Violence Venezuelan gang Tren de Araguanow recognized as a national security threat under the Trump administration, began in El Paso. For years, the FBI and the Border Patrol have been calling for warnings that the brutal gang is on the rise. Their concerns turned a deaf ear until the arrival of the gang began to penetrate the United States
Fox News sits in El Paso for the first time with leaders from the Border Patrol and the FBI, the first to discover and identify TDA.
“We were really able to hear the combined effort of the alarm, and I think it immediately became obvious, not only other street gangs, but also a very violent gang with very bad intentions,” said Walter Slosar, interim chief patrol agent for the El Paso industry.
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Immigration encounters They are the lowest levels in years, according to CBP.
However, at the end of 2022, Border Patrol agents noticed the surge in Venezuelans. This peaked in 2023, with more than 71,000 Venezuelans traveling across the El Paso department alone.
“At the time, we had thousands of people in this area every day,” Slosar said. “The criminals immediately used the flow to hide themselves in the process.”
Border Patrol agents noted the surge in Venezuelan immigration, reaching their peak in 2023, with more than 71,000 people passing through Venezuelans in the El Paso industry alone. Agents suspect criminals use large amounts of traffic to sneak into the United States (Getty Image)
Agents knew it was a problem and worked with the FBI’s El Paso field office to gather Intel and learn about the violent gang. They said they had to start over from scratch with little support from Venezuela.
“It’s an uphill battle,” said Tim Sullivan, chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol Special Operations Team. “The support provided by Venezuela is very limited. So the agents conducted due diligence to start from scratch and build a repository of knowledge we have by establishing partnerships with our federal partners.”
Britton Boyd, assistant agent in charge of the FBI’s El Paso field office, said it was through hundreds of hours of interviews that they had talked to people who crossed the border at the time that they learned a lot about the gang.
The Border Patrol and the FBI identify TDA members through their unique tattoos and specific behaviors. While some call the gang “MS-13 on steroids,” El Paso’s FBI insists that TDA is one of its own.
“Tren de Aragua “There is a completely different network, the way they work, the way they blackmail and how they use them. There are similarities, people may be confused with another person, but they are completely different animals,” said John Morales, head of the El Paso FBI.
FBI agents insist that Tren de Aragua is different from other gangs. (Left: Obtained by New York Post Center: Edward Romero Right: DEA)
When asked about the violence related to the TDA, FBI and Border Patrol leaders pointed out that the group ignored humanity and the law. They described the gang as involved in drug trafficking, blackmail and modern slavery.
“Sex trafficking, ransomware, theft, high-end retail theft, anything of any kind that can make money and any kind of violence you can think of is definitely with these guys,” said Hamid Nikseresht, director of special operations at Border Patrol.
It took the public several years to realize the TDA, as many initially dismissed or refused to believe the warnings of the FBI and Border Patrol in El Paso. Even the mayor of El Paso suggested that the claims were exaggerated after the gang was linked to criminal activities at the Gateway Hotel in El Paso, and the claim eventually had to be closed due to the criminal activity.
“It’s not an exaggeration about the portal,” Morales said. “It’s not an exaggeration. People need to understand. There are no limits, no boundaries, and… Once they have a foothold, they won’t stop them, which is why it’s true for people to understand it. It’s a real threat.”
The investigators said they believe senior officials did not start taking the threat seriously until the TDA began to spread across the country and penetrate cities.
Britton Boyd’s assistant agent for the El Paso FBI and Walter Slosar of the interim patrol agent El Paso Industry talked about the threat from Tren de Aragua Gang. (Getty Images | Fox News)
“I think when their crime businesses started to show up across the United States, they heard that loudly and clearly,” Slosar said. “And when we started seeing the alarm in Central America, I think it really sounded shocking.”
The El Paso field office reported that it soon realized that TDA would follow immigration pathways, discover new cities infiltrate and develop its network.
“They will go into town, they will penetrate, and they will target the most vulnerable people there,” Morales said.
FBI and Border Patrol agents say they finally feel prioritized by the Trump administration Demolition of Tren de Aragua.
“We all swore to defend this country and now we can get the most out of the work,” Sullivan said.
“This is a time of change in modern history of American law enforcement, where men and women are enabled and encouraged to go out and do their jobs and keep our communities safe,” Boyd added.
