Texas Governor Designates Tren De Aragua Gang as Terrorist Organization

Governor Greg Abbott and state officials designated the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as a “foreign terrorist organization,” according to a press release Monday.

Speaking at the Texas Department of Public Safety regional headquarters in southeast Texas, the governor detailed how he plans to defend Texas against the organization.

These are Abbot’s plans:

Who is Tren de Aragua?

According to Insight Crime, Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan criminal organization that emerged around 2014 within the country’s prison system. It initially operated out of the state of Aragua, hence its name, and was led by inmates at Tocorón Prison. Over time, it grew to become one of the most powerful and violent gangs in Venezuela, expanding its operations beyond prison walls.

The group is involved in various criminal activities, including drug trafficking, human smuggling, extortion, kidnapping and illegal mining. Tren de Aragua has extended its influence throughout Venezuela and into neighboring countries including Colombia, Brazil and Peru, often controlling key routes used by migrants and refugees fleeing Venezuela’s political and economic crisis.

Governor Greg Abbott declares Venezuelan gang a terrorist organization

Governor Abbott signed a proclamation officially designating Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. This designation allows Texas to use the courts to disrupt the gang’s criminal activities, seize their assets through civil forfeiture, and impose harsher penalties during prosecutions. The Governor further directed DPS to establish a special TdA Strike Team to aggressively combat the gang’s activities in Texas. This team will consist of DPS resources and hundreds of personnel, including Highway Patrol agents, Special Agents, and Texas Rangers. They will work with Texas Anti-Gang (TAG) Centers and law enforcement agencies to deploy resources to areas where criminal activity is known to occur.

“Our goal is to defend Texas from the growing gang threat,” Governor Abbott said. “We will not allow them to use Texas as a base to terrorize our citizens. They have a target on their backs and we are going after them. Texas is the wrong state to do business in.”

“Tren de Aragua gangsters are like cockroaches,” said DPS Director Steve McCraw. “These Venezuelan thugs are very combative, violent and definitely adaptable.”

What is Senate Act 1900?

Last year, Governor Abbott signed Senate Bill 1900 into law, officially designating transnational drug cartels and criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations in Texas. The law increases penalties for drug distribution and stash house operations. It also adds these foreign terrorist groups to existing intelligence databases and gives state and local authorities the authority to bring public nuisance claims against them.

Where will DPS Tren de Aragua be looking?

Texas DPS will work with federal and local partners through state-funded Texas Anti-Gang (TAG) Centers in El Paso, Houston, Irving, Laredo, Lubbock, McAllen, San Antonio, Tyler and Waco. These centers bring together federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to jointly identify, target, investigate, subdue and prosecute violent criminal gang members throughout Texas.