Federal agents arrested a Venezuelan illegal alien who flaunted his stash of grenades on social media and is believed to be a leader of the vicious Tren de Aragua.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested Yonaiker Gallegos, who posed with an AR-15 and several grenades online, in Los Angeles County on Friday.
“On Tuesday evening April 22, 2025, HSI was able to locate Gallegos who was utilizing the false name Yoniaker Rafel MARTINEZ-RAMOS, who was in state custody in Los Angeles County on misdemeanor charges,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to Fox News.
The HSI National Gang Unit was able to identify the suspected Tren de Aragua leader as Yonaiker Gallegos after cross-referencing booking photos and social media images, using facial comparison tools to confirm his true identity. HSI successfully took Gallegos into custody for violations of Title 8, an immigration policy.
The arrest marks the latest crackdown by the Trump administration on the violent Venezuelan gang. The criminal enterprise was one of eight cartel and gang organizations designated as a foreign terrorist organization by Trump’s State Department.
A multi-agency raid over the weekend resulted in the capture of over 100 illegal aliens at an underground nightclub in Colorado that authorities say was being used by Tren de Aragua members. The raid, which was carried out by agents from the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and even the United States Postal Service and IRS, also resulted in the seizure of drugs and weapons.
Trump’s Department of Justice recently charged 27 current and former suspected Tren de Aragua members under the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), leveraging a law best known for its use against the mafia against cartels. The charges, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, spanned three different states and “will devastate TdA’s infrastructure.”
The administration also employed the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the deportation of Tren de Aragua members to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center. Now the administration is locked in an ongoing legal battle with federal judges over its use of the law to remove the criminal aliens.
