A member of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, who was trying to buy grenades, was arrested during sweeping immigration raids in New York City, according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Noem joined federal immigration authorities on Tuesday for the raids, which targeted violent criminals in major cities and elsewhere.
The arrested gang member, identified as Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, was a “ringleader” of the Tren de Aragua gang and had been involved in a gun and weapons exchange, Noem said. He was trying to buy grenades and was one of the men who appeared in a viral security camera video from August 2024 who menaced an apartment building shortly before a fatal shooting.
Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, is the same man who was caught on camera in a video showing heavily armed men kicking down an apartment door at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. He was in the country illegally and was arrested inside a Bronx apartment and charged with kidnapping, assault, and burglary.
Noem confirmed that the gang member arrested was involved in incidents in Aurora, Colorado, that captured national attention in August. She said that President Donald Trump is taking action to go after criminals who are in the country illegally despite some Democratic leaders opposing the effort.
The raids, which were conducted by ICE and DEA, resulted in 1016 arrests and 814 detainers in a single day, according to an update issued by ICE. The agency said that the raids were targeting violent criminals who are in the country illegally.
Local residents praised the raids, saying that they had been affected by the gang’s violent crimes. “You do have the feeling, the fear of what happens if they come here next,” said Tyreek Goodman, a member of the Bronx County Conservative Party. “There’s been a lot of crimes on the MTA, based off people that weren’t supposed to be here. So we have to understand that in order to keep our people safe, this is a time for us to stand by law enforcement.”
