A multi-agency effort resulted in the arrest of a Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang member in Sunland Park, New Mexico.
El Paso Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) published a photo on its X account announcing the arrest. The photo shows an HSI agent arresting two individuals, one of whom they claim is a Venezuelan national affiliated with the Venezuelan-born gang.
The alleged gang member was arrested on an outstanding warrant for homicide in Texas.
According to U.S. Border Patrol data released earlier this year, the Santa Teresa, New Mexico, station remains one of the busiest in the El Paso sector and nationwide for smuggling activity, despite recent reports showing migrant apprehensions at the southern border are on track to reach their lowest annual total since the Trump administration.
"It is common for Border Patrol agents to receive calls from the Sunland Park, N.M., community, especially from those impacted by migrants who often conceal themselves inside properties," the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso sector said in a statement earlier this year.
Earlier this year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott extended the state's border barriers at a location where the river stops running parallel to Mexico and turns north into New Mexico, out of concern that illegal smuggling activity there could spill into Texas.
Abbott also offers for information that can lead to the identification and arrest of suspected members of Tren de Aragua.
Concretely, the Governor's Public Safety Office is offering up to $5,000 for the information. Those submitting tips can do so through the Texas Crime Stoppers hotline or online through the Texas Department of Public Safety. All of them are anonymous regardless of the submission method.
The announcement came after the governor declared the gang a "foreign terrorist organization," a decision that allows his administration to increase resources dedicated to dealing with the group, including the creation of a dedicated task force.
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