Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Earlier today, the United States declared three members of Tren de Aragua (TdA) Alien Enemies and announced plans to extradite them to Chile, where they are wanted for violent crimes including homicide, kidnapping for ransom, and other offenses.

TdA is a foreign terrorist organization with thousands of members, many of whom have unlawfully entered the United States to commit brutal crimes, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, and human and drug trafficking. Three known TdA members, Adrian Rafael Gamez Finol, Miguel Oyola Jimenez, and Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio, illegally entered the United States after allegedly committing horrific crimes in Chile.  Recognizing the grave threat that TdA poses to the nations it infiltrates, Chile has asked the United States to help return these men to Chile to face justice. Today, the Department of Justice announced that it will take swift action to grant these requests and send these Alien Enemies to Chile.   

“These three Tren de Aragua members pose a grave risk to the public safety and national security of the United States, just as they allegedly did in Chile,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Based on their membership in TdA, they have been declared Alien Enemies. We will not tolerate violent illegal aliens in our country. The Justice Department is taking every step within the bounds of the law to ensure these individuals are promptly sent to Chile to face justice for their abhorrent crimes. In fact, we would have already removed these violent gang members to Chile to face justice were it not for the nationwide injunction imposed by a single judge in Washington D.C., which we are challenging today in the D.C. Circuit,” he added.  “We hope common sense and justice will prevail.”

The three TdA members are:

• Adrian Rafael Gamez Finol, also known as Rafael Enrique Gamez Salas, 38, a dual Venezuelan and Colombian citizen, is wanted in Chile for extortion, kidnapping resulting in homicide, kidnapping for extortion, unjustified firearm discharge, and criminal association. Gamez Finol was removed from the United States to Venezuela in August 2023, and allegedly subsequently illegally re-entered the United States. On Feb. 18, Gamez Finol was indicted in the Southern District of Texas for illegally reentering the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Gamez Finol is currently in Texas county prison serving a sentence for human smuggling;
• Miguel Oyola Jimenez, 37, a dual Venezuelan and Ecuadorian citizen, is wanted in Chile for two counts of kidnapping for ransom. Oyola Jimenez is currently in federal custody in the Western District of Washington, having been arrested on a provisional arrest request submitted by Chilean authorities seeking his return to Chile to stand trial on the kidnapping charges; and
• Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio, 37, a Venezuelan citizen, is wanted in Chile for kidnapping with homicide, kidnapping for ransom, and criminal association. Benitez Rubio is in immigration custody in the Southern District of Indiana, pending removal.

The Justice Department will work expeditiously to return these Alien Enemies to Chile to face justice.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice

President Trump has been clear that securing the Southwestern Border of the United States is a priority of the absolute highest level. To that end, the Department of Justice is playing a critical role in Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve total elimination of cartels and transitional criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Last week, the U.S. Attorneys for Arizona, Western Texas, Southern Texas, New Mexico, Southern California, and Central California charged more than 840 defendants with criminal violations of U.S. immigration laws.

The District of Arizona has brought immigration-related criminal charges against 217 defendants. Specifically, the United States filed 91 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 103 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States also filed 15 cases against 23 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.

The Central District of California filed charges against 17 defendants who allegedly illegally re-entered the United States after being removed. Many of the defendants charged were previously convicted of felony offenses before they were removed from the United States, offenses that include assault with bodily injury. One of the defendants is suspected of murder while another was arrested on suspicion of committing assault with intent to rape. The crime of being found in the United States following removal carries a base penalty of up to two years in federal prison. Defendants who were removed after being convicted of a felony face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and defendants removed after being convicted of an aggravated felony face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

The Southern District of California filed more than 90 border-related cases this week, including charges of transportation of illegal aliens, bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, deported alien found in the United States, and importation of controlled substances.

The District of New Mexico brought the following criminal charges in New Mexico: 46 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Reentry After Deportation, four individuals were charged this week with Alien Smuggling (8 U.S.C. 1324), and 27 individuals were charged this week with Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. 1325).

The Southern District of Texas filed a total of 246 cases related to immigration and border security. Of those, 91 face allegations of illegally re-entering the country with the majority having felony convictions such as narcotics, violent and/or sexual crimes and prior immigration offenses, among others. A total of 145 face charges of illegally entering the country, eight cases involve various instances of human smuggling, and the remainder relate to other immigration matters and making false statements.

The Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 210 immigration and immigration-related criminal cases.

We are grateful for the hard work of our border prosecutors in bringing these cases and helping to make our border safe again. 

Source: United States Department of Justice

Attorney General Pamela Bondi made the following statement regarding the death of former U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber:

“The loss of Jessica Aber, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is deeply tragic. Our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends during this profoundly difficult time.”