A suspected Tren de Aragua gang member was charged on Thursday with attempting to kill a federal officer with a chokehold while resisting arrest. He injured the officer during the fight, resulting in hospitalization.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods announced on Friday that a 30-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela, Gabriel Hurtado-Cariaco, is being charged with attempted murder after fighting and hospitalizing the federal agent on June 18.
“Deadly violence against law enforcement officers will not be tolerated by this Department of Justice,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “We have charged this illegal alien with attempted murder.”
According to the Department of Justice, special agents with the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation pulled Hurtado-Cariaco over near his residence in Nebraska on an immigration-related warrant. After agents attempted to handcuff him, the suspected gang member began fighting, wrestling one agent and throwing them off, “launching the agent through the air resulting in the agent forcefully striking their head and elbow on the pavement injuring them.”
Hurtado-Cariaco allegedly began fighting a second agent, eventually maneuvering to get the injured agent in a chokehold. The second agent got him in their own chokehold, but he was able to break away and flee to his residence.
He was pursued to his apartment, where he was caught and arrested without further incident. The first agent whom he threw onto the pavement was hospitalized.
Hurtado-Cariaco was charged the following day with the attempted murder of a federal officer. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
“The arrest and prosecution of this vicious Tren de Aragua gang member underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting our law enforcement officers in the line of duty,” Blanche said in a statement. “Violent attacks from terrorists against those who serve our communities will be met with swift and decisive justice.”
Woods praised the conduct of the law enforcement officers, saying they “maintained their professionalism while being met with potentially fatal violence.”
“Despite sustaining injuries, the agents did not give up and made a successful arrest,” he added.
MORE TREN DE ARAGUA AND MS-13 GANGS CROSSING BORDER FROM CANADA: NOEM
Tren de Aragua has become a central focus of the Trump administration, portrayed as one of the main instigators of crime resulting from mass immigration. They were designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization earlier this year.
President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act in March, largely due to criminal activities from illegal immigrants who are suspected members of TDA. The invocation of the 1798 law resulted in a number of suspected gang members being deported to a Salvadoran prison, with massive legal battles being undertaken to reverse these actions.
