Venezuelan Gangs, Affordable Housing, and Bad Policy

For years I have held up Venezuela in my economics classes as an example of bad government policy. Now it appears that the fallout from those policies has led to more crime being exported to cities across the US. Perhaps unsurprisingly, due to our proximity to the border, San Antonio is one of those cities.

SAPD, along with “multiple state and federal agencies,” arrested several people in a northside apartment complex last weekend on suspicions of human trafficking, among other offenses. Four of those were members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). This came right on the heels of the president of the SA Professional Firefighters Association cautioning firefighters to stay vigilant in the area. This is a cautionary tale for San Antonians.

Since the late Hugo Chavez took over in Venezuela, and was succeeded by current president Nicolas Maduro, their admittedly socialist policies have led what was once one of the wealthier countries in South America, into an economic black hole. Such programs lead to predictable outcomes: shortages, bare shelves, inflation, etc. When citizens start to feel the full effect, they might try to change things at the ballot box. When that doesn’t work, they flee. Apparently, members of TdA have ridden that wave all the way across our borders.

Though this damaging type of governance may be called “progressive” in local jurisdictions, the results would be the same. As it turns out, some of it has arguably attracted this trouble. As much as the mainstream media may claim that our Migrant Resource Center is not a draw for immigrants, it provides a more enticing alternative than “languishing on the streets.” It isn’t the sole reason they come; perhaps not even the biggest reason. But it does make their arrival more likely. By and large, immigrants have always helped make this country great and prosperous, but that shouldn’t deprive us of a basic sense of logic here.

These gang members have also reportedly taken up residence in areas with government-subsidized housing. There aren’t many issues that show city policy at its worst more than so-called “affordable” housing. A couple years ago, via a bond election, officials misled citizens into thinking they could fix the problem of soaring housing costs by borrowing more. A cruel irony is that what pays for that subsequent debt is property taxes.

Rather than holding the line on these seizures from homeowners, the votes to increase them, along with yearly budget hikes, have been nearly unanimous. Now we have terrorists taking advantage of this political naivete/opportunism. This is just one reason various communities across the country are protesting these housing developments.

We applaud law enforcement’s move against TdA last weekend, but they and the city have known about their presence for at least a year. Hopefully we’re seeing a change in tactics. In the event, however, that a member of TdA slips through this layer of public safety, he might encounter a San Antonian who couldn’t be bribed by his city’s “gun buyback.” The gangster will then discover one reason Venezuelan “progressive”-style policies haven’t fully taken hold here.

Christopher E. Baecker teaches economics at BASIS Charter School and Northwest Vista College in San Antonio, and is Editor & Policy Director at InfuseSA. He can be reached via email, Facebook or Twitter.

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