SAN ANTONIO – A Venezuelan gang named Tren de Aragua has been making headlines lately in Texas. Most recently, four members were arrested in a multi-agency drug bust that took place at an apartment complex on San Antonio’s north side on Oct. 5.
According to San Antonio police, they were charged with narcotics violations, human smuggling and threats to apartment employees at the complex on Sahara Drive near Highway 281.
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Days later, the gang’s name was brought up again after DPS announced they arrested another member in a separate incident in Houston.
These incidents prompted KSAT 12 to learn more about the gang’s history. Here’s what we know so far.
Where did the gang originate?
Tren de Aragua is a gang that began in a state prison in Aragua, Venezuela. Their criminal activity includes human smuggling, drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion, according to a report by the Texas Tribune.
A report from Transparency Venezuela indicates the group started calling itself “Tren de Aragua” around 2013-2015.
In Venezuela, the gang extorted businesses and slowly began human trafficking into Peru, Columbia and Chile.
Since then, the group has expanded to the United States, namely, New York, Colorado, Wisconsin and Texas.
Activity in El Paso
According to Gov. Greg Abbott, Tren de Aragua has been operating in Texas since 2021 with arrests for human trafficking. DPS Director Steve McCraw identified El Paso as its “ground zero.”
Texans likely first heard of the gang when a historic El Paso hotel was temporarily shut down on Sept. 12 due to illegal activity. In a press conference at the time, Abbott said more than 100 TDA members had been arrested at the Gateway Hotel on criminal charges.
He also signed a proclamation on Sept. 16 that declared Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization. This would mean civil penalties and increased sentences for gang members. DPS has also been authorized to mobilize a strike time to pursue the gang.
However, the El Paso County Attorney said the arrests were not gang-related. KSAT reached out multiple times to confirm the suspects’ affiliation but did not receive a response.
A move to San Antonio
San Antonio would soon be the new target of TDA speculation.
The Department of Homeland Security told KSAT that agents arrested two people in connection with the gang on Sept. 19 in San Antonio.
Agents said they received information that the individuals were allegedly connected to the gang’s illegal transport of firearms. The San Antonio Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety assisted Homeland Security in those arrests.
After their arrests, HSI officials said the individuals were later transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement based on potential immigration violations.
On Oct. 2, the San Antonio Professional Firefighters’ Association warned its members about possible Venezuelan gang activity concentrated 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 an email obtained by KSAT to the union’s nearly 1,800 firefighter and paramedic members.
Asked about the warning, 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.
Large raid on North Side leads to 4 arrests
On Oct. 5, San Antonio police arrested 19 people at the Palatia Apartments on Sahara Street. Four of them were confirmed to be Tren de Aragua gang members.
McManus said in the press conference that complaints were made regarding human trafficking, narcotic violations, and threats to apartment employees at the apartment complex.
The members were identified as Angel Josue Guerra-Sanguino, 22, Yonaiker Velasco, 24, Jean Carlos Hidalgo-Oviedo, 26, and Yorbis Rafael Osorio Carmona, 27.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the apartment complex was the first place SAPD had executed a Tren de Aragua gang bust.
San Antonio police records show that in the year leading up to the raid, there were about 1,500 calls for service at the complex’s primary address on Sahara Drive, near U.S. Highway 281 and San Pedro Avenue. That includes more than 140 calls for shots fired, 14 burglary cases, and 12 assault in progress cases.
McManus also had a message for the other gang members they are still searching for: ”We’re on to you, we’re coming for you, and we know where you are.”
McManus said most of the Tren de Aragua gang members are known to wear red and can be identified by specific gang tattoos.
