by Bethany Blankley
Members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua are being arrested thousands of kilometers from the border after illegally crossing into the US in Texas.
The Venezuelan prison gang is well known for organizing murders, bribery schemes, money laundering, drug and weapons trafficking, and kidnappings for ransom. In March, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Maria Elvira Salazar, Republicans from Florida, he called president to officially recognize Tren de Aragua as a transnational criminal organization.
“Tren de Aragua is an invading criminal army from a Venezuelan prison that has spread its brutality and chaos to American cities and small towns,” they said. “If left unchecked, they will unleash an unprecedented reign of terror, mirroring the devastation it has already wreaked on communities across Central and South America, most notably in Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. Tren de Aragua’s activities include, but are not limited to, murder, drug and human trafficking, sexual crimes, extortion and kidnapping.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE-ERO) agents recently arrested Venezuelan members of Tren de Aragua in New York and Chicago, but deportation efforts have been thwarted by federal or local policies.
On May 10, ICE-ERO-New York agents arrested Johan Jose Cardenas Silva, wanted by Peruvian authorities for conspiracy, assault and aggravated theft. This came two months after New York City Police officers arrested him in March and charged him with various firearms and drug charges.
“This international fugitive mistakenly believed that he could enter the United States not only to escape justice in other countries, but also to continue his criminal activities with impunity,” said Kenneth Genalo, director of ICE-ERO’s New York field office. “His history of unlawful behavior and membership in a violent international criminal organization clearly demonstrate that he poses a serious threat to public safety.”
Despite Genalo’s claims, Cardenas was released from ICE custody in October 2023.
After illegally entering the U.S. in Del Rio, Texas, Border Patrol agents detained him on October 4, 2022, determined that he had entered the U.S. illegally, and issued him a notice and order of accelerated removal.
On January 19, 2023, ICE-ERO-San Antonio agents served him with a summons to appear before an immigration judge, and in March 2023, the immigration judge ordered his removal from the United States.
It has not been removed. Instead, on October 5, 2023, he was released from ICE’s Stewart County Detention Center “on an order for supervision and reporting to New York; however, he never checked in as directed,” according to ICE.
He did go to New York, but on March 27 he was arrested by NYPD officers and charged with “criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree: a loaded firearm; second-degree criminal possession of a weapon: loaded firearm on school property; Felon Controlled Substance – Five: Intent to Sell; and behave in a manner that could harm a child under the age of 17.”
That same day, the Bronx Criminal Court arraigned him and released him on his own recognizance, despite his criminal history and before ICE-ERO could place another immigration detainer. “Due to New York State’s Protect Our Courts Act, New York City authorities were unable to arrest Cardenas after his release,” ICE said.
Cardenas reportedly committed additional crimes and was arrested again. On April 1, Nassau County police arrested him and charged him with “grand larceny in the fourth degree: property valued at more than $1,000 and petty larceny.” Within a month, the district court sentenced him to 60 days in prison.
He was held in the county jail until his arrest and removal by ICE and is currently in ICE custody awaiting removal proceedings. ICE agents also received information that Cardenas was an international fugitive wanted by Peruvian authorities on an October 2018 arrest warrant.
In Chicago, ICE-ERO-Chicago agents in March arrested another Venezuelan member of Tren de Aragua who was under investigation by Chicago police in connection with a drive-by shooting in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood.
This occurred after the first arrest for illegally entering the country near Eagle Pass, Texas in 2022.
Border Patrol agents first arrested Adelvis Rodriguez-Carmona near Eagle Pass on July 7, 2022, and placed him under removal proceedings. He was then released on his own recognizance and ordered to appear before an immigration judge, which he did not do. A year later, on July 7, 2023, an immigration judge issued a final order of removal in absentia.
On February 24, 2024, he was arrested by officers of the Cicero Police Department in Illinois for aggravated unlawful utilize of a weapon, failure to provide a firearm identification card, driving without a driver’s license or insurance, and possession of cannabis for adult utilize in a motor vehicle. He was later released.
Just a few weeks later, on March 11, ICE-ERO officers detained him without incident. He is currently in the Dodge County Detention Center in Juneau, Wisconsin, awaiting removal proceedings from his home country.
“This Venezuelan foreign national posed a serious threat to the residents of our communities,” said ICE-ERO Chicago Field Office Deputy Director Raymond Hernandez he said. “Not only is he a recognized member of an international street gang, but he has also demonstrated a willingness to illegally discharge a firearm in a public place. ERO Chicago will continue to prioritize public safety by removing these types of threats from our streets.”
Rubio and Salazar warned: “Tren de Aragua has plunged communities into chaos” in Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Peru. “They have sown fear and instability, undermining the credibility of government institutions as well as the safety of innocent civilians.[…]We cannot allow our cities to become battlefields for such organizations, nor can we allow our citizens to suffer at their hands.”
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Bethany Blankley is a contributor Central Square.
“ICE Arrest Suspect” photo by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
