Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua seizes 4 apartment complexes in San Antonio, TX: report

TdA, which has been known to run drug smuggling as well as sex trafficking rings in South America, has expanded its influence in the United States as the Biden-Harris administration has softened border policies on seeking asylum as well as a drop-off in deportations of illegal immigrants charged with violent crimes, according to the Daily Mail.

After ABC News' Martha Raddatz made the comment that only a "handful" of apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado were taken over by the gang, a report from the outlet states that at least four apartment complexes in Texas have faced a similar issue, with TdA members taking over apartment buildings. In San Antonio, officers raided the Palatia Apartments last week to arrest 19 people, four of which have been confirmed to be associated with TdA.

The outlet reported that TdA had been at the complex for five to six months, squatting in the units, renting them out to other immigrants or using them as a base for dealing drugs and prostitution rings. However, TdA has infiltrated other apartment complexes in the region as well. The outlet did not name the other locations to avoid interfering in police investigations, but the locations were all confirmed by law enforcement officials, the Mail reported.

In the Palatia Apartment complex, police raided in the early hours of the morning, with some neighbors waking up to drones and their doors getting kicked in at 5 am. One female resident said, "Every department was here. They were wearing helmets and body armor."

"My husband came outside in his boxers and had a rifle held to him. They said, 'Who are you?' He said, 'I live here.' They asked, 'Where are you from?' He said Pennsylvania and that was the end of that," the resident added. The authorities went through 300 units to force out the 19 suspects.

"One TdA member is a confirmed 'enforcer' for that gang, and 15 were in the country illegally," the city's top police officer William McManus told reporters. Residents reported that the gang members had women and children that were being pimped out as prostitutes and have threatened residents and staff.

One worker at the complex told the Mail, "They don't care to be discreet about who they are, I think in their country, being a part of that group is a big deal, so maybe they feel it's a big deal here, too."