Tren de Aragua Continues To Be Top Facilitator Of Unlawful Migration In Southern Border, Mexican Police Chief Says

Venezuelan-born gang Tren de Aragua continues to be a top facilitator of unlawful migration at the southern border, according to a Mexican police chief.

"We no longer see the caravans, the trains (full of people) trying to get to the United States. Now they come little by little – by airplane, by bus – and as they arrive another gang captures them, said Chihuahua Public Safety Director Gilberto Loya, according to Border Report.

The gang is linked to the abduction of 17 migrants who were rescued from a stash house in Juarez last week. The official detailed that once migrants arrive they are told they need to pay twice as much the established amount to be smuggled, and if they can't pay they are taken in while gang members negotiate with their families.

"All come through a series of migrant trafficking mafia and the principal one doing this from Central and South America to the border is Tren de Aragua," Loya added.

The migrants in question were being kept in a house about a mile from the Rio Grande. Officers noticed a suspicious vehicle and sought to question the driver, who proceeded to point a gun at officers and tried to flee. The person was then arrested, with officers finding two rifles, handguns and over$16,000 in cash.

U.S. authorities continue to target the gang on their side of the border. A new task force carried out an operation last week that saw the arrest of more than 140 people during a San Antonio raid targeting alleged gang members.

The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations said the task force, established under a January executive order, will coordinate dozens of federal, state and local agencies to pursue organizations involved in violent crime, human trafficking, extortion, drug smuggling and money laundering.

FBI San Antonio Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran said the task force was created as "a powerful tool in the fight against transnational organized crime," adding that agencies are "dedicated to dismantling the cartels and criminal networks responsible" for these offenses.