A Venezuelan national and alleged terrorist linked to a violent South American gang has been deported after being arrested with a loaded firearm on public school grounds in New York, according to federal officials.
“TdA terrorist and Venezuelan national, Merwil Alberto Gutierrez Flores, has been deported to CECOT. His criminal history includes possession of a firearm on school grounds and ammunition feeding devices. @POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem are getting these criminals out of country,” the CBP posted on May 12.
The post on X accompanied two images: one of Gutierrez Flores—a light-skinned Hispanic man with brown hair, light eyes, and a visible scar or slit through his right eyebrow—and a second, a government document outlining his criminal charges.
A second post the same day elaborated on the timeline:
Merwil entered the U.S. illegally on June 21, 2023 in El Paso, TX and was released into the country. On Feb. 24, FBI agents and NYPD officers arrested him in New York for criminal possession of a weapon, loaded firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, loaded firearm on school grounds, criminal possession of stolen property, and unlawful possession of certain ammunition feeding devices. On Feb. 25, he was turned over to the custody of ICE. On March 15, he was removed to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center.
The Department of Homeland Security released a statement corroborating the arrest and removal of Gutierrez Flores, identifying him as an associate of Tren de Aragua (TdA), a transnational criminal organization that originated in Venezuela. DHS alleges that Flores entered the United States illegally and was subsequently released under the Biden administration’s border policies.
“Merwil Alberto Gutierrez Flores was deported to CECOT because he is an associate of Tren de Aragua—a foreign terrorist organization—whose criminal record included an arrest for having a loaded firearm and ammunition feeding devices at a school,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
“The Biden Administration released this dangerous criminal into our communities in 2023. President Trump and Secretary Noem are getting these criminals off our streets and out of country. When Americans break the law, they face consequences. Now, criminal aliens and gangs finally do, too.”
According to the press release and accompanying documents, Gutierrez Flores was arrested on February 24 in Bronx County by a joint team of FBI and NYPD officers. He was charged with:
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Criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree: loaded firearm
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Criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree: loaded firearm on school grounds
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Criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree: firearms
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Unlawful possession of certain ammunition feeding devices
The ICE removal form notes that Flores claimed to be in good health and was not taking any medications at the time of his detention. The press release includes an excerpt from his I-213 immigration form outlining his charges and detention.
The release also indicates Gutierrez Flores was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement on February 25 and deported to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) on March 15. DHS alleges he had been living freely in the U.S. since his June 2023 release at the southern border despite an immigration hearing scheduled for February 1, 2027.
The information released by the government diametrically opposes the depictions of Gutierrez Flores made by his family and the press. “He’s not Salvadoran, he’s not a gang member, he’s never been accused of a crime,” said Wilmer Gutierrez, Merwil’s father, told a local broadcaster in New York. “He doesn’t even have a tattoo. He doesn’t belong there.”
The outlet reported that Gutierrez Flores was moved between several facilities before being ejected from the country, including an especially “depressing detention center” in Texas.
Government officials have not disclosed whether Flores was actively plotting violence nor whether the firearm he possessed was used or intended for use in a school attack.
Neither ICE nor DHS provided details about how Flores became affiliated with Tren de Aragua, but U.S. authorities have previously linked the organization to drug trafficking, extortion, and targeted violence across Latin America.
As of publication, DHS has not made the full I-213 form publicly available.