SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Police Department held a press conference Saturday where they announced they have arrested several members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, operating in San Antonio.
SAPD said they have been getting several complaints from the Palatia Apartment complex located at 10362 Sahara Dr. The complaints had been about narcotics violations, human trafficking and threats to apartment personnel.
Through investigation, police found out that the area was in control by members of the trans-national gang Tren de Aragua, or "TDA."
On Saturday morning, several units within the SAPD along with the FBI, Homeland Security and other agencies began an operation at the complex. CPD officers and DPS troopers cleared nearly 300 vacant apartments at the complex.
20 people have been detained, according to police, and four have been confirmed to be with Tren de Aragua. One is a "confirmed enforcer" for the gang. The four members have been taken into custody by Homeland Security and emergency removal operations.
Currently there are 19 people arrested with 15 detainers placed from HSI.
SAPD says this is still an ongoing investigation, and that they have other places in San Antonio they are going to hit.
“Even though we are finished here at the complex, we are not done,” Police Chief Bill McManus said during the press conference. "We are on to you, and we are coming for you. We know where you are and we’re coming for you."
Police say the gang had been operating in San Antonio for several months. They are known to wear red.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar was also asked about the presence of the gang on Thursday. He said that the gang "is here in Bexar County." He said they don't come into contact with them frequently, but it's "certainly not strange to run into TDA folks on the streets."
Due to their awareness of gangs like Tren de Aragua and Mexican drug cartels in Bexar County, Salazar says the Sheriff's Office has things in place.
"That’s one of the main reasons why, several years back, we created the Organized Crime group, knowing these sorts of things were occurring," Salazar said. "Fairly recently we actually split off a team from that organized crime group to concentrate solely on transnational criminal organizations, because of organizations like Tren de Aragua.”
