Southwest
Border Patrol, FBI leaders who first identified Tren de Aragua recount gang's rise to power
The violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, now recognized as a national security threat under the Trump administration, began in El Paso. For years, the FBI and Border Patrol have been sounding alarms, warning that this ruthless gang was on the rise. Their concerns fell on deaf ears until the gang’s reach began to infiltrate cities across the U.S.
For the first time, Fox News sat down in El Paso with leaders from Border Patrol and the FBI, who were the first to discover and identify TdA.
“We were really able to sound the alarm working together, I think it immediately became obvious that this was not just some other street gang, but this was a very violent gang with very bad intentions,” interim Chief Patrol Agent for the El Paso Sector Walter Slosar said.
FEDS BUST MASSIVE ALLEGED GUATEMALAN HUMAN SMUGGLING RING OPERATING OUT OF CALIFORNIA
Migrant encounters are the lowest they have been in years, according to CBP.
But, at the end of 2022, Border Patrol agents noticed a surge of Venezuelans. That peaked in 2023, with over 71,000 Venezuelans crossing in just the El Paso sector alone.
“At the time, we had thousands of people in each day in this area,” Slosar said. “Criminals immediately took advantage of the flow and hid themselves within that flow.”
Border Patrol agents noticed a surge of Venezuelan migrants, which peaked in 2023 with more than 71,000 Venezuelans crossing in just the El Paso sector. Agents suspect that criminals utilized the high traffic to sneak into the U.S. (Getty Images)
Agents knew there was a problem and collaborated with the FBI’s El Paso field office to gather intel and learn about this violent gang. They said with almost no support from Venezuela, they had to start from scratch.
“It was an uphill battle,” Tim Sullivan, the chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol Special Operations Group, said. “There was very limited support coming from Venezuela. So, the agents did their due diligence to start from scratch and build the research and through partnerships with our federal partners, build the repository of knowledge we have.”
Britton Boyd, the assistant special agent in charge for the FBI’s El Paso field office, said it was through hundreds of hours of interviews, talking to people who were coming across the border at that time, that they learned a lot about the gang.
Border Patrol agents and the FBI learned to identify TdA members by their distinctive tattoos and specific behaviors. While some have called the gang “MS-13 on steroids,” the FBI in El Paso insisted TdA was in a class of its own.
“Tren de Aragua has a whole different network of how they work, how they extort, and how they exploit the people that are around them,” El Paso FBI Special Agent in Charge John Morales said. “There are similarities and people may conflate one with the other, but they’re a completely different animal.”
FBI agents insist that Tren de Aragua operates unlike other gangs. (Left: Obtained by New York Post Center: Edward Romero Right: DEA)
CALIFORNIA COAST GUARD CAPTAIN SOUNDS ALARM AS MIGRANTS FROM ADVERSARY COUNTRIES INUNDATE PACIFIC WATERS
When asked about the violence associated with TdA, FBI and Border Patrol leaders pointed out the group’s disregard for humanity and the law. They described the gang as involved in drug trafficking human trafficking, extortion and modern slavery.
“Sex trafficking, extortion, thefts, the high-end retail theft, any type of anything to be able to make money and any type of violence you can think of is certainly on the table with these guys,” Border Patrol Special Operations Supervisor Hamid Nikseresht said.
It took years for the public to become aware of TdA, as many initially dismissed or refused to believe the warnings from FBI and Border Patrol agents in El Paso. Even the mayor of El Paso suggested the claims were exaggerated after the gang was linked to criminal activity at the Gateway Hotel in downtown El Paso, which ultimately had to shut down due to criminal activity.
“Regarding the Gateway, that is not an exaggeration,” Morales said. “It’s not an exaggeration. Folks need to understand that. Tren de Aragua has no limits, has no boundaries and… there’s no stopping them once they get the foothold, which is why it’s so important for folks to understand it is real. It is a real threat.”
Those investigators said they believed it was not until TdA began spreading across the country, infiltrating various cities, that higher-level officials started to take the threat seriously.
Britton Boyd, Assistant Special Agent in Charge El Paso FBI, and Walter Slosar, interim Chief Patrol Agent El Paso Sector, talked about the threat of the Tren de Aragua gang. (Getty Images | Fox News)
“I think they heard it loud and clear when their criminal enterprise started to manifest itself throughout the United States,” Slosar said. “And, I think that’s what really sounded the alarm, when we started seeing it in Middle America.”
The El Paso field office reported that it quickly realized the TdA would follow migrant pathways, finding new cities to infiltrate and grow their networks.
“They’ll go into the town, they’ll infiltrate, and they’re going to target the most vulnerable folks there,” Morales said.
FBI and Border Patrol agents said they finally have felt heard as the Trump administration has now prioritized taking down Tren de Aragua.
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“We all took an oath to defend this country, and we’re now able to do our jobs to the fullest extent,” Sullivan said.
“It’s a transformative moment in the modern history of United States law enforcement, where men and women are enabled and encouraged to go out and do their jobs and keep our community safe,” Boyd added.
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Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say
A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.
The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.
“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”
Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”
In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”
The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.
In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City.
Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
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