The current administration has tied the hands of law enforcement. And now it’s getting dangerous.
Because a devastating attack at the southern border has Border Patrol in shambles.
Knife-wielding members of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang are storming border crossings in El Paso, Texas, in a desperate bid to enter the U.S. — and have threatened violence against border guards who attempt to stop them.
This alarming situation was outlined in a leaked Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) memo obtained by the New York Post.
Just last week, 20 gang members from the Venezuelan group, armed with knives, tire irons, and broken liquor bottles, attempted to force their way through a border gate. According to the memo, more attempts are expected, including a potentially larger push planned for New Year’s Day.
The Tren de Aragua, a brutal prison gang with an expanding footprint, appears determined to infiltrate the U.S. before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, warned Victor Avila, a retired agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
“You’re seeing that violence at the border because they know that it’s going to change in 27 days,” Avila told The Post. “It’s going to be different, and they’re going to be sought after.”
Authorities were tipped off to the gang’s intentions by an anonymous informant, who revealed that the violent break-ins are occurring nightly, often around 3 a.m.
The informant also warned that the gang intends to target Texas National Guard soldiers stationed at the border, particularly when they are left without additional agents for support.
A Texas law enforcement source confirmed a surge in gunfire near the El Paso border in recent days, noting that authorities have increasingly resorted to firing pepperballs at groups attempting to breach the border.
The escalating violence is taking place just miles from the site of a violent border riot on March 21, when over 200 migrants broke through razor wire and charged the border wall. During that incident, several rioters attacked Texas National Guard soldiers, with one stomping on a service member’s knee.
El Paso has become a hub for the Tren de Aragua, serving as a key transit point for gang members entering the U.S. before dispersing to other parts of the country, including New York City and Aurora, Colorado.
Avila noted that the gang has established partnerships with Mexican cartels to facilitate smuggling operations along the border. He compared the group’s anti-American actions and ideology to that of terrorist organizations.
“I think that TdA is coming in with an instruction from their home country,” Avila said.
“And I think that their ideology is more of a terrorist ideology of destruction. They hate the United States just like terrorists do and will k*ll, destroy, take over businesses, stores, and apartment complexes — whatever it takes to undermine our way of life.”
In September, Texas Governor Greg Abbott officially designated the Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization. He also disclosed that more than 100 individuals involved in the March border riot were identified as gang members.
In response, Abbott deployed additional state law enforcement resources to confront the growing threat and implemented a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for anyone caught smuggling migrants on behalf of the gang.
“Texas is aggressively going after these foreign terrorist organizations,” Abbott said. “Our goal is to defend our state from the growing threat of TdA. We will not allow them to use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens.”
With tensions escalating along the southern border, the fight to prevent the Tren de Aragua from gaining a foothold in the U.S. continues to intensify.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
