Texas officials declared Venezuelan-born gang Tren de Aragua a "foreign terrorist organization" on Monday, a decision that allows them to increase resources dedicated to dealing with the group, including the creation of a dedicated task force.
Speaking at a press conference to announce the decision, the state's top border official, Mike Banks, reiterated a claim made by former President Donald Trump about the Venezuelan government sending inmates from their prison to the U.S.
Authorities have "released prisoners with one condition: you leave Venezuela and don't come back," Banks said. There is no evidence to sustain the claim that the arrival of gang members is a result of government action, but Mexican law enforcement officials did tell their American counterparts in late August that they continue to see large numbers of potential gang members making their way to the country.
As encounters continue to rise, Mexican border authorities remain on high alert. Members of Tren de Aragua have been been linked to three homicides in Central Mexico, allegedly killing two women as well as one of their own gang members.
In an attempt to combat the gang, Chihuahua's government invited a Chilean gang expert to brief its police commanders on the tactics used by Tren de Aragua members to infiltrate countries outside of Venezuela. The criminal group has recently expanded to other South American countries, including Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Chile.
The U.S. Treasury Department designated Tren de Aragua as a transnational criminal organization in July, a decision that allows law enforcement to allocate more resources to fight its increasing activities in the country. It also allows them to impose sanctions on its members, making it easier to freeze their assets and restrict their travel.
The announcement included the offering of millions of dollars in rewards by the State and Justice departments in exchange for information of some of its main leaders. Concretely, there is now an up to $5 million reward for Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero, also known as "Niño Guerrero" (Warrior Child); up to $4 million for Yohan José Romero, aka "Johan Petrica", and up to $3 million for "Giovanny San Vicente, aka "El Viejo" (The Old Man).
Tren de Aragua has been featured prominently in the news recently, especially after former President Donald Trump's references to it during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
"They're taking over buildings," Trump said during the debate. "They're going in violently," he added, in reference to claims about them overrunning apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado. A recent analysis by the New York Times, however, showed that the narrative was born as a result of misleading claims made by an out-of-state landlord that was not complying with requests of authorities to fix up three blighted apartment complexes.
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