SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association is warning its members to “keep their heads on a swivel and watch your six” over concerns of a Venezuelan gang operating in the “north-central” area of the city.
“Despite the City’s claims of ‘no credible threat to public safety’ we have numerous safety concerns surrounding operations ongoing within the southern portion of 5-0 (Battalion 5),” SAPFFA President Joe Jones wrote in a Wednesday email obtained by KSAT to the union’s nearly 1,800 firefighter and paramedic members.
Asked about the warning on Thursday, Jones told KSAT that firefighters’ and paramedics’ button-up uniforms can appear similar to San Antonio police, and it would be easy for someone to “misinterpret the presence” of the unarmed first-responders and use violence on them.
He also confirmed the gang in question was Tren de Aragua, a gang that started in Venezuela’s prisons and which has gained increased state and national attention.
Gov. Greg Abbott declared last month the state was targeting the gang, and Homeland Security Investigations announced a few days later it had arrested two people in San Antonio who were supposedly connected to the gang’s gunrunning.
“We know they’re here. But this is concentrated presence. This is concentrated, increased activity,” Jones said.
Jones said he did not want to jeopardize any ongoing police activities, but he generally described the concern being about specific apartments “just a few blocks north” of the city’s Migrant Resource Center on San Pedro Avenue, in an area where Fire Stations 17 and 31 typically respond.
Jones said the union had confirmed the activity by talking with members at the fire stations “in the epicenter of this” and from “I’ll say ‘other jurisdictions.’”
The union president said firefighters were already unofficially giving each other a heads up about the gang activity, but “it was not being broadcast within the department. Like they didn’t put out, you know, or issue an official safety warning or a warning order of any kind.”
There are dispatch notes attached to the specific locations, he said, requiring that two-person squad or EMS crews be accompanied by a heavy truck in an apparent attempt at safety in numbers.
Though such notes are relatively common, Jones said the union’s certainty that it was related to Tren de Aragua “goes back to boots on the ground.”
KSAT reached out Thursday to spokespeople for the city, San Antonio Police Department, and the San Antonio Fire Department, requesting an interview on the extent of Tren de Aragua’s activity in the city and how it was being handled.
SAPD responded with a statement that did not mention the gang by name or any specific actions they were taking.
“Suspected and known gang activity in the San Antonio area is being addressed by SAPD. Coordination with the SAFD is part of our daily operations. SAPD is and will continue to take necessary action to ensure the public’s safety as well as the safety of our first responders. We work closely with local, state, and federal agencies to identify threats and develop strategic operations which are aimed at reducing gang influence and protecting residents of our city. Public safety is our top priority.”
SAPD Public Information office
Read also: