Latest news with #Zambrano-Pacheco
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Yahoo
Venezuelan gang member busted in Bronx ICE raid wanted for deadly home invasion
An accused Venezuelan gang member taken into custody during an ICE sweep in the Bronx was a fugitive wanted for his role in a deadly takeover of a Colorado apartment complex that grabbed nationwide attention during the 2024 presidential election, new court documents show. Authorities in Arapahoe County, Colo. had been on the hunt for Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco since September 2024, after doorbell surveillance footage linked him to a home invasion in Aurora, Colo. that left one person dead. The footage showed Pacheco as one of several men storming the residence, prompting multiple charges — including burglary and menacing; by Oct. 22, a separate investigation lead to charges including kidnapping and criminal extortion, federal prosecutors charge. Though his image was flashed across national news outlets, Zambrano-Pacheco, 25, fled to New York and hunkered down in a three-bedroom apartment on Ogden Avenue in the Bronx, where law enforcement tracked him using data from a Pen-Ping Warrant — a court order that allowed law enforcement to track his phone's location, according to prosectors. Around 6 a.m. Tuesday, agencies including ICE, the NYPD and the Drug Enforcement Administration, descended on the apartment where Zambrano-Pacheco was holed up with his girlfriend while on the run. He is a suspected member of the Tren de Aragua gang, which has established a substantial foothold in the United States, including in New York, according to court filings. According to the filings, as officers and agents made their way into the apartment, they spotted Zambrano-Pacheco standing near a dresser drawer — where they recovered a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol. Officers also seized two cellphones from the room, one of which rang when they dialed it. After his arrest, Zambrano-Pacheco told law enforcement he had fled Colorado when he learned he was a suspect in the home invasion. He also acknowledged other individuals involved in the crime had been arrested in New York City, but denied any knowledge of the firearm found in the apartment. Zambrano-Pacheco appeared in Federal Court in Manhattan on Wednesday. Wearing a black sweatsuit, he sat silently through most of the proceedings, responding via a Spanish interpreter only to questions about his understanding of the court proceedings. He is facing federal charges for possession of a firearm and ammunition while being a fugitive from justice. Defense attorney Jacqueline Cistaro argued the high-profile nature of the gang-related case requires special consideration for her client's specific safety concerns. The Trump administration has vowed to deport any undocumented individuals with a criminal past. But during a White House press briefing this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt boldly asserted that under the Trump administration, all undocumented immigrants are considered criminals. 'All of them, because they illegally broke our nation's laws, and, therefore, they are criminals, as far as this administration goes,' Leavitt said. 'I know the last administration didn't see it that way, so it's a big culture shift in our nation to view someone who breaks our immigration laws as a criminal. But that's exactly what they are.' Under federal law, being undocumented is a civil violation — not a criminal offense — and individuals are not necessarily convicted of a crime unless they are involved in criminal activity beyond their immigration status.
CNN
29-01-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Migrant arrested in NYC on charges out of Aurora, Colorado, is among highest-profile arrests in Trump crackdown
A suspected member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua who was wanted in connection to charges out of Aurora, Colorado, was arrested during a federal immigration crackdown in New York City on Tuesday morning. Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, was arrested in the Bronx early Tuesday by the Drug Enforcement Administration and US Homeland Security Investigations officers, police said. He was wanted for burglary and felony menacing for an incident at an apartment complex in Aurora last August that was captured on camera, according to the Aurora Police Department. He is a high-ranking member of the Tren de Aragua gang, according to a senior law enforcement source with knowledge of the operation. The arrest was part of a series of immigration enforcement actions targeting suspected gang members, according to the source. Newly-installed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accompanied law enforcement on the sweep and repeatedly posted about it on her X account. The highly-publicized arrest comes as at least two agencies assisting US immigration officials with sweeps have told their personnel to ensure their clothing clearly depicts their respective agency in case journalists film them, sources familiar with the operations told CNN. It all adds up to what CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter has described as 'deportation TV.' Zambrano-Pacheco is one of more than 4,000 people taken into custody in the last four days as part of the Trump administration's rapid crackdown on undocumented immigrants across the US. That group of people includes a number with serious criminal convictions or charges, including members of the Tren de Aragua gang in New York City and Atlanta. Ten alleged members and associates of the transnational gang have been indicted on gun trafficking charges in New York City, officials announced Wednesday. They were named in a 120-count indictment and face charges including criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon and conspiracy, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Detectives recovered 34 guns, including two assault rifles, and 48 grams of a drug concoction known as 'pink cocaine' after a long-term undercover investigation, Katz said in a news release. Many guns, with prices ranging from $1,200 to $2,800, were 'sold in broad daylight,' including at a shopping center parking lot, according to prosecutors. The Venezuelan gang's operation extended 'as far as Texas and Colorado, with plans to expand to Colombia,' the release said. The immigration sweeps have also led to what border czar Tom Homan has referred to as 'collateral arrests,' a bloodless buzzword for the arrest and detention of men and women from other countries without any criminal record. The tally of arrests represents a significant increase from the Biden administration, which averaged about 300 immigration arrests per day in the fiscal year that ended October 2024. Zambrano-Pacheco was wanted on a warrant out of Aurora on two felony counts stemming from an August 18 incident captured on security camera, in which six armed men knocked on doors at an apartment complex, police said. The fatal shooting of 25-year-old Oswaldo Jose Dabion Araujo occurred about 10 minutes later, police said. The security camera footage spread widely on social media, and Donald Trump repeatedly mentioned Aurora while running for president, saying immigrants were violently taking over buildings in the city, as part of his pledge to crack down on undocumented immigration. More than five months later, five of the six men are now in custody, and the sixth is wanted, police said. Two were arrested in the Bronx during a gang task force operation on November 27, police previously said. Another was arrested in December in Aurora for his suspected involvement in the kidnapping of a married couple by undocumented immigrants at the same apartment complex, police said. That incident was 'without question a gang incident,' and both the perpetrators and victims are Venezuelan immigrants, police chief Todd Chamberlain said. The warrant for Zambrano-Pacheco was issued as part of 'Operation Safe Haven,' an Aurora Police task force set up to investigate crimes involving the migrant community, police said. About 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States, the Pew Research Center's latest estimates indicate. The Trump administration is aiming for each of the 25 ICE field offices to make at least 75 arrests a day, according to two sources. 'The numbers you cited are a floor, not a ceiling,' White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told CNN. 'The goal is to arrest at least that many, but hopefully many more, and the Department of Justice is going to be closely involved in providing the manpower to help achieve those objectives.' John Sandweg, the former acting director of ICE in the Obama administration, told CNN's Laura Coates he's concerned the pressure to rack up large arrest numbers could result in heavy-handed tactics. 'What I'm very interested to see is in the next few weeks as these target lists get exhausted — as they just run out of the easy pickings of the people connected to the criminal justice system — what operational tactics are they going to utilize that feed the machinery that the Trump administration has built?' he said. CNN's Gloria Pazmino, Priscilla Alvarez, Dalia Faheid, Mark Morales and Michael Williams contributed to this report.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tren de Aragua gang member arrested in NYC was ‘trying to buy grenades,' Noem says
A member of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang arrested Tuesday during sweeping immigration raids in New York City was trying to buy grenades, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Wednesday. Noem had joined federal immigration authorities Tuesday in New York City for the sweeps, which officials said were targeting violent criminals in major cities and elsewhere. On Wednesday, Noem addressed the arrest of who she described as a "ringleader" of the Tren de Aragua gang during an appearance on "Fox & Friends." "He had just been a part of a gun weapons exchange and was trying to buy grenades," Noem said. "Why would anybody in this country need to buy a grenade and go out and perpetuate violence?" Noem Says 'Worst Of The Worst' Arrested In Nyc Raid Targeting Criminal Illegal Immigrants Sources in the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News on Tuesday that the suspected gang member, whom they identified as Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, was arrested inside a Bronx apartment and charged with kidnapping, assault and burglary. Read On The Fox News App Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, is the same man who was caught on camera in a video showing heavily armed men kicking down an apartment door at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, the sources said. He was in the country illegally. Zambrano-Pacheco appeared in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday. Noem confirmed that the gang member arrested was involved in incidents in Aurora, Colorado, that captured national attention in August. Nyc Residents Praise Ice Raids After Violent Gang Member Captured She said President Donald Trump is taking action to go after criminals who are in the country illegally despite some Democratic leaders opposing the effort. "What was amazing is you'll hear people and Democrat leaders in different cities, like New York City, some of their city council members have tried to attack what we're doing as far as enforcing our laws," she said. "But the people on the streets are not with them." "It was amazing to hear people and see them as they walked by taking their kids to school, going to work, just walk by us and quietly say thank you, thank you for being here," Noem continued. "And that means a world to those officers that are out there risking their lives to bring safety back." Tyreek Goodman, a member of the Bronx County Conservative Party, said the threat of the gang's violent crimes had sowed fear within the community. "You do have the feeling, the fear of what happens if they come here next," Goodman, who is a city council candidate, told Fox News Digital. "There's been a lot of crimes on the MTA, based off people that weren't supposed to be here. So we have to understand that in order to keep our people safe, this is a time for us to stand by law enforcement." Click To Get The Fox News App As the Trump administration continues to move rapidly to fulfill its promise to mass deport dangerous foreign criminals, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday issued an update that the agency made 1016 arrests and issued 814 detainers in a single day. Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan contributed to this article source: Tren de Aragua gang member arrested in NYC was 'trying to buy grenades,' Noem says
CNN
29-01-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Migrant arrested in NYC on charges out of Aurora, Colorado, is among highest-profile arrests in Trump crackdown
A suspected member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua who was wanted in connection to charges out of Aurora, Colorado, was arrested during a federal immigration crackdown in New York City on Tuesday morning. Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, was arrested in the Bronx early Tuesday by the Drug Enforcement Administration and US Homeland Security Investigations officers, police said. He was wanted for burglary and felony menacing for an incident at an apartment complex in Aurora last August that was captured on camera, according to the Aurora Police Department. He is a high-ranking member of the Tren de Aragua gang, according to a senior law enforcement source with knowledge of the operation. The arrest was part of a series of immigration enforcement actions targeting suspected gang members, according to the source. Newly-installed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accompanied law enforcement on the sweep and repeatedly posted about it on her X account. The highly-publicized arrest comes as at least two agencies assisting US immigration officials with sweeps have told their personnel to ensure their clothing clearly depicts their respective agency in case journalists film them, sources familiar with the operations told CNN. It all adds up to what CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter has described as 'deportation TV.' Zambrano-Pacheco is one of about 3,000 people taken into custody in the last three days as part of the Trump administration's rapid crackdown on undocumented immigrants across the US. That group of people includes a number with serious criminal convictions or charges, including members of the Tren de Aragua gang in New York City and Atlanta. Yet the immigration sweeps have also led to what border czar Tom Homan has referred to as 'collateral arrests,' a bloodless buzzword for the arrest and detention of men and women from other countries without any criminal record. The tally of arrests represents a significant increase from the Biden administration, which averaged about 300 immigration arrests per day in the fiscal year that ended October 2024. Zambrano-Pacheco was wanted on a warrant out of Aurora on two felony counts stemming from an August 18 incident captured on security camera, in which six armed men knocked on doors at an apartment complex, police said. The fatal shooting of 25-year-old Oswaldo Jose Dabion Araujo occurred about 10 minutes later, police said. The security camera footage spread widely on social media, and Donald Trump repeatedly mentioned Aurora while running for president, saying immigrants were violently taking over buildings in the city, as part of his pledge to crack down on undocumented immigration. More than five months later, five of the six men are now in custody, and the sixth is wanted, police said. Two were arrested in the Bronx during a gang task force operation on November 27, police previously said. Another was arrested in December in Aurora for his suspected involvement in the kidnapping of a married couple by undocumented immigrants at the same apartment complex, police said. That incident was 'without question a gang incident,' and both the perpetrators and victims are Venezuelan immigrants, police chief Todd Chamberlain said. The warrant for Zambrano-Pacheco was issued as part of 'Operation Safe Haven,' an Aurora Police task force set up to investigate crimes involving the migrant community, police said. About 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States, the Pew Research Center's latest estimates indicate. The Trump administration is aiming for each of the 25 ICE field offices to make at least 75 arrests a day, according to two sources. 'The numbers you cited are a floor, not a ceiling,' White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told CNN. 'The goal is to arrest at least that many, but hopefully many more, and the Department of Justice is going to be closely involved in providing the manpower to help achieve those objectives.' John Sandweg, the former acting director of ICE in the Obama administration, told CNN's Laura Coates he's concerned the pressure to rack up large arrest numbers could result in heavy-handed tactics. 'What I'm very interested to see is in the next few weeks as these target lists get exhausted — as they just run out of the easy pickings of the people connected to the criminal justice system — what operational tactics are they going to utilize that feed the machinery that the Trump administration has built?' he said. CNN's Gloria Pazmino, Priscilla Alvarez and Michael Williams contributed to this report.
Fox News
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Tren de Aragua gang member arrested in NYC was ‘trying to buy grenades,' Noem says
A member of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang arrested Tuesday during sweeping immigration raids in New York City was trying to buy grenades, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Wednesday. Noem had joined federal immigration authorities Tuesday in New York City for the sweeps, which officials said were targeting violent criminals in major cities and elsewhere. On Wednesday, Noem addressed the arrest of who she described as a "ringleader" of the Tren de Aragua gang during an appearance on "Fox & Friends." "He had just been a part of a gun weapons exchange and was trying to buy grenades," Noem said. "Why would anybody in this country need to buy a grenade and go out and perpetuate violence?" Sources in the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News on Tuesday that the suspected gang member, whom they identified as Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, was arrested inside a Bronx apartment and charged with kidnapping, assault and burglary. Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, is the same man who was caught on camera in a video showing heavily armed men kicking down an apartment door at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, the sources said. He was in the country illegally. Zambrano-Pacheco appeared in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday. Noem confirmed that the gang member arrested was involved in incidents in Aurora, Colorado, that captured national attention in August. She said President Donald Trump is taking action to go after criminals who are in the country illegally despite some Democratic leaders opposing the effort. "What was amazing is you'll hear people and Democrat leaders in different cities, like New York City, some of their city council members have tried to attack what we're doing as far as enforcing our laws," she said. "But the people on the streets are not with them." "It was amazing to hear people and see them as they walked by taking their kids to school, going to work, just walk by us and quietly say thank you, thank you for being here," Noem continued. "And that means a world to those officers that are out there risking their lives to bring safety back." Tyreek Goodman, a member of the Bronx County Conservative Party, said the threat of the gang's violent crimes had sowed fear within the community. "You do have the feeling, the fear of what happens if they come here next," Goodman, who is a city council candidate, told Fox News Digital. "There's been a lot of crimes on the MTA, based off people that weren't supposed to be here. So we have to understand that in order to keep our people safe, this is a time for us to stand by law enforcement." As the Trump administration continues to move rapidly to fulfill its promise to mass deport dangerous foreign criminals, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday issued an update that the agency made 1016 arrests and issued 814 detainers in a single day.
