Texas City closes hotel occupied by Venezuelan gang after 693 police calls

Written by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Authorities in Texas say they are closing a crime-ridden hotel where members of the Tren de Aragua gang have stayed and are investigating the gang’s criminal involvement in other cities.

El Paso County District Attorney Christina Sanchez filed a lawsuit on August 27 seeking to close the Gateway Hotel on Stanton St. in downtown El Paso, Texas, due to multiple code violations. There have been 693 police and emergency service calls to the location over the past two years.

The lawsuit names as defendants the Gateway Hotel, Gigante Enterprises LLC, which owns the company, and hotel owner Howard Yun.

Members of the Tren de Aragua gang have occupied the Gateway Hotel since at least Juneaccording to court documents obtained by The Epoch Times.

Elhiu Dominguez, special projects coordinator for El Paso County, told The Epoch Times that a judge had ordered the hotel to close by Sept. 12.

The temporary injunction, signed by District Judge Maria Salas-Mendoza, keeps the hotel closed pending a Dec. 9 hearing on a permanent injunction. Residents have until 10am on September 12 to vacate the hotel.

Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang estimated at 5,000 members, is a feared gang in Latin America and has been linked to murder, drug trafficking and human trafficking.

It is believed that their members are taking advantage of the chaos of the border crisis and illegally crossing the southern border of the US.

“Beware of this gang. It is the most powerful in Venezuela, known for murder, drug trafficking, sex crimes, extortion and other violent acts.“Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens wrote a warning about the gang on X, formerly known as Twitter, in April.

President Joe Biden designated Tren de Aragua a transnational criminal organization in July at the urging of Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

“Over the past year, the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has managed to move their operations north by taking advantage of our porous southern border,” Salazar said.

“My constituents in Miami, many of whom are Venezuelans themselves, should not have to live with the same criminals who forced them to leave their home country.“

In El Paso, “deplorable” conditions prevail at the once-condemned hotel, where at least 10 counts of aggravated assault, 13 counts of violent conduct/fights, 11 counts of drug delivery or possession, 20 counts of disorderly conduct and at least one count of sexual assault on a child have occurred, court documents say.

Security video from the Gateway Hotel shows a serious attack and “men with knives and another man with an axe attacking people and causing damage to the hotel in front of a security guard,” court documents state.

In an affidavit included with court documents, El Paso Police Officer Samuel Medina said: He suspects that prostitution is taking place in the hotel and said that the “continued incidents of criminal activity” have increased “with the introduction of the Tren de Aragua organization into the hotel.”

During a “hotel check” in July, a police officer noticed “people sitting behind the front desk without hotel insignia or uniforms looking at paperwork,” and an officer identified members of Tren de Aragua at the hotel, court documents said.

In August, police were called to the hotel for reports of loud noise and drinking. They reported that a person living on the third floor had a tattoo linked to the Venezuelan gang.

In 2018, the hotel received a conditional certificate of occupancy for the first floor, but court documents show a new certificate was never issued.

The Epoch Times was unable to reach Yun for comment.

El Paso isn’t the only Texas city dealing with the Venezuelan gang.

Dallas Police spokeswoman Jennifer Pryor told The Epoch Times in a Sept. 10 email that gang activity in North Dallas has been linked to Tren de Aragua.

“Our department works with other agencies to address potential crimes related to this and other gangs in our city. We are committed to preventing criminal activity in our community and ensuring the safety of our residents,” she wrote.

The gang’s presence in Colorado drew national attention

The Venezuelan gang captured the nation’s attention with a viral video showing gunmen running amok with impunity in an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado.

Law firm Perkins Coie, which represents the lender for Whispering Pines, a 54-unit apartment complex at 1357 Helena Street in Aurora, investigated the situation.

Perkins Coie’s 10-page letter to city officials details how Tren de Aragua took over the Whispering Pines apartments amid threats of murder, assault and intimidation.

According to attorney T. Markus Funk of Perkins Coie, there is evidence that the Venezuelan gang members in Aurora were also involved in human trafficking.

The apartment complex is alleged to have been the scene of extortion, illegal weapons possession and sexual abuse of minors, with perpetrators “targeting vulnerable Venezuelan and other immigrant populations,” the letter said.

In one case, Funk said, a consultant for the apartment complex’s management company was beaten so badly that he was hospitalized. The incident was captured on video.

The city of Aurora issued a statement saying there were “isolated situations.” Aurora police did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for a tour of the affected buildings.

In a statement posted to Facebook on September 11, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and Public Safety Chair Danielle Jurinsky described the city’s efforts to combat the Venezuelan gang’s presence in their city.

Long before the problem gained national attention, they said, Aurora police “had arrested people for various criminal activities who had suspected, but not necessarily confirmed, ties to the gang.”

Tren de Aragua’s presence in Aurora “is limited to specific properties, which the city has been addressing in different ways for months,” the statement said.

Epoch Times reporter Allan Stein contributed to this report.