The dangerous Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, identified as a serious national security concern during the Trump administration, originated in El Paso. The FBI and Border Patrol had been raising alarm bells for years, cautioning about the escalating threat posed by this brutal gang. However, their warnings went unheeded until the gang’s influence began spreading to cities across the United States.
For the first time, Fox News sat down in El Paso with leaders from Border Patrol and the FBI, who were the first to discover and identify TdA.
“By working together to raise awareness, we were able to effectively alert authorities to the imminent danger posed by this gang. It quickly became evident that Tren de Aragua was not just an ordinary street gang but a highly violent group with malicious intent,” remarked Walter Slosar, the interim Chief Patrol Agent for the El Paso Sector.
When questioned about the violent nature of Tren de Aragua, leaders from the FBI and Border Patrol emphasized the group’s utter lack of regard for human life and the law. They characterized the gang as being involved in activities such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, extortion, and modern-day slavery.
“Sex trafficking, extortion, thefts, the high-end retail theft, any type of anything to be able to make money and any type of violence you can think of is certainly on the table with these guys,” Border Patrol Special Operations Supervisor Hamid Nikseresht said.
It took years for the public to become aware of TdA, as many initially dismissed or refused to believe the warnings from FBI and Border Patrol agents in El Paso. Even the mayor of El Paso suggested the claims were exaggerated after the gang was linked to criminal activity at the Gateway Hotel in downtown El Paso, which ultimately had to shut down due to criminal activity.
“Regarding the Gateway, that is not an exaggeration,” Morales said. “It’s not an exaggeration. Folks need to understand that. Tren de Aragua has no limits, has no boundaries and… there’s no stopping them once they get the foothold, which is why it’s so important for folks to understand it is real. It is a real threat.”
Those investigators said they believed it was not until TdA began spreading across the country, infiltrating various cities, that higher-level officials started to take the threat seriously.
Britton Boyd, Assistant Special Agent in Charge El Paso FBI, and Walter Slosar, interim Chief Patrol Agent El Paso Sector, talked about the threat of the Tren de Aragua gang. (Getty Images | Fox News)
“I think they heard it loud and clear when their criminal enterprise started to manifest itself throughout the United States,” Slosar said. “And, I think that’s what really sounded the alarm, when we started seeing it in Middle America.”
The El Paso field office reported that it quickly realized the TdA would follow migrant pathways, finding new cities to infiltrate and grow their networks.
“They’ll go into the town, they’ll infiltrate, and they’re going to target the most vulnerable folks there,” Morales said.
FBI and Border Patrol agents said they finally have felt heard as the Trump administration has now prioritized taking down Tren de Aragua.
“We all took an oath to defend this country, and we’re now able to do our jobs to the fullest extent,” Sullivan said.
“It’s a transformative moment in the modern history of United States law enforcement, where men and women are enabled and encouraged to go out and do their jobs and keep our community safe,” Boyd added.
