is infamous for human trafficking. Still, it has also been linked to extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, contract killings, smuggling, and organized retail theft from Panama to Brazil and the Andean corridor.
