Members of a notorious Venezuelan supergang were among more than a dozen people arrested during a police raid at a Texas apartment building earlier this month.
Police in San Antonio said multiple local, state and federal agencies were involved in the Oct. 5 bust that netted four Tren de Aragua (TdA) members and a gang enforcer among the 19 charged.
“We assure the community and members of the public that we are committed to their safety, and we are on top of this TdA issue that has seemed to have become very public lately,” San Antonio police chief William McManus told a news conference, reports ABC affiliate KSAT.
Authorities said they were able to clear nearly 300 of the 678 total units during the raid of the massive apartment complex.
The bust, following complaints of human trafficking, narcotic violations and threats to apartment employees, will not be the last in the city as police promised to tackle other Venezuelan gang operations.
“We’re onto you, we’re coming for you, and we know where you are,” McManus said, adding there is no threat to the public at this time.
The raid was dubbed Operation Aurora following news that the gang took over units at a rundown apartment in Aurora, Colorado. Concerns were also raised in the city after a video showed armed men knocking on an apartment door. Police in Aurora identified 10 people belonging to Tren de Aragua and have so far arrested six of them.
The gang, which originated in the South American country about a decade ago among prisoners who extorted businesses and engaged in human trafficking in Peru, Colombia and Chile, has also spread its tentacles to New York and Wisconsin.
Just two days after the San Antonio bust, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced the arrest of another gang member in Houston.
Special agents took into custody Jorgenys Robertson Cova, 32, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, after he was scheduled for an asylum hearing on Oct. 7.
“Further investigation revealed Cova was wanted out of Pearland, Texas for theft,” authorities said in a news release. “Over the course of the investigation, investigators observed tattoos on Cova’s arms including a five-point crown and a clock and roses — all known TdA markings.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tren de Aragua has been operating in the state since 2021 and he signed a proclamation last month declaring the gang a foreign terrorist organization.
Abbott, through the state’s Public Safety Office, is also offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of known or suspected members of Tren de Aragua who have been or suspected of criminal activity.