Venezuelan illegal alien, alleged Tren de Aragua leader in California, arrested on immigration charges

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ICE attempts to remove all of Tren de Aragua members from US soil

Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin has the latest on the crackdown of illegal migrant gang members on ‘Special Report.’

A Venezuelan illegal alien, and alleged leader of the violent Tren de Aragua gang, was arrested in Los Angeles County last week, the Trump administration told Fox News on Monday.

Yonaiker Gallegos, who had been using the name Yoniaker(sic) Rafel Martinez-Ramos, was already in local custody on misdemeanor charges for blank checks and possession of a deceptive government ID.

He was located by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on April 22, according to a senior Trump administration official. Agents were able to determine that Martinez-Ramos was likely a fake identity after obtaining information about the items in his possession when he was arrested by local authorities. 

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Yonaiker Gallegos, a Venezuelan national and alleged Tren de Aragua leader, was already in local custody in Los Angeles County on misdemeanor charges, but was using a false identity. (Senior Trump administration official)

He was positively identified as Gallegos on April 23 after HSI’s National Gang Unit obtained pictures of Martinez-Ramos’ tattoos and booking photos.

Analysts were also able to locate his social media posts and pictures, which ultimately confirmed his real identity as Yonaiker Gallegos through facial recognition technology, the official said.

A video shared with Fox News from Gallegos’ social media allegedly showed him flaunting grenades and a rifle.

Yonaiker Gallegos allegedly posted a video on social media flaunting grenades and a rifle, according to Homeland Security Investigations. (Senior Trump administration official)

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He was arrested on April 25 for Title 8 (immigration) violations, according to the senior official, who also said he was “identified as a leader of TDA based in California.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also confirmed Gallegos’ arrest.

Analysts with Homeland Security Investigations’ National Gang Unit were able to match tattoos on “Yoniaker Rafel Martinez-Ramos” to pictures on Yonaiker Gallegos’ social media, the senior official said. (Senior Trump administration official)

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HSI Los Angeles coordinated with state and local authorities to take Gallegos into federal custody on immigration-related charges.