Dangerous Venezuelan Gang Tightens Grip on Texas With Takeover of El Paso Hotel

A vicious Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua, has reportedly taken over a hotel in El Paso, forcing officials to take legal action to wrest back control of the business.

The Gateway Hotel in El Paso has reportedly been shutdown temporarily after the owner of the hotel was accused by the El Paso County Attorney's Office of illegally operating the hotel and allowing criminal activity according to the El Paso Times.

READ MORE: Texas Designates Tren de Argua As A Terrorist Organization

The New York Post reported earlier this week that the Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela had turned the hotel into a place of crime including fighting, hard partying, and even gun fire.

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In surveillance footage, one man is shown carrying a hatchet. Others were armed with knives and at least one man was pictured firing a gun inside the Gateway. Fights also broke out in the hallways. All of this while children were also present.

According to the New York Post Tren de Aragua members use El Paso as a meeting point before heading to other cities throughout the United States. Gang members have also stayed at a Motel 6 location in El Paso. Local police confirmed to KVIA that they located several people with tattoos for Tren de Aragua.

“There should be concern due to the establishment and rise of the Venezuelan Criminal Organization ‘Tren de Aragua’ at the Gateway Hotel. We discovered several Venezuelans have the tattoo identifiers of Tren de Aragua,” one El Paso cop said of the conditions, according to local news outlet KVIA.

READ MORE: Tren de Aragua Is Already In Texas

KFOX14 reported that in the last 2 years alone, there have been 693 calls made to police to investigate the hotel.