Governor Greg Abbott announces crackdown on Venezuelan gang

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that the state will target a Venezuelan gang that he says is known for brutal violence and murder and poses a threat to the safety of Texans.

At a news conference in Houston, Abbott signed a proclamation declaring the Tren de Aragua gang a foreign terrorist organization and ordered the Department of Public Safety to create new response teams consisting of highway patrol officers, SWAT teams, helicopters, dogs and Texas Rangers to target areas where TDA activity is known.

“We will put all our pressure on the TDA by declaring it a foreign terrorist organization,” Abbott said before signing the proclamation. “Texas will use the courts to shut down its operations, use civil asset forfeiture to seize its assets, use enhanced criminal penalties to keep it in prison, behind bars for longer periods of time.”

The governor singled out El Paso as a hotbed of recent criminal activity by suspected members of the Tren de Aragua. He said city residents were recently concerned about criminal activity at a local hotel where 20 suspected Venezuelan gang members were arrested.

El Paso County denied that “the hotel was taken over by a gang” and said it was closed because of a lawsuit centered on widespread criminal activity within the hotel.

“It is important to clarify that this lawsuit was not motivated by criminal activity attributed to any specific group or gang,” El Paso County District Attorney Christina Sanchez said in a statement. “I want to clarify that at no point did we allege in our lawsuit that the hotel was taken over by any gang or group of individuals.”

Abbott also said a law passed by the House last year would be used against Tren de Agua members who smuggle immigrants. Under Senate Bill 4, those convicted of smuggling immigrants or operating a hideout face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

“We are not going to allow them to use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens,” Abbott said at the news conference, where he was joined by DPS Director Steve McCraw, Texas Border Czar Mike Banks and National Border Patrol Council Vice President Chris Cabrera.

Abbott’s announcement follows false claims by former President Donald Trump and other Republican Party leaders that Venezuelan gangs had “taken over” a Colorado apartment complex.

In July, the U.S. Treasury Department declared Tren de Aragua a transnational criminal organization that poses a threat to U.S. communities. The gang is dedicated to human trafficking, but also engages in human trafficking, extortion and drug trafficking, according to the Treasury Department.

The U.S. State Department also announced rewards of up to $12 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the gang’s leaders.

There is currently no database to identify members of the gang, Abbott said, and Texas law enforcement will work to create one. The Tren de Aragua has been active in Texas since 2021, and more than 3,000 undocumented immigrants from Venezuela have been arrested in Texas for crimes, with more than 200 others wanted, according to Abbott.

“I could sit here and give you statistics and numbers on how many people are crossing the border and how many people are fleeing,” said Cabrera, vice chairman of the Border Patrol board. “But none of that would really matter in the face of the problem we have here with this gang.”

Across the country, the gang has been linked to more than 100 police investigations, Abbott said, including the shootings of two New York police officers.