Charges filed against 24 suspected gang members, investigations ongoing

SAN ANTONIO — Charges have been brought against 24 suspected gang members.

Most of them live here in San Antonio.

The 22-page indictment was unsealed on Thursday and contains the names of the 24 alleged gang members. All but two of them are from San Antonio.

“Our agents, our task force officers and our partner agencies have worked long days, long nights, weekends and holidays on this case,” said Aaron Tapp of the FBI San Antonio.

Among the defendants is Daniel Natividad, alias “Danny Boy.” Officials say he is a high-ranking member of the prison gang Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos (HPL).

“In addition to Mr. Natividad, a number of other major drug traffickers in the organization were arrested,” said Ben Post of the DEA San Antonio.

All alleged HPL members face more than 20 charges for alleged drug and arms trafficking.

“Over the past two years, HPL has trafficked approximately 300 kilograms of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine,” Post said.

These are the possible prison sentences they face.

Former Homeland Security agent Ari Jimenez said the gang has been active in South Texas since 2007.

“We haven’t heard about the HPL or the Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos in a while, but they are quite common. This group was founded in the ’80s,” Jimenez said.

Aaron Tapp of the FBI San Antonio said they are not the only gang in the city.

“There are a lot of gangs active in San Antonio,” Tapp said.

Tapp explains the impact these arrests have on ending gang violence.

“I wouldn’t say that this arrest indicates more or less activity in any other gang. It just represents a part of our, you know, multi-faceted effort to reduce violence in San Antonio,” Tapp said.

Both the San Antonio Police Department and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office were involved in the multi-agency operation. We contacted them about this issue, but we were told to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA for more details on this case.

The investigation is ongoing.

You can read the full press release about Thursday’s announcement here: