A Venezuelan illegal alien associated with the violent Tren de Aragua gang pleaded guilty after ramming a Border Patrol vehicle during an attempted arrest in Portland, Oregon.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A Venezuelan illegal immigrant with alleged ties to the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang has pleaded guilty to a federal charge after he rammed a pickup truck into a Border Patrol vehicle while attempting to evade arrest in Portland, Oregon. Luis Nino-Moncada, 33, pleaded guilty Monday to felony depredation of government property and faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release after prosecutors said he repeatedly struck a federal vehicle during a January 8 arrest operation, prompting an agent to fire his service weapon. 📺 DETAIL: Nino-Moncada and passenger Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, a Venezuelan national whom the Department of Homeland Security has linked to a Tren de Aragua prostitution ring, were both wounded, fled the scene, and were later apprehended. Court records state Nino-Moncada admitted he was living in the United States illegally and had been ordered removed by an immigration judge in November 2024. Federal investigators said the pair had previously come to the attention of law enforcement, including during a 2025 prostitution sting in which Zambrano-Contreras allegedly identified several Tren de Aragua members and admitted involvement in a prior Portland shooting. Zambrano-Contreras later accepted a plea agreement on a 2023 illegal entry charge and received one year of supervised probation with GPS monitoring before being arrested again in May for repeatedly violating her court-ordered curfew. The January confrontation also sparked protests outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility after city officials suggested federal agents had shot innocent local residents, a characterization disputed by federal authorities. 📺 FLASHBACK: Nino-Moncada’s attack sparked riots in Portland after city officials falsely claimed federal agents had shot innocent people, referring to the suspects as “neighbors.” Zambrano-Contreras, who has a history of violating probation, had previously been involved in a prostitution sting and other criminal activities connected to the gang. |
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