A Venezuelan gang was a topic of discussion during a Senate committee meeting on border security. NBC ‘s Vince Sims tells us more about the gang known to be in the state and even in North Texas.
The Texas-Mexico border and who is crossing it was part of discussions at the Texas Senate Committee hearing on border security Thursday. Concerns were raised over the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua or TdA coming into the United States.
“El Paso is the hot spot, the hottest spot right now, for the reasons we talked about,” Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said addressing the committee during the hearing.
A map from the Texas Department of Public Safety shows TdA activity around the state and right here in north Texas.
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Michael Brown is a former Senior DEA Special Agent and Global Director of Counter-Narcotics Technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices. He said TdA's presence could be just the beginning.
“TdA is a criminal organization and they grow, they metastasize,” Brown said. “So right now within some communities in Texas, maybe one or two members. Six months from now, it could be 600 members.”
We checked and many North Texas police agencies are aware of TdA.
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Dallas police released a statement that said in part, “We have had gang activity in the north Dallas area linked to the Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela. The investigation remains ongoing.”
The FBI Dallas office also told NBC 5 in a statement in part, “…the FBI and our law enforcement partners are aware of TdA’s presence in this area as well as nationally.”
The U.S. Department of treasury says TdA engages in human smuggling and trafficking, among other crimes.
It's a situation Brown said state and federal agencies must work together to fight.
“America does not need another violent criminal organization from south central, south America, setting up operations in their cities,” he said.
