A new report claims that the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang has taken over four apartment complexes in San Antonio, Texas, as the foreign-based gang continues to expand its operations in the United States.
According to The Daily Mail, Tren de Aragua is known for conducting sex trafficking rings and drug smuggling operations in South America and has expanded into the United States under the Biden-Harris administration’s open border policies.
Earlier this month, law enforcement agencies raided San Antonio’s Palatia Apartments, resulting in charges against 19 individuals, including four gang members. The Daily Mail reported that law enforcement sources confirmed that Tren de Aragua had conducted drug dealing and prostitution activities out of Palatia Apartments for five or six months.
According to The Daily Mail, Tren de Aragua currently occupies at least three other rental properties in the San Antonio area. While the outlet has not disclosed the names of the other apartment complexes due to ongoing law enforcement investigations, the locations of the other apartment complexes have been confirmed by law enforcement sources.
READ MORE: Cops raid Venezuelan gang complex, arrest 20
The Daily Mail reported that residents and workers at the apartment complexes taken over by Tren de Aragua gang members said that the Venezuelan men who have arrived in recent months stand out because they actively engage in intimidation tactics.
“They act like they own the place,” an anonymous resident told The Daily Mail. “There’s one Venezuelan here – they call him ‘the boss’ and his face is covered in tattoos. I’m honestly afraid of him.”
The anonymous resident explained that most of the single units in the back row of her apartment complex are now occupied by Venezuelan men who never go to work.
A maintenance worker from a different apartment complex told The Daily Mail that they think Tren De Aragua gang members are living at the property after seeing Venezuelans walking around with the Tren de Aragua tattoos.
“They don’t care to be discreet about who they are,” the maintenance worker told The Daily Mail. “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.”
