The U.S. government announced Monday the creation of a new Homeland Security “task force” in South Texas, following a massive raid in San Antonio where more than 140 migrants were arrested.
The initiative, which would be integrated by the FBI and the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, aims to “combat transnational crime,” including drug cartels and gangs, both domestically and “across borders,” the FBI said in a statement.
New federal operation confirmed in Texas
Breaking : Less then 1 mile from the American Replacement Center ARC in San Antonio ,Tx FBI Confirms “Court-Authorized Activity” on San Pedro Ave Nightclub
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“We are dedicated to dismantling the cartels and criminal networks responsible for violence, human trafficking and drug smuggling, with the ultimate goal of protecting the safety of the communities we serve,” said Alex Doran, FBI Special Agent in San Antonio, in the brief.
In Sunday’s raid, which took place around 2:00 local time, authorities claim to have detained some 140 people from Venezuela, Honduras, Mexico and other “Latin American countries”.
The FBI and DHS said in the statement that the operation was aimed at disrupting the presence of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua in the city.
However, they did not provide further details about the detainees, including whether charges were filed against them or whether they had criminal records.
Liliana Padilla, pastor of a Methodist church in San Antonio focused on Latino parishioners, questioned the official version in statements to EFE, asserting that in recent months authorities have detained several people from the migrant community without criminal records or apparent cause.
“These cases are increasing and the saddest thing is that it is a process of much injustice, because there is no referent of a crime or a violation of the law,” Padilla pointed out.
The leader also expressed concern that the creation of this new task force could be the “prelude” to a large-scale federal operation like the ones the Trump administration has launched in cities such as Chicago (Illinois), Washington D.C. or more recently Charlotte (North Carolina).
As part of the Republican administration’s promise to carry out the largest deportation campaign in the U.S., Trump has sent hundreds of federal agents to several cities in the country, governed by the Democratic opposition and where policies to protect the migrant community are in place.
Organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) have accused the government of committing abuses against the population, through indiscriminate arrests and “without respect for human rights” of migrants or people of Latino origin.
In Chicago, only 16 of more than 600 people who were detained by Customs and Border Protection (ICE) during the massive raid that took place in the city and who remain in government custody have criminal records, according to data published this weekend by the local newspaper The Chicago Tribune.
The Trump administration, in turn, has been accused by various human rights organizations of identifying and detaining Venezuelan migrants as members of the Aragua Train without evidence or a criminal record.
Filed under: New federal operation Texas
With information from EFE
