Only on ABC-7: Stephanie Valle interviews Texas Gov. Greg Abbott about Tren de Aragua gang members in El Paso
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- During his visit to El Paso today, Texas Governor Greg Abbott granted ABC-7 an exclusive one-on-one interview. ABC-7's Stephanie Valle sat down with Abbott to discuss the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, as well as the gang's members' alleged activity in El Paso.
Watch the interview in full above.
The governor was in town Thursday morning to serve as the guest speaker at the 2024 Governor's Small Business Summit.
ABC-7 spoke with Abbott about the focus on El Paso once the state announced a crackdown on gang activity by the Tren de Aragua out of Venezuela.
When asked how the Texas Department of Public Safety was able to confirm that there was enough activity here in El Paso to label our city as "ground zero" for the gang, he cited the border riots involving migrants and Texas National Guard troops in the spring, El Paso police reports about sightings at the Gateway Hotel and the geographic proximity of the city to the border.
ABC-7 asked Gov. Abbott what he would tell El Pasoans about the city's safety.
"What matters is not the challenge," Abbott said. "What matters is the response to the challenge and what creates safe communities.
"I know Texans want to see and what businesses want to see: they want to see robust law enforcement response to any type of criminal activity to put an end to that criminal activity," Abbott continued. "That's what I expect. I think that's what the people of El Paso and I know the people of Texas expect. They expect me as governor, they expect the Texas Department of Public Safety and our local police officers to step up. If there's criminal activity, you step up and you snuff it out. You put an end to it."
On Sept. 16, Gov. Abbott announced a crackdown on Tren de Aragua in Texas, designating them an terrorist organization and the creation of a database to track members.
"We have a hard time positively identifying these people," Abbott said. "While it may not be true 100% of the time, most of the time there are certain different types of tattoos that Tren de Aragua members will have. Just like MS-13 has their tattoos, TDA has their tattoos. Certain other markings, could be a cut in the eyebrows, some other things like that."
He added that they will collaborate with local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to track certain methods of operation and build community sources who can provide information on who belongs to the gang and their plans.
