September 16, 2024 | Austin, Texas | Press Release
Launches Statewide Operation Targeting Tren De Aragua
Governor Greg Abbott today announced that Texas is launching a comprehensive, statewide operation that will aggressively target the dangerous Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) to disrupt their criminal operations and deny their foothold in the state during a press conference in Houston. Speaking at the Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Southeast Texas Regional Headquarters, the Governor also designated TdA as a foreign terrorist organization, directing DPS to elevate them to a Tier 1 gang and to create a TdA Strike Team that will identify and arrest TdA gang members. “The recent entry and expansion of the vicious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, is a dangerous and deadly problem facing our state and nation,” said Governor Abbott. “Our top focus is the safety and security of all Texans. To address this looming threat, I have ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to launch a statewide operation directly targeting Tren de Aragua to deter and disrupt their criminal operation. I am also officially designating Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization. Our goal is to defend Texas from the growing threat of the gang. We will not let them use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens. They have a target on their back, and we are going after them. Texas is the wrong state for them to try to do business in.” The Governor was joined at the press conference by DPS Director Steve McCraw, Texas Border Czar Mike Banks, and National Border Patrol Council Vice President Chris Cabrera.
“Tren de Aragua gangsters are like cockroaches,” said DPS Director McCraw. “They multiply quickly; small intrusions into communities become infestations if not aggressively pursued. These Venezuelan thugs are highly combative, violent, and certainly adaptable. They’re always involved in situations that first start with human smuggling. Then they are involved in the extortion, kidnappings, rape, assaults, and sex trafficking of migrants. Governor Abbott has made it very clear: We will not allow any of these gangsters to gain a foothold in Texas.”
“With this gang, they’re not like traditional MS-13s where you can see them coming a mile away with the crazy tattoos all over their faces,” said National Border Patrol Council Vice President Cabrera. “These guys fly under the radar. As a federal agent, we have no way of vetting these people other than the honor system. If they tell us their name, we can’t check against Venezuela’s database. It is an infestation that’s taking hold not just in Colorado or New York but in Michigan, Florida, Texas, you name it. If people don’t wake up and see it for what it is, we’re going to be in a lot of trouble in this country.”
“I want to be very clear: the Tren de Aragua problem in Texas and the rest of the United States is a direct result of open border policies,” said Border Czar Banks. “So there is no surprise that we have a criminal illegal gang problem in the United States, and thankfully, we’re addressing that. We have a strong legislature that has given us many of the laws that the Governor signed and we’re using to go after Tren de Aragua. I want to thank the Governor for having the moral courage to continue fighting this fight and doing everything we can to protect Texas and the rest of the United States.”
During the press conference, Governor Abbott outlined the background intelligence on TdA as an extreme version of the heinous MS-13 gang, noting that TdA started as a prison gang in Venezuela and then expanded into a transnational criminal organization that is dominating the international flow of migrants from South America through Mexico and into the United States. The Governor noted that the gang has a history of flooding other countries with military-aged Venezuelan males to establish a base of operation to carry out violent crimes in those countries.
Additionally, Governor Abbott officially signed a proclamation designating TdA as a foreign terrorist organization. With this designation, Texas will be able to use the courts to curb the gang’s criminal operations, use civil asset forfeiture to take their property, and enhance criminal penalties during prosecution. The Governor also directed DPS to create a TdA strike team to aggressively target TdA criminal operations in Texas. This strike team will include DPS assets and hundreds of personnel, including DPS Highway Patrol troopers, Special Agents, and Texas Rangers. They will coordinate and collaborate with Texas Anti-Gang (TAG) Centers and law enforcement to surge resources to areas where known TdA activity is taking place.
At the direction of the Governor, DPS will elevate TdA to a Tier 1 Gang to ensure Texas deploys the necessary resources to stop the gang’s criminal activity in the state. With this new elevation, DPS will coordinate operations with federal and local partners through the state-funded TAG Centers in El Paso, Houston, Irving, Laredo, Lubbock, McAllen, San Antonio, Tyler, and Waco. TAG Centers house federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies that work together to identify, target, investigate, suppress, and prosecute violent criminal members throughout the state.
Last year, Governor Abbott signed Senate Bill 1900 into law that defined transnational drug cartels and criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations in the State of Texas and increased penalties for the distribution of illegal drugs and the operation of stash houses. The law also adds foreign terrorist organizations to current intelligence databases and allows state and local authorities to seek public nuisance claims against them. The Governor also signed Senate Bill 4 from Special Session #3 that created a mandatory ten-year minimum prison sentence for smuggling of persons. Passed with bipartisan support, the law enhanced the criminal penalties for the operation of stash houses and created a mandatory five-year minimum prison sentence.
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