Federal, state, and local law enforcement launched the largest takedown of Venezuela’s “Anti-Tren” gang in Texas, arresting 16 members tied to drug trafficking, weapons offenses, and violent crimes throughout Houston. The bust, led by the FBI Houston Field Office and coordinated under the DOJ’s Joint Task Force Vulcan, targeted members of the Anti-Tren faction, a spinoff of the Tren de Aragua cartel recently designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department.

“This case implicates both our priorities: securing the border and eradicating violent crime,” said Nicholas Ganjei, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, describing the operation as a clear message that transnational gangs will not be allowed to take root in American communities.

The charges include conspiracy to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine, firearms trafficking, and violent crimes, including involvement in a March mass shooting at a Houston sports bar that left six people injured, four critically. The suspects, mostly Venezuelan nationals, allegedly transported kilo loads of cocaine across the state in exchange for $15,000 per load, using violence to protect turf and intimidate rivals.

Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI Houston Field Office said, “These individuals engaged in a turf war with TdA members and carried out numerous violent crimes. Fortunately, for the safety of our community, they are now in federal custody facing U.S. justice.”

Among those arrested, Jose Miguel Briceno, 25, who resided in Houston illegally, is charged with unlawful possession of ammunition and alleged to have used a firearm in the sports bar shooting before discarding the weapon. If convicted, Briceno faces up to 15 years in prison. Other defendants face potential life sentences and fines up to $10 million for drug trafficking convictions.

The DOJ’s Joint Task Force Vulcan, initially formed to combat MS-13 and expanded to target Tren de Aragua, coordinated the investigation with law enforcement partners nationwide, including the FBI, DEA, ICE-HSI, and ATF.

“Operation Take Back America means going on the offensive against transnational criminal organizations,” Ganjei added. “We are unapologetic about carrying out that mission.”

This sweeping crackdown highlights the rising infiltration of violent foreign gangs exploiting the border crisis to establish operations inside the U.S., posing a direct threat to public safety. As JTFV expands its focus on these terror-linked cartels, the DOJ has signaled more arrests and dismantling operations are on the horizon to keep these violent organizations from taking hold in American cities.