The man suspected of running an after-hours nightclub that became the focus of a major immigration raid has been arrested and is now facing state drug charges as well as a possible deportation.
Luis Amador Castillo-Hernandez, 37, was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with two counts of manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, according to Bexar County court records. He is also subject to an immigration detainer, meaning federal immigration officials have requested that he be held for potential removal from the country.
Arrest affidavits allege that Castillo sold cocaine to undercover agents at a property in the 5000 block of San Pedro — the same location where federal authorities carried out a large-scale raid weeks later.
In the early morning hours of Nov. 16, federal agents stormed the property and detained more than 150 undocumented migrants, including, allegedly, two teenage boys and a couple holding a baby. Officials said the operation was aimed at the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua and that 27 of the detainees are believed to be tied to the gang.
A search warrant describes an after-hours club on the property that was “in charge of and controlled by” Castillo as the primary target of the operation. State Rep. Joaquin Castro later released the warrant after sending a letter to federal officials demanding details about the raid and its aftermath.
According to the warrant, an informant contacted authorities in September to report late-night parties at the site. The informant said they visited the club at least five times and that Castillo sold narcotics inside and possessed a firearm.
The informant also reported that “known TdA (Tren de Aragua) members and associates attend these parties, sell narcotics and are in possession of firearms,” the document states.
Agents subsequently conducted covert surveillance at the club on three occasions and said their observations supported the informant’s account.
On Sept. 20, they saw people setting up an “outdoor seating area” and watched as a “medium size” crowd arrived. A week later, on Sept. 27, they observed someone acting as a security guard, searching patrons as they entered the building.
“For this reason, agents believe unauthorized individuals leave their firearms and narcotics in their vehicles and only directed individuals are permitted to bring in firearms and narcotics to sell,” the warrant reads.
That same night, undercover agents allegedly bought cocaine from Castillo on the property. According to the affidavit, they purchased cocaine from him a second time on Nov. 9.
The warrant was written by a Texas Department of Public Safety special agent who investigates gang activity and was signed by a Bexar County district judge in the early hours of Nov. 16, just before the raid was executed.
Security footage reviewed by the San Antonio Express-News reportedly shows large groups gathered outside the building at about 3 a.m. Within seconds, people can be seen running in all directions as loud bangs and shouts ring out while agents rush into view and pursue those fleeing.
Officials said investigators recovered 19 pieces of evidence in the raid, including three firearms, bags of cocaine and roughly $35,000 in cash, according to a news release and documents reviewed by the Express-News.
In its statement, the Department of Homeland Security said it had identified five detainees suspected of being associated with Tren de Aragua and two additional detainees without known ties to the group.
DHS also reported that two people suspected of human smuggling and money laundering, as well as another person suspected of cocaine trafficking, were arrested, though their names were not released.
Federal court records show that two men from Honduras taken into custody during the operation have been charged with illegal entry.
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said in a statement Friday that her office has sent a letter to the new regional Homeland Security task force that oversaw the raid, requesting details on how the operation was carried out and the status of those detained.
“I look forward to receiving the answers our community rightly deserves,” she said. “Transparency is the foundation of a safe community, and we must ensure that everyone receives due process.”
The raid was led by agents from the FBI and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, working with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Officials said it was part of broader efforts by the newly formed South Texas Homeland Security Task Force to “combat transnational criminal organizations engaged in sophisticated criminal schemes, involving federal violations.”
