Homeland Security agents in Texas successfully apprehended two Venezuelan nationals who were members of the bloodthirsty gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), which has established operations throughout the U.S.
In a release Friday, the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Antonio announced that special agents arrested the two Venezuelan nationals in San Antonio during an enforcement operation targeting the violent gang on Sept. 19.
The agency said that they received information that these individuals were allegedly involved in a conspiracy to illegally transport firearms.
Following their apprehension, both individuals were transferred into ICE custody based on their immigration violations, HSI said. The San Antonio Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) were also involved in the arrests.
These images from a CBP intelligence bulletin, show tattoos and identifiers for Tren De Aragua (TdA). Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of known or suspected TdA members. (ICE)
The TdA is a violent street gang believed to have originated in Venezuelan prisons and moved north over the last decade.
SUSPECTED TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS IN AURORA, COLORADO, RELEASED ON $1,000 BOND
However, its reputation within the U.S. has grown this year, in part, due to a number of high-profile crimes linked to the gang, with many believed to have arrived by coming across the southern border as part of the sharp increase in migration in recent years.
The suspected Tren de Aragua gang members engaged in illegal activity including illegal dumping and drug use, according to the El Paso County Attorney’s Office in Texas. (KFOX14 / El Paso County Attorney’s Office)
The gang made headlines recently in Aurora, Colorado, where there have been a number of arrests and reports that the gang has taken over entire apartment buildings — something local authorities have pushed back against.
The apprehension of the two gang members in San Antonio came after Gov. Greg Abbot declared the gang a “foreign terrorist organization” last week while announcing that the state was taking a more aggressive approach to targeting its members.
“Tren de Aragua has spread terror and carnage in every country they’ve been in, and Texas will not allow them to gain a foothold in our state,” Abbott said in a statement. “Texas will not let these thugs use our state as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott makes an announcement on the future of the space industry in the state. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
Abbott has directed DPS to elevate the gang to a Tier 1 gang and to create a TdA Strike Team that will identify and arrest its members.
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Tipsters can provide information to authorities via the Texas Department of Public Safety’s website by calling 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
