Federal agents arrested 16 alleged members of the Venezuelan-origin Anti-Tren gang in Houston, the largest crackdown on the group to date, the Justice Department said. The sweep, part of “Operation Take Back America,” was led by the FBI and coordinated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. Fourteen of the defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, while two face separate weapons counts. One suspect, Jose Miguel Briceno, is also accused of opening fire at Latinas Sports Bar in March, an attack that wounded six people. If convicted, the drug-trafficking defendants face up to life in prison and a possible $10 million fine; the firearms charges carry penalties of up to 15 years. FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrests reflect a broader summer campaign against violent crime and transnational gangs. He and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have pointed to the stepped-up enforcement effort—coupled with expanded cooperation among federal, state and local agencies—as a key factor in driving violent-crime indicators lower. According to preliminary FBI statistics cited by Patel and Bongino, the United States is on track to record its lowest murder rate on record, poised to beat the 2014 benchmark of 4.45 homicides per 100,000 residents if current trends hold through year-end. The U.S. crackdown coincides with regional pressure on Venezuelan criminal networks. On Wednesday, Trinidad and Tobago obtained a High Court order designating Tren de Aragua—a gang from which Anti-Tren splintered—as a terrorist organization, freezing its assets and barring any material support.