Texas designates Venezuelan Tren de Aragua as terrorist organization

Abbot posted on X: "Vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has taken over many countries already. We must stop them in their tracks.I designated TdA as a foreign terrorist organization & launched a statewide operation to target & arrest them. Texas is hostile territory to this dangerous gang."

The organized crime unit has occupied a hotel in El Paso while the gang is a law unto itself in Aurora, CO and has taken over apartment complexes, extorting “rent” money from tenants. There are over 400 members of Tren de Aragua operating in New York City.

Officially, Abbott has designated the gang as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” under Texas Government Code Chapter 2270. As such police and assisting authorities can seize the assets of anyone suspected of working with Tren de Aragua. The gang has already become a major source of drug trafficking in Texas, according to The Dallas Express. “If [Tren de Aragua] is unchecked, it will just expand terror and carnage that TdA imposes in whatever country they’ve been in,” said Abbott.

“That’s why Texas stepped up to be the first state in the United States to say that Tren de Aragua is not going to be not only unwelcome here, but we will be seeking them, we will find them, and we will put them behind bars,” he added.

In August, the Dallas Police Department revealed that the gang had migrated to North Texas and was working out of the Oak of North Dallas apartments, according to the Express. “We have had gang activity in the North Dallas area linked to the Tren De Aragua gang from Venezuela,” Dallas Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Pryor told DailyMail.com, according to the Express.

“Our department is collaborating with other agencies to address possible crimes linked to this and other gangs in our city,” she added.