Venezuelan gang members who entered US illegally plead guilty to gunning down two unarmed Americans

Federal authorities announced on Wednesday that four members of the notorious Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) pleaded guilty to the May 2024 murders of two unarmed American citizens in New York City.

The gang members, who entered the U.S. illegally, allegedly gunned down Claretha LaQuesha Daniels, 44, and Justin Lawless, 36, in the middle of a residential Bronx street, while also shooting and wounding a third victim, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Keiber "Keybe" Jaen Martinez, Samuel "Klei" Gonzalez Castro, Eferson "Jefferson" Morillo-Gomez, and Keineyer "Keiner" Ibarra-Mujica pleaded guilty in federal court to murder through the use of a firearm and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

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A fifth TdA member recently pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and a gunpoint carjacking, bringing the total number of convicted TdA defendants in the case to eight.

Law enforcement officials described Tren de Aragua as "one of the most vicious gangs on planet earth."

"They rape, maim, and murder for sport," U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Markwayne Mullin wrote in a statement. "Under President [Donald] Trump's leadership, we are targeting and removing gang members from our communities and ensuring those that committed crimes in our country face justice."

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U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said that after the TdA members illegally crossed the border, they flooded New York City streets with "guns, drugs, sex trafficking, and violence." 

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche added the terrorist group has "no place and no future in the United States," and vowed the Justice Department will destroy the organization.

Originally a Venezuelan prison gang, TdA has rapidly expanded into a transnational terrorist organization operating in cities like New York. The group enriches itself through unlawful human smuggling across the border, armed robberies and trafficking a ketamine-mixed drug known as "tusi."

The gang is particularly notorious for the violent sex trafficking of young women, referred to by the gang as "multadas."

The women are smuggled into the U.S. and forced into commercial sex work to pay off smuggling debts. TdA members maintain control over their victims by threatening their families, assaulting them, and tracking down and kidnapping women who attempt to flee.

The convicts face a maximum sentence of life in prison.