SAN ANTONIO, TX - Authorities with the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) announced the arrest of several members of Tren de Aragua (TdA) after police raided a vacant apartment complex that the violent Venezuelan gang was "in control of" and "using to commit crimes."
According to Fox News, the gang members were arrested on Saturday, October 5th, after law enforcement agencies conducted the raid after receiving multiple complaints about narcotics violations, human trafficking, and threats to apartment complex personnel. During a news conference, SAPD Chief William McManus said, "We had information that members of the transnational gang Tren de Aragua were in control of the area and committing various crimes."
Police cleared nearly 300 vacant apartments at the complex and arrested 19 of 20 individuals taken into custody. McManus said that 15 of those individuals had detainers and several had confirmed warrants for their arrest. The police chief also said that four of those taken into custody were confirmed to be members of the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, adding that one of the men acted as an "enforcer" for the violent gang.
According to McManus, the four TdA members are currently in the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). He said, "We assure the community and members of the public that we are committed to their safety and we are on top of this TdA issue that seems to have become very public lately." He told reporters at the news conference that law enforcement has "other places we are going to hit" to rout out the violent gang. McManus added, "We're on to you and we're coming for you. We know where you are and we're coming for you." This investigation remains ongoing.
Cities in Texas are not the only places across the country that are being threatened by the transnational criminal organization, TdA. According to the New York Post, more than 100 suspected gang members of TdA were part of the group that violently stormed the border at El Paso, Texas back in March. Members of the gang have allegedly taken over apartments in Colorado, seizing hotels near the Texas border, and shooting police in New York City.
TdA is known nationally for luring women into sex trafficking and forcing them to sell their bodies in American cities to pay off exorbitant smuggling fees. In New York City, the gang is allegedly trying to recruit foot soldiers to force women into sex trafficking to fund their illegal gang activity.
The arrests in San Antonio, Texas, come after a weeks-long investigation as part of SAPD's "Operation Aurora" initiative, which is part of a broader effort to disrupt TdA's influence in Texas. Authorities in Texas believe that TdA in San Antonio is involved in prostitution, selling of cocaine, and other violent crimes.
According to KENS5, police said that the gang has been operating in San Antonio for several months. They are known to wear red. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar was also asked about the presence of the gang during the news conference. He said that the gang is "here in Bexar County." He said that they don't come into contact with them frequently, but "it's certainly not strange to run into TdA folks on the streets." Salazar said that his office has things in place to deal with gangs like TdA.
He said, "That's one of the main reasons why, several years back, we created the Organized Crime group, knowing these sorts of things were occurring. Fairly recently we actually split off a team from that organized crime group to concentrate solely on transnational criminal organizations because of organizations like Tren de Aragua." As of recent, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared the gang a foreign terrorist organization.
According to Fox News, the gang members were arrested on Saturday, October 5th, after law enforcement agencies conducted the raid after receiving multiple complaints about narcotics violations, human trafficking, and threats to apartment complex personnel. During a news conference, SAPD Chief William McManus said, "We had information that members of the transnational gang Tren de Aragua were in control of the area and committing various crimes."
Police cleared nearly 300 vacant apartments at the complex and arrested 19 of 20 individuals taken into custody. McManus said that 15 of those individuals had detainers and several had confirmed warrants for their arrest. The police chief also said that four of those taken into custody were confirmed to be members of the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, adding that one of the men acted as an "enforcer" for the violent gang.
According to McManus, the four TdA members are currently in the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). He said, "We assure the community and members of the public that we are committed to their safety and we are on top of this TdA issue that seems to have become very public lately." He told reporters at the news conference that law enforcement has "other places we are going to hit" to rout out the violent gang. McManus added, "We're on to you and we're coming for you. We know where you are and we're coming for you." This investigation remains ongoing.
Cities in Texas are not the only places across the country that are being threatened by the transnational criminal organization, TdA. According to the New York Post, more than 100 suspected gang members of TdA were part of the group that violently stormed the border at El Paso, Texas back in March. Members of the gang have allegedly taken over apartments in Colorado, seizing hotels near the Texas border, and shooting police in New York City.
TdA is known nationally for luring women into sex trafficking and forcing them to sell their bodies in American cities to pay off exorbitant smuggling fees. In New York City, the gang is allegedly trying to recruit foot soldiers to force women into sex trafficking to fund their illegal gang activity.
The arrests in San Antonio, Texas, come after a weeks-long investigation as part of SAPD's "Operation Aurora" initiative, which is part of a broader effort to disrupt TdA's influence in Texas. Authorities in Texas believe that TdA in San Antonio is involved in prostitution, selling of cocaine, and other violent crimes.
According to KENS5, police said that the gang has been operating in San Antonio for several months. They are known to wear red. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar was also asked about the presence of the gang during the news conference. He said that the gang is "here in Bexar County." He said that they don't come into contact with them frequently, but "it's certainly not strange to run into TdA folks on the streets." Salazar said that his office has things in place to deal with gangs like TdA.
He said, "That's one of the main reasons why, several years back, we created the Organized Crime group, knowing these sorts of things were occurring. Fairly recently we actually split off a team from that organized crime group to concentrate solely on transnational criminal organizations because of organizations like Tren de Aragua." As of recent, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared the gang a foreign terrorist organization.
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