Four confirmed members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) have been caught trying to sneak illegally into the U.S. via the southern border, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has announced.

The four TdA members were among 22 suspected illegal migrants who were apprehended on New Year’s Eve by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) working in Val Verde County.

“Our top priority is the safety and security of Texans, including against the growing threat of Tren de Aragua,” Abbott said in a statement.

Abbott, whose administration has been clamping down hard on the gang which has been terrorizing communities across the country, said the 22 migrants are from Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Eleven of the 22 were arrested for criminal trespass, while the remainder were family groups and were referred to Border Patrol for processing.

VENEZUELAN MIGRANT GANG TREN DE ARAGUA NOW OPERATING IN 16 STATES: REPORT

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Tren de Aragua members arrested in Texas. (Fox News)

The four TdA members were among a group of nine Venezuelan nationals who claimed they were heading to San Antonio, Irving, and Corsicana, Texas. DPS special agents were able to verify their gang affiliation through social media apps on their phones, as well as their tattoos, Abbott said.

The individuals were identified as Segundo Ocando-Mejia, 39; Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo, 27; Antonio Joe Urruttia-Rojas, 18; and Levi Jesus Urrutia-Blanco, 18. 

Ocando-Mejia had tattoos on his shoulders indicating he may hold rank or leadership within the gang, Abbott said. 

Migrants surge through a hole in the razor wire in Texas in April. (David Peinado/ZUMA Press Wire)

VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS LINKED TO VIOLENT APARTMENT TAKEOVER ARRESTED IN NEW YORK CITY

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Abbott said he has designated TdA as a foreign terrorist organization, and in September, he launched a statewide operation to aggressively target TdA to disrupt their criminal operations. He directed DPS to elevate them to a Tier 1 gang and created a TdA Strike Team to identify and arrest TdA gang members.  

Abbott said he would not tolerate the gang operating or gaining a foothold in Texas. 

The gang has been engaged in all sorts of violent crime, including murders, shootings of police officers, assaults, robberies and gun smuggling into migrant shelters. A Homeland Security memo cited by the New York Post in November states it is operating in at least 16 states.

“Until President Trump is back in the White House to secure our border, Texas will continue to hunt down dangerous criminals like TdA and put them behind bars to protect Texans from this vicious gang,” Abbott said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he will not let TdA gain a foothold in Texas. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

Abbott announced that his Public Safety Office is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of known or suspected members of TdA gang members who have been or are involved in criminal activity. 

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The news comes just days after 22 TdA gang members were arrested in two raids in New York City.

Several were busted hiding out in a Bronx apartment building located next to a daycare center, a law enforcement source tells Fox News, underlining how the gang has immersed itself among the general population in the sanctuary city. 

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

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You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

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Wild weather – including rain, snow, high winds and dangerous fire conditions – is how Southern California is starting 2025, and officials in the L.A. are taking no chances ahead of the adverse conditions. 

The National Weather Service has described the windstorm hitting SoCal as “life-threatening,” “extreme” and “destructive,” and snow flurries were seen Tuesday morning in mountain communities; further inland, rain showers caused slick roadways. 

In L.A., Mayor Karen Bass announced Tuesday morning that the city has activated its Emergency Operations Center to a Level 2 to ensure the safety of all Angelenos.  

“Parts of the Los Angeles region will potentially face one of the most significant windstorms in more than a decade, and I urge Angelenos to continue monitoring the storm and stay vigilant and safe,” Mayor Bass said in a statement. “Power outages as a result of downed power lines, increased fire risk and falling trees and debris should be expected during this time and the impacts and dangers of a windstorm should be taken seriously.” 

The mayor’s office released a list of resources and helpful information for residents to use during the windstorm: 

• Reporting and tracking power outages: Visit www.ladwp.com/outages or call 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397)
• Reporting blocked roadways: Service can be requested through www.lacity.gov/myla311 or by calling 311; Angelenos are also encouraged to download the MyLA311 mobile app
• Red Flag Warning updates: Check www.lafd.org/redflag for the latest updates; Red Flag parking restrictions have been in place since 8 a.m. Tuesday and are set to last until further notice
• Outage updates: LADWP will regularly update their X page to inform residents of power outages
• Weather updates: Click here for the hyperlocal forecast for your community, or visit the National Weather Service for the regional forecast
• In case of emergency: Dial 911

In addition to downing trees and causing power outages throughout the region early Tuesday morning, the dangerously high winds are already fueling brush fires in the area, including one that erupted and was later contained in the Santa Ana Riverbed in Colton around 5 a.m. 

A much larger and more rapidly spreading vegetation fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in L.A.’s upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood. By noon, area residents were being told to prepare to evacuate as it spread to over 200 acres in about an hour. 

Some mallgoers in a Santa Clarita Valley neighborhood were surprised by a trio of motorcyclists riding through the food court Saturday night.  

The chaotic scene unfolded at the Town Center Mall in Valencia where three suspects on two dirt bikes, likely juveniles, were captured on cellphone video obtained by KTLA cruising through the food court area at a relatively high speed.  

A restaurant manager at the mall, Chris Hernandez, said the fast-driving suspects evaded mall security, which was slow to respond.  

“It was loud. I saw the motorcycles come up through the mall,” the restaurant manager told KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell. “To me, it’s a big no, no because there’s little kids all over the place and somebody’s going to end up getting hurt.”  

Other mall employees who spoke to KTLA say this is not even the first time that dirt bikes riders have made their way inside the mall.  

“They’re very bold,” Matthew Montano, who works at a restaurant in the mall, said. “It’s usually happened in the last year, though, a little frequently.”  

So far, authorities with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have not made any arrests, though Sgt. Guillermo Martinez said the three suspects could face felony charges if caught.  

“People are there for the shopping experience. They’re not going to expect having a motorcycle ride right past them,” he told KTLA. “That could be threat of serious danger, injury to them as well as to the riders of the motorcycles.”  

Just an hour after the mall incident, a teenager on a motorcycle who was reportedly driving in the wrong way in traffic at the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Oak Ridge Drive was killed.  

Several posts on social media report that it was one of the drivers in the mall motorcycle incident, though law enforcement officials have yet to confirm that.  

What officials with the sheriff’s department did say, however, is that they will be increasing patrols in the area.  

“We will be out there, and we will take a zero-tolerance approach,” Sgt. Martinez told KTLA. “If we see it, we will either cite, confiscate, arrest or impound depending on what the circumstances are, but we are ramping up enforcement.”  

Authorities added that they are seeing more of this type of dangerous activity, especially since e-bikes, many of which resemble dirt bikes, have become more common and that deputies on motorcycles and ATV’s will be enlisted to chase the suspects down.