An alleged member of the Tren de Aragua is facing human trafficking charges after she reportedly prostituted a passed-out woman after giving her drugs. The suspected gang member is one of several Venezuelan migrants arrested after the takeover of the Gateway Hotel in El Paso, Texas.
Court records reported by KVII ABC7 in El Paso, indicate that an unidentified migrant woman illegally entered the U.S. on October 23, 2023. Some time later, the woman took up residence at a hotel in El Paso.
At that time, a woman identified as an alleged member of the violent Tren de Aragua Venezualan prison gang, Estefania Primera, asked the woman to get into prostitution — she reportedly refused. The woman reportedly goes by the gang name “La Barbie.”
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After that, prosecutors alleged that Primera drugged the woman with M30 pills containing fentanyl.
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Prosecutors claim Primera would let men rape the semi-conscious migrant woman in exchange for money, News4SanAntonio.com reported. The migrant woman told police she would wake up bleeding and injured.
When the migrant woman told the hotel manager about the abuse, the manager chalked it up to domestic violence and told her to return to her room. At one point, she attempted to leave the property, but Primera allegedly forced her back into the hotel, court documents state.
In September, the migrant woman managed to escape from the hotel and sought out a Border Patrol agent for help. A week later, an investigator from the Texas Department of Public Safety interviewed the victim. During the interview, she claimed she saw men paying Primera for sex work, but she never received any of the money.
The investigating agents also found ads with the victim’s photo online. The ad offered sexual contact. The El Paso Times reported that the advertisements were posted on July 4, July 5, July 8, and July 9.
A prosecutor told the judge during a bond reduction hearing that Primera allegedly entered the U.S. illegally from Venezuela with her six children, the article states. The judge denied the bond reduction request.
A DPS trooper later arrested Primera. She is now charged with Human Trafficking. KVIA reports she is being held on a bond of $200,000.
News4 also reports Primera allegedly used her children to store and transport narcotics. Those children are now in the custody of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
The Gateway Hotel in El Paso was shut down by City of El Paso officials after repeated calls for police service related to Tren de Aragua gang activity, Breitbart Texas reported. Texas DPS troopers arrested more than 20 suspected Tren de Aragua gang members at that property.
The move follows Governor Greg Abbott’s designation of the violent Venezuelan prison gang as a foreign terrorist organization.
DPS officials told the local ABC affiliate that the TdA gang members arrested are charged with human smuggling, prostitution, and possession of illegal drugs.
Following the governor’s designation of TdA as a foreign terrorist organization, the governor offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of TdA gang members, Breitbart Texas reported.
“The recent entry and expansion of the vicious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, is a dangerous and deadly problem facing our state and nation,” Abbott explained during a September 17 press conference. “Our top focus is the safety and security of all Texans.”
During Fiscal Year 2020, President Donald Trump’s last full year in office, Border Patrol agents apprehended only 465 Venezuelan migrants who crossed from Mexico into the five Texas-based sectors. During the first year of the Biden-Harris administration, a dramatic increase in crossings led to the apprehension of nearly 68,000 Venezuelan migrants.
From FY21-FY24 year-to-date, Border Patrol agents apprehended nearly 499,000 Venezuelan migrants who illegally entered the United States in the five Texas-based Border Patrol Sectors, Texas DPS officials reported.
“Our goal is to defend Texas from the growing threat of the gang,” Abbott concluded in his address on Monday. “We will not let them use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens.”
“They have a target on their back, and we are going after them,” the governor stated. “Texas is the wrong state for them to try to do business in.”
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
