Texas Border Business
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) San Antonio Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Antonio Field Office announced the establishment of a regional Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF-South Texas). The HSTF will combat transnational criminal organizations engaged in sophisticated criminal schemes, involving federal violations, both within the United States and beyond our borders. This task force was created as a regional component to the national Homeland Security Task Force pursuant to an Executive Order 14159 Protecting the American People Against Invasion, signed by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025.
“The Homeland Security Task Force was established as a powerful tool in the fight against transnational organized crime,” said FBI San Antonio Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran. “In close collaboration with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we are dedicated to dismantling the cartels and criminal networks responsible for violent crime, human trafficking, and drug smuggling with the ultimate goal of preserving the safety and security of the communities we serve.”
“The Homeland Security Task Force plays a critical role in safeguarding the American people and combating transnational criminal organizations,” said the HSI San Antonio Acting Special Agent in Charge Mark Lippa. “By enhancing coordination, HSI and its law enforcement partners will focus on dismantling drug cartels and terrorist organizations to protect communities nationwide. This collaborative initiative underscores our steadfast dedication to ensuring the safety and security of America.”
HSTF-South Texas is leading efforts to target sophisticated cartels, foreign terrorist organizations, and transnational gangs whose list of crimes include homicide, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, smuggling drugs across our borders, and money laundering. Some recent highlights include:
Disrupting Tren de Aragua (TdA) criminal presence in San Antonio, Texas, on November 16, 2025, which also resulted in the arrest of over 140 illegal aliens from Venezuela, Honduras, Mexico, and other South American countries, who were taken into ICE custody. This operation would not have been possible without the support of the Texas Department of Public Safety, whose work on the underlying state case led to the search warrant executed during the operation.
On October 28, 2025, there was a superseding indictment for money laundering charges against a father and son who were allegedly providing material support to a Mexican cartel that had been named as a foreign terrorist organization. Included in the indictment is a notice of criminal forfeiture in which the government seeks forfeiture of approximately 77,000 barrels of crude oil, $2.5 million in funds, and a $300 million money judgement.
On October 23, 2025, the interception of 534 firearms as well as 31,482 rounds of ammunition, 525 magazines, 40 scopes, four lasers, 10 rifle slings and other related items from the Laredo area before they were to be trafficked into Mexico. Both men were charged with smuggling firearms, ammunition, magazines, and other firearms accessories, as well as trafficking of firearms.
“The Homeland Security Task Force enables the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to bring its sophisticated investigative techniques to the table, which have been instrumental in capturing the most violent drug trafficking organizations in the United States and worldwide,” said the Houston Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan C. Pullen. “We look forward to working hand in hand with our federal and state counterparts in bringing down drug traffickers pumping poison into our neighborhoods and devastating our communities.”
Through a unified effort, the HSTF-South Texas will serve as a model for protecting the homeland from evolving threats, safeguarding critical infrastructure, and enhancing national resilience.
The task force rallies dozens of federal agencies as well as state and local partners across 50 states and territories. HSTF- South Texas is comprised of FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District and Western District of Texas, the Internal Revenue Service, United States Coast Guard, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the South Texas – High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
