El Paso was thrown into the spotlight by state leaders claiming the city is "ground zero" of criminal activity by the Tren de Aragua gang.

Gov. Greg Abbott has declared the Venezuelan gang a foreign terrorist organization and asked the Department of Public Safety to create a strike team targeting them.

At a press conference in Houston, Abbott signed a proclamation designating the group as a “foreign terrorist organization.” He pointed to recent arrests at a hotel in El Paso, where the county attorney said no specific gang had taken over.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has directed state police to focus on a violent Venezuelan crime syndicate that has gained attention amid a divisive presidential election. Tren de Aragua started as a South American prison gang but has grown into an international organization that dominates human trafficking and has proliferated in Texas in recent months,

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced the state is going to target a Venezuelan gang that he said was notorious for brutal violence and murder and posed a threat to Texans’ safety.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday declared the Venezuelan gang, Tren De Aragua (TDA) as a foreign terrorist organization. Texas Department of Public Safety is aggressively targeting gang members who were released into country by Biden administration,