Eiber Gabriel Sira-Vargas, 29, suspected of trafficking weapons for the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, has been charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in Texas.
He is being held in the Bexar County Jail on a $2 million bond following the murder of 18-year-old Alexis Jose Vegas, Fox News Digital reported.
Vegas was discovered in July on a San Antonio highway, face down with multiple gunshot wounds.
Sira-Vargas, previously detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is believed to have ties to weapons trafficking for the gang.
Investigators identified Sira-Vargas while probing an alleged robbery, which ultimately connected him to Vegas’s murder. Tren de Aragua is known for its violent criminal activities, including arms trafficking.
The gang was founded about a decade ago in a Venezuelan prison in the state of Aragua.
Sira-Vargas’s charges underscore ongoing concerns about transnational criminal networks operating within the U.S. The case highlights the broader implications of international gang activity and its impact on local communities.
According to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Tren de Aragua has been operating in Texas since at least 2021, when gang affiliates were arrested for human trafficking, Fox News Digital reported.
The governor in September designated TdA as a “foreign terrorist organization” and launched a statewide operation to aggressively go after the gang.