The Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recruits children from middle schools in Texas

A confirmed Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang member has been arrested for allegedly recruiting students from two Houston middle schools as new gang members.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jorgenys Robertson Cova, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, entered the United States two years ago. The 32-year-old was arrested on Monday after a series of suspected thefts.

Cova also allegedly recruited middle school students from Jane Long Academy and Las Americas, which are part of the Houston Independent School District.

A resident of the Bellaire community in Houston, where both schools are located, told FOX 26 Houston, “A lot of things have happened that are in the news. So if it happens somewhere else, it could happen in our neighborhood and we are not aware of it.

TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBER, ILLEGAL VENEZOLAN MIGRANT, ARRESTED IN HOUSTON

Residents have raised alarm over the presence of the transnational gang in the area. Tren de Aragua, based in Venezuela, has an estimated 5,000 members between Venezuela and the United States. They are linked to drug and human trafficking crimes in both countries.

Venezuelan gang member TREN DE ARAGUA caught in New York, two years after border patrol released him into the US

Cova was confirmed as a member of Tren de Aragua due, among other things, to his distinctive arm tattoos of a clock, five-pointed crown and roses. Signature tattoos for TdA also include stars, AK-47s, and trains as a nod to the Spanish “train.”

“Cova was arrested after a DPS special agent assigned to the Houston Texas Anti-Gang Center (TAG) was notified in late September of a suspected TdA member living in the Houston area who was awaiting asylum hearing in Houston on October 7,” said the Texas DPS said in a press release this week.

Hispanic and Latino residents in the Houston area are feeling the tension due to the recent increase in Tren de Aragua activities.

“As Hispanics, we pay the price for everything. They treat us like criminals, like we’re bad people. And unfortunately that’s because our own people give us a bad name,” one resident, who spoke in Spanish, told FOX 26 Houston.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has offered $5,000 to anyone who provides information leading to the identification and arrest of people connected to Tren de Aragua in the Lone Star State.