Chihuahua, Mexico, is on high watch for members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). Members of the gang were said to be moving through the state on their way to enter the U.S. near El Paso, Texas.
A report from the Latin Times says that Chihuahua’s Secretary of Public Safety Gilberto Loya warned on Monday that Mexican officials have seen a lot of people who they think are members of the TdA working in the state and passing through on their way to cross the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso.
The report comes after the Treasury Department labeled TdA as a transnational criminal organization in July. They said the group was a “deadly criminal threat” across the Western Hemisphere because they were involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, extortion, and money laundering.
The US Treasury Department said at the time, “Tren de Aragua uses its transnational networks to bring people across borders for sex trafficking and debt bondage, especially migrant women and girls.” “Tren de Aragua members often kill them and publicize their deaths as a threat to others.”
This month, U.S. officials warned that the gang, which is based in Aragua, Venezuela, is moving into the U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, has called TdA “MS-13 on steroids.”
“They are very violent. Gonzales told Fox News Digital earlier this month over the phone, “It’s not like they’re a passive group or want to work things out in the background.” “They’re from Venezuela, which has been one of the most war-torn places in the last ten years.” This means they’re tough in many ways. They walked from there to here. But they’re also getting… more organized and bold.”
A new video shows a group of men with guns breaking into an Aurora, Colorado apartment complex. The video is thought to have been made by members of the gang. Residents of the complex say that gang activity has taken over.
“This is planned out. They walk around the land with guns out in the open, like they’re not trying to hide them. There are no consequences. Someone who lived there and spoke to Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity said, “These are ghosts.”
Another resident told Fox News Digital that the gang has been seen selling drugs from the apartment building. Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky told Fox News Digital that there is “without a doubt” sex trafficking going on in the city because of TdA.
In Mexico, Loya said that the group was guilty of several murders in Central Mexico. He also said that he hoped the border state could solve the problem.
Border Report translated what Loya said: “Thanks to working together with the United States, we have found that a lot of people from Tren de Aragua have gone through Chihuahua.” “Seeing what is going on in [Central Mexico], we want to be ahead of the curve here in Chihuahua.”