Federal prosecutors officially charged a suspected Tren de Aragua gangbanger for allegedly using a vehicle as a weapon against Border Patrol agents.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) lodged criminal charges against Luis Nino-Moncada, a Venezuelan national living unlawfully in the U.S., per a Monday announcement from the agency. During a federal immigration enforcement operation in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, Nino-Moncada allegedly damaged property and put Border Patrol agents in harm’s way when he repeatedly rammed a law enforcement vehicle with another car.
“Anyone who crosses the red line of assaulting law enforcement will be met with the full force of this Justice Department,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a public statement.
“This man — an illegal alien with ties to a foreign terrorist organization — should NEVER have been in our country to begin with, and we will ensure he NEVER walks free in America again,” Bondi continued.
Border Patrol agents had initially targeted a vehicle belonging to Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, an illegal migrant allegedly involved in a Tren de Aragua-led prosecution ring, according to prosecutors. Zambrano-Contreras was sitting in the passenger seat when Nino-Moncada, in response to commands to exit the vehicle, placed the car in reverse and intentionally collided with a Border Patrol car, driving forward and reversing multiple times.
Acting in self-defense, agents fired back at the assailants, resulting in both of them being hospitalized.
“A Border Patrol agent interviewed by FBI special agents described being fearful that Nino-Moncada could strike them and other Border Patrol agents with the target vehicle,” the DOJ stated. “After the attack, Nino-Moncada and the female passenger fled the scene in the target vehicle.”
Nino-Moncada admitted to intentionally hitting the Border Patrol car in an attempt to escape and acknowledged knowing that it was an immigration enforcement vehicle, according to prosecutors. He’s been charged with aggravated assault of a federal officer with a deadly weapon and depredation of federal property in excess of $1,000.
The suspected gangbanger first entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2022 and was released into the country under the Biden administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Zambrano-Contreras, who is also a Venezuelan national, illegally crossed into the country in 2023 and was released by the Biden administration at that time. She is also suspected of being involved in a previous shooting in the Portland area.
Portland Police Chief Bob Day sobbed during a Friday press conference as he publicly acknowledged the two individuals shot by Border Patrol were linked to Tren de Aragua.
“I hesitated to even share this information initially because I’m very aware of the historic injustice of victim blaming often times portrayed by law enforcement, including this very agency that I’ve represented so proudly for so many years, and historically we have not been quick to disclose the potential criminal history of others,” Day said at the time.
The attack in Portland follows increasing violence against federal immigration agents, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers experiencing 66 vehicular attacks against them since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, according to DHS. That figure marks a 3,200% increase from the same time period in the previous year.
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