Members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren De Aragua have overrun a hotel in El Paso, Texas, according to a lawsuit filed by El Paso Democratic County Attorney Christina Sanchez.
Howard Yun, who owns the Gateway Hotel in downtown El Paso, is accused of operating the facility for the past six years “without a valid certificate of occupancy and in violation of city requirements,” while nearly 700 emergency calls have been made from the establishment over the past two years over alleged crimes such as drug use, assault, prostitution, and gang activity.
Sanchez alleged in the lawsuit that the “habitual criminal activity” worsened when members of Tren De Aragua were introduced to the hotel, adding to “the overall blight this business brings to downtown El Paso.” Photo and video evidence from the Gateway Hotel shows a party occurring on the third floor in the presence of children, one gun being shot and another being used to threaten, men holding knives and one man holding a hatchet, and an aggravated assault.
Tren De Aragua, named after the Venezuelan state of Aragua from which the gang originates, has reportedly accumulated a multinational criminal network across various Latin American countries such as Colombia, Peru, and Chile, while members have allegedly committed crimes in the United States such as sex trafficking, shooting police officers, and robbing jewelry stores.
The reports about Tren De Aragua members overrunning the Gateway Hotel come after similar reports from Aurora, Colorado, indicated that members took control of an apartment complex called Aspen Grove, in some instances forcibly entering units while carrying firearms. Aurora residents have complained about shootouts and damage to property linked to the gang activity.
Zev Baumgarten, the landlord of Aspen Grove, agreed to sell the apartment complex as he faces over eighty charges for building code violations. All of the 300 residents of Aspen Grove were evicted as a result of the criminal activity and overall disrepair of the apartments.
The incidents occur as voters become wary of elevated illegal immigration under President Joe Biden, with a majority of the public supporting mass deportations for those who entered the nation illegally.
