State Assessment Finds Shift In Top Gang Threat

AUSTIN (AP) - An annual assessment of threats posed to Texas by gangs has found a different violent group leads the list.

The Texas Gang Threat Assessment reports Tango Blast, estimated at 10,000 members, has displaced the 6,000-member Texas Mexican Mafia atop the threat list.

The Department of Public Safety review for 2012 says Tango Blast is the biggest gang in the Houston area. The gang has a heavy presence in Dallas-Fort Worth, as does the white-supremacist Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.

The report says Mexican cartels are using Texas gangs to help smuggle drugs, people, weapons and cash across the border and conduct violence on both sides of the border. DPS says Texas gang activity is growing, with more than 100,000 members of more than 2,500 gangs identified throughout the state.

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