Left-Wing CNN Panelists Claim With Straight Faces Blasting TdA Boat Was ‘War Crime’
'You have no facts to say these are terrorists'
Operation Take Back America: Patel’s FBI leads ‘largest’ takedown of Anti-Tren gang members
The FBI, under Kash Patel's leadership, arrested over a dozen members of the "Anti-Tren" gang, a splinter faction of the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua, on charges of drug and weapons trafficking.
The Anti-Tren gang members were in the country illegally when they were picked up by FBI Houston, according to a June 30 press release from the Department of Justice.
'Operation Take Back America means going on the offensive against transnational criminal organizations to ensure that they cannot take root in our community and endanger public safety.'
"Two criminal complaints charge 14 Anti-Tren members and associates with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine," the DOJ stated. "According to the allegations, two groups of individuals agreed to transport kilogram quantities of cocaine in exchange for $15,000 for each load with each group accepting half as payment in advance."
The 14 suspects are facing up to life in prison and up to a $10 million fine.
Five individuals could face an additional 15 years in prison for alleged possession and sale of firearms.
RELATED: Trump's DOJ 'devastates' Tren de Aragua empire with first RICO charges against 27 gang-linked thugs
According to the criminal complaint, Jose Miguel Briceno, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, was previously involved in a mass shooting at a Houston bar that resulted in injuries to six people. Briceno is facing separate charges for alleged unlawful possession of ammunition by an alien, which could result in up to 15 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Houston Police Department, and the Harris County Sheriff's Office assisted the FBI with its investigation.
The agency's arrests were part of a nationwide initiative, dubbed Operation Take Back America, to "repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime."
RELATED: Kristi Noem enrages liberals with 2-word response to dismissal of deportation case
U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei stated, "The Southern District's twin priorities are securing our border and the eradication of violent crime. This case implicates both."
"Operation Take Back America means going on the offensive against transnational criminal organizations to ensure that they cannot take root in our community and endanger public safety," Ganjei continued. "SDTX is going to be unapologetic in carrying out that mission."
Douglas Williams, the special agent in charge of the FBI Houston Field Office, referred to the arrests as "the largest takedown of suspected Anti-Tren members and associates by the FBI."
"These individuals are accused of engaging in a turf war with TDA members and carrying out numerous violent crimes throughout our city, including a mass shooting at a local sports bar that left six people wounded. Fortunately, for the good and safety of our community, these individuals are now in federal custody facing U.S. justice," Williams said.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Teen Tren de Aragua-linked mob ambushes NYPD in another brazen Times Square assault: Report
A group of roughly a dozen young thugs linked to Tren de Aragua reportedly assaulted two New York Police Department officers in Times Square on Friday evening.
The culprits have reportedly been tied to Los Diablos de 42, a young subset of the violent Venezuelan gang TDA. The youngest suspect was just 12 years old.
'Make no mistake, this is not low-level crime, it's organized violence carried out by gang members that we've already taken off the streets for preying on New Yorkers.'
Fox News reported that five of the 11 suspects are illegal aliens from Venezuela. Those individuals have been arrested.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch detailed the brutal assault during a Tuesday press briefing.
Tisch explained that two officers approached a group of 10 to 12 individuals after they observed the mob surrounding three others.
"The officers engaged the group and attempted to break up what appeared to be a wolfpack-style robbery. Instead, they were ambushed, pelted with scooters, basketballs, and other makeshift weapons. This was a targeted attack, planned, deliberate, and carried out with intent," Tisch stated.
Within hours of the ambush, law enforcement was able to identify some of the suspects as Los Diablos de 42 members, thanks to the city's gang database.
Tisch called the database "one of the most critical tools that we have to protect our cops and to protect our communities." She urged the New York City Council to abandon its efforts to abolish the database.
"We need our City Council to stop legislating against our cops and to start legislating for public safety," Tisch declared.
She noted that all those arrested were "repeat offenders" linked to "citywide robbery patterns."
Tisch also stated that no officers sustained any major injuries.
"Make no mistake, this is not low-level crime, it's organized violence carried out by gang members that we've already taken off the streets for preying on New Yorkers," she added. "And now they're back, ambushing cops in the middle of Times Square. It's not a fluke, it's a system failure. It's what happens when repeat offenders are allowed to cycle through arrest after arrest without meaningful accountability. It's what happens when there are no real consequences."
Adams emphasized that such violence would not be tolerated.
"It's horrific enough to be a victim of a crime, but when someone openly assaults a police officer, you are attacking our symbol of safety, and it cannot be tolerated," he said.
However, New York City's sanctuary policies continue to shield illegal aliens from federal immigration officials.
On Sunday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrived at a NYPD station, where one of the teen suspects was being held, but the agents were turned away.
Tisch stated that the NYPD is "looking into how [ICE] got there."
"I was surprised that ICE was at a precinct because ICE shows up to do civil immigration enforcement. And the NYPD does not participate in civil immigration enforcement. And our officers did a tremendous job," she said.
Tisch added, "They followed a procedure that we had put out in early January, an operations order, that explains exactly what steps they should take in a scenario such as that. And they did not turn over the person that was in custody to those ICE agents at that time."
In January 2024, a mob similarly ambushed NYPD officers in Times Square. Some of those suspects were also linked to TDA.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Venezuela's regime enables Tren de Aragua's border crime spree while corrupt officials likely profit: Intel memo
Venezuela's regime has been enabling Tren de Aragua's U.S. border invasion and criminal activity, according to a National Intelligence Council memo released Monday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The memo explained that when the Venezuelan government booted TDA from the Tocoran Prison in 2023, some of the gang's leaders were allowed to escape because they were "possibly assisted by low-level Venezuelan military and political leaders."
'FBI analysts ... assess some Venezuelan government officials facilitate TDA members' migration from Venezuela to the United States and use members as proxies in ... the United States to advance what they see as the Maduro regime's goal of destabilizing governments and undermining public safety ...'
According to Department of Homeland Security findings, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro may have removed them from the prison "to undercut regional press" that alleged his ties to TDA.
However, the NIC's memo stopped short of confirming President Donald Trump's allegations that Maduro directs TDA's activities. Trump has argued that his regime intentionally allowed TDA to invade the U.S. in an effort to destabilize the country.
While the memo disputed such claims, it admitted that some regime officials "may cooperate with TDA for financial gain," stating that such instances are "ad hoc" and not an organized effort. Still, the findings supported claims that Maduro's leadership has enabled TDA and other criminal groups to operate.
According to the memo, Maduro's regime "generally does not impede" illegal groups, adding that Venezuela's "permissive environment enables TDA to operate."
"Some mid- to low-level Venezuelan officials probably profit from TDA's illicit activities," the memo added. However, the Venezuelan government "probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States."
"Some regime officials are probably willing to capitalize on migration flows for personal financial or other benefits, even though the Maduro regime probably is not systematically directing Venezuelan outflows, such as to sow chaos in receiving countries," it said.
Maduro's "illegitimate and autocratic grip on power" has enabled "widespread corruption and for regime officials to benefit from a variety of illicit activities," the memo continued.
The intelligence community argued that Maduro is probably not directing TDA because it would require "extensive" coordination.
"While FBI analysts agree with the above assessment, they assess some Venezuelan government officials facilitate TDA members' migration from Venezuela to the United States and use members as proxies in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and the United States to advance what they see as the Maduro regime's goal of destabilizing governments and undermining public safety in these countries, based on DHS and FBI reporting as of February 2024," it read.
The migration of Venezuelan nationals was attributed to "a variety of push and pull factors including socioeconomic conditions, family ties to the United States, and migrants' perceptions of U.S. and regional enforcement."
The NIC findings noted that Maduro's inaction toward TDA's criminal activity has benefited his regime, allowing him to "retain power" while dissidents flee Venezuela.
An estimated 7.8 million Venezuelans have fled since 2024.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Democrat ex-judge, wife who apparently let suspected Tren de Aragua gangsters live at their home arrested by ICE
A former judge in New Mexico and his wife were taken into custody Thursday night in connection with a suspected Tren de Aragua gangster who had apparently been living at their residence.
In fact, three young male illegal aliens from Venezuela had apparently been living in the casita behind the Las Cruces home shared by Nancy and Jose "Joel" Cano. All three Venezuelans, including 23-year-old Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, have been described by federal agents as well-known members of the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
On February 28, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted a search warrant on the Canos' home in connection with the suspected gangsters, who were all arrested. Three days later Joel Cano, a former cop, announced his resignation as magistrate judge in Doña Ana County, an elected position he first won in 2010 as a Democrat, Blaze News previously reported.
'There is no way in the world that I would have allowed my grandkids to have any contact with the boys if I had sensed danger.'
The New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission soon opened an investigation into Cano for possible "willful misconduct," and Cano submitted a 23-page letter responding to the allegations. In the letter, Cano repeatedly referred to the suspected gang members as "the boys" and denied having any idea that they could be bad news.
"Let me be as crystal clear as possible," he wrote, according to KOAT. "The very first time I ever heard that the boys could possibly have any association with Tren de Aragua was when I was informed of that by [the] agents on the day of the raid."
Cano further insisted that if he had known, he would never have allowed "the boys" to interact with his grandchildren: "I have three grandkids that I love dearly. ... There is no way in the world that I would have allowed my grandkids to have any contact with the boys if I had sensed danger."
Cano also claimed that official documents indicated that "the boys" were not at risk of deportation. He said he repeatedly saw "this person is not subject to removal" noted on their forms and that they had asylum hearings scheduled.
Finally, the ex-judge denied other accusations related to photo and video evidence revealing that on at least one occasion, the Canos and the alleged gangbangers took a trip to the local gun range. "I did not take a single firearm to the range. I took no ammunition to the range either. [My wife] and I went only as spectators," Cano claimed.
Nancy Cano's daughter, April Cano, has been accused of allowing Ortega-Lopez "to hold and sometimes shoot various firearms" she owns. Prosecutors reportedly submitted photo and video evidence of Ortega-Lopez holding her weapons. Ortega-Lopez's TDA-related tattoos are likewise allegedly visible in the photos and video.
According to reports, Nancy Cano first met Ortega-Lopez when he was living in El Paso, working construction and other odd jobs after he was released from an immigration detention facility in South Laredo because of overcrowding in December 2023. Ortega-Lopez reportedly told agents that Mrs. Cano invited him and his friends to move into the guest home on her property in Las Cruces after they had done some work for the couple.
'Initially we came back here to arrest his wife, and as we started obviously conducting our interviews and started looking at evidence, we subsequently arrested Mr. Cano as well.'
Ortega-Lopez currently sits in the Doña Ana County Detention Center without bond, facing charges related to illegal border crossing and federal weapons violations.
And now, he and the Canos are together again. Mr. and Mrs. Cano are both likewise locked up at the Doña Ana County Detention Center without bond, facing charges of tampering with evidence, jail records show.
Jason Stevens, the Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge of the El Paso office, gave further insights into their apprehension. "Initially we came back here to arrest his wife, and as we started obviously conducting our interviews and started looking at evidence, we subsequently arrested Mr. Cano as well," he said, according to Newsweek.
John Fabbricatore, former ICE field office director, spoke for many when told a local news outlet: "To see that a judge would allow this to happen, it's very concerning. It's concerning. What else has the judge been doing?"
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem responded to the news of the Canos' arrest on social media:
Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens — including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang.
If you are here illegally and break the law, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and lock you up.
That’s a promise.
The New Mexico Supreme Court has permanently barred Joel Cano from ever serving on the bench again.
The Canos did not respond to a request for comment from KOAT, which presumably reached out to the couple prior to their arrest.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Trump's DOJ 'devastates' Tren de Aragua empire with first RICO charges against 27 gang-linked thugs
President Donald Trump's Department of Justice announced Monday that it filed its first RICO charges against 27 individuals linked to the Venezuela-based foreign terrorist organization Tren de Aragua.
The dangerous group, whose members flooded into the country under the Biden administration's open-border chaos, has been tied to criminal activity in New York City, apartment takeovers in Colorado, and violent offenses in several other states.
'This isn't just street crime — it's organized racketeering, and this gang has shown zero regard for the safety of New Yorkers.'
Six confirmed TDA members were charged as part of the first superseding indictment, the DOJ said Monday. The second superseding indictment charged 19 former TDA members who formed a splinter faction, "Anti-Tren," and two individuals described as "associates" of the offshoot group.
"Of the 27 defendants, 21 are in federal custody, including 16 who were already in federal criminal, immigration, or state custody and five who were arrested last night and today in operations in New York and other jurisdictions," the DOJ stated.
The individuals were accused of "racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracy, robbery, and firearms offenses."
Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that the indictments and arrests would "devastate TDA's infrastructure as we work to completely dismantle and purge this organization from our country."
"As alleged, Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang – it is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence, engaged in human trafficking, and spread deadly drugs through our communities," Bondi said.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky for the Southern District of New York explained that the individuals were accused of a long list of offenses, including murder and extortion.
Podolsky stated, "Today's indictments make clear that this office will work tirelessly to keep the law-abiding residents of New York City safe, and hold accountable those who bring violence to our streets."
New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch called TDA "one of the most dangerous gangs in the country."
"This isn't just street crime — it's organized racketeering, and this gang has shown zero regard for the safety of New Yorkers," Tisch said. "As alleged in the indictment, these defendants wreaked havoc in our communities, trafficking women for sexual exploitation, flooding our streets with drugs, and committing violent crimes with illegal guns."
Sources told the New York Post that the cases began in October, and arrests of the alleged gang members have continued as recently as Monday.
The DOJ's recent indictments mark the first time TDA gang members have been charged as associates of a criminal organization since Trump labeled the group as terrorists in a March executive order.
Trump stated in the EO, "I find and declare that TDA is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States."
If convicted, some of the suspects face up to five years in prison, while others are looking at life sentences.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Florida sheriff nabs 5 illegal aliens tied to Tren de Aragua — presses Trump for fast deportation fix
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Florida announced that it busted five illegal aliens tied to the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Sheriff Grady Judd detailed the arrests during a Friday press briefing, explaining that two of the suspects were confirmed TDA members and the other three were identified as “associates.”
'PCSO detectives obtained arrest warrants charging all five with robbery, which is upgraded to a first degree felony due to their gang status.'
The men, who are reportedly all in the U.S. illegally, were accused of a string of liquor store robberies in Florida.
The sheriff’s office stated that the illegal aliens attempted to steal $3,200 worth of “high-end liquor” from a Sam’s Club in March. When a store employee tried to stop the robbery, the men rammed her with the shopping cart, injuring her hand, Judd said.
The illegal aliens reportedly disabled their getaway vehicle after driving over a concrete curb in the store’s parking lot. They left the car behind and fled in an Uber, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Two of the suspects were positively identified and detectives determined they were incarcerated in Osceola County for a different robbery,” a press release from the sheriff’s office read. “Those suspects are Samuel Oglis David Anthony Charle, 25, and Ildemaro Miguel Escalona Mendoza, 26. Once the three other suspects were identified – Alexis Jose Rodriguez-Benavides, 27, Darwins Smith Vasquez Leon, 28, and Ramon Jesus Carpintero-Luna, 26 – PCSO detectives obtained arrest warrants charging all five with robbery, which is upgraded to a first degree felony due to their gang status.”
The men have been tied to “over three dozen retail thefts” across the state. The total losses from their theft reportedly reached over $30,000, the sheriff’s office estimated.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed detainers against all five of the suspects. They remain in local custody while facing first-degree felony charges. Grady noted that more charges are expected.
During the press briefing, Grady closed his remarks by urging President Donald Trump to take executive action to speed up the deportation process.
“We’ve got to have policy change to make an appreciable difference. We got the same old clunky system that’s ineffective at best and horribly broken in reality. And to try to move it along, it is just slow,” Grady stated. “The feds are helping and working hard on the local level. They don’t have the policy change that allows this to speed up, and the word’s got to get to the president.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Today's top stories
thefederalist.com
www.theblaze.com