A notorious Venezuelan gang leader is reportedly among the people detained
Heavily armed law enforcement agents have launched a series of pre-dawn raids across New York City on Tuesday, arresting scores of illegal immigrants suspected of violent crimes.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem oversaw Tuesday’s operation in person, on her fourth day on the job.
“We’re in New York City this morning, we’re getting dirtbags off these streets,” Noem posted on X. In another post, she said the DHS was doing “exactly what President [Donald] Trump promised the American people – making our streets safe.”
Noem shared several photos and videos of heavily armed officers of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the US Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), US Marshals and the New York Police Department’s Special Operations unit.
Just now.
Enforcement operation in NYC. Criminal alien with kidnapping, assault & burglary charges is now in custody – thanks to @ICE.
She identified one of the people detained by ICE early in the morning as “a criminal alien with kidnapping, assault and burglary charges.”
Another major catch of the day was Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 25, allegedly the ringleader of the notorious Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang accused of terrorizing residents in Colorado.
Pacheco was identified as one of the men captured on CCTV forcing their way into an Aurora apartment last August. On Tuesday morning, heavily armed HSI agents stormed the Bronx apartments where he lived for months.
Neighbors told the New York Post that police broke down the door to get to Pacheco, who is wanted in Colorado for kidnapping, burglary and menacing. According to one tenant, the Venezuelan moved to New York in September or October and was “very cooperative, very friendly” with the neighbors.
Trump moved quickly after last Monday’s inauguration to close the US-Mexico border and launch immigration raids across major US cites, describing the illegal presence of millions of foreigners as an “invasion.”
The White House has also sought to deport thousands of convicted criminals to their countries of origin. Over the weekend, Colombia attempted to refuse a repatriation flight, but quickly backed down in the face of Trump’s threats to impose sanctions and tariffs on the South American country.
