EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – District Attorney Bill Hicks addressed the growing presence of the dangerous Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, also known as TDA, during a news conference on Wednesday.
Hicks’ statement follows Gov. Greg Abbott’s declaration of the gang as a foreign terrorist organization, directing the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to increase efforts against TDA operations in the state.
Hicks expressed concern that the transnational criminal organization is using El Paso as a stepping stone to spread across the United States.
“El Paso is not ground zero for TDA activity. We have what we believe to be TDA activity in El Paso, but so does Dallas. So does Houston. So does Colorado. So other communities are experiencing TDA activity,” Hicks said.
The district attorney emphasized that Tren de Aragua differs from other transnational criminal organizations, making them a unique challenge for law enforcement.
“We do not have a criminal gang database to identify who is and who is not a TDA gang member. As the governor mentioned, the Texas Department of Public Safety is going to initiate a from-scratch gang database,” Hicks said.
Ammon Blair, a former Border Patrol agent, highlighted the difficulties in tracking TDA members due to a lack of criminal records from Venezuela and strained U.S.-Venezuela relations, which hinder information sharing.
“Tren de Aragua built their entire criminal enterprise off the backs of eight million Venezuelans. So, if we just look at how they operate and then follow that pattern, we know that they’re inside of Venezuelan communities, that they’re kidnapping, that they’re extorting, that they’re governing and controlling them,” Blair said.
Given the gang’s rapid spread across South America, Hicks said the federal government is working closely with other countries to gather information for the new database.
“Texas law enforcement is working with federal law enforcement. Federal law enforcement is working with Mexican law enforcement officials. They’re also working with Colombian law enforcement officials, Peruvian law enforcement officials. International law enforcement officials are cooperating, trying to address TDA activity,” Hicks said.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said they cannot confirm any gang membership in the arrests they have made so far.
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