Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) said on Monday that more than 100 people believed to be members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were among a large group that stormed the southern border in El Paso, Texas, in March.
Abbott at a news conference in Houston AnnouncedIn response to TDA's expanding presence in the US, the government announced it was launching a “comprehensive, statewide operation to aggressively target dangerous groups.”
“Texas is vigorously pursuing these foreign terrorist organizations.”
As part of his mission, the Governor has designated the TDA a terrorist organization. The Texas Department of Public Safety has been directed to elevate the TDA to a Tier 1 gang. The department will also be creating TDA strike teams to eradicate the criminal organization. TDA members arrested for smuggling people into the state could face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“The recent expansion and growth of the violent Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, is a dangerous and deadly challenge facing our state and nation,” Abbott said.
“Our goal is to protect Texas from the growing gang threat. We will not allow gangs to use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens. Gangs are being targeted and we are going after them. Texas is the wrong state for gangs to do business,” he said.
Earlier this year, law enforcement officers at the El Paso border were attacked by a large group of illegal immigrants attempting to enter the U.S. Video of the incident was available on New York PostThe video shows a group of mostly adult men removing barbed wire near Gate 36, which is not a designated port of entry.
As a result of the incident, 211 people were indicted on charges of participating in the riot, but El Paso County Judge Ruben Morales dismissed the charges in May, The Blaze News previously reported. The suspects were released and handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to face federal illegal entry charges.
An ICE spokesman previously told The Washington Post that many of the suspects have been released domestically, others have been deported and some remain in custody.
Governor Abbott said Monday that individuals believed to be members of the TDA were involved in the incident.
“Following the El Paso border riots earlier this year, in which migrants attacked the Texas National Guard, more than 100 people believed to be members of TdA were arrested,” he said.
“The State of Texas is aggressively pursuing these foreign terrorist organizations in the TdA,” Abbott added.
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