Tensions boiled over in Portland, Oregon, late Thursday as agitators clashed with police outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building. This unrest followed a shooting involving Border Patrol agents that left two suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua hospitalized.
A statement posted on January 9 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detailing the incident reads as follows:
Yesterday, two suspected Tren de Aragua gang associates—let loose on American streets by Joe Biden—weaponized their vehicle against Border Patrol in Portland. The agent took immediate action to defend himself and others, shooting them.
The driver of the vehicle, Luis David Nico Moncada is a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela and suspected Tren de Aragua gang member. He illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was RELEASED into the country by the Biden administration. Since then, he was arrested for DUI and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He has a final order of removal.
The passenger, Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras is a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela and is associated with Tren de Aragua. She illegally entered the U.S. in 2023 near El Paso, Texas, and was RELEASED into this country by the Biden administration. Since illegally entering, Contreras played an active role in a Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and was involved with a prior shooting in Portland.
Yesterday, two suspected Tren de Aragua gang associates—let loose on American streets by Joe Biden—weaponized their vehicle against Border Patrol in Portland. The agent took immediate action to defend himself and others, shooting them.
The driver of the vehicle, Luis David Nico… pic.twitter.com/E7qHKKfp6b
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 9, 2026
The incident took place on January 8 during a traffic stop in East Portland. They used their vehicle as a weapon against Border Patrol agents. The agent reacted swiftly to protect himself and others by shooting them.
The couple reportedly fled the scene but were later located after calling 911 for help, according to Portland Police reports. Officers responded to their call, applied a tourniquet to the injured man, and then called in more medical personnel for the couple. The man, shot in the arm, and his wife, in the chest, were later hospitalized, with their conditions unknown as of press time.
The FBI’s Portland office is investigating the shooting, which marks the second high-profile attack against federal immigration agents in the past week, following another incident where an agitator attempted to run over ICE agents as well, and was fatally shot as a result, in Minneapolis.
By evening, hundreds of rioters reportedly gathered outside the ICE facility in South Portland, calling for agents to leave the city. Portland police reportedly arrested six individuals during the unrest.
Video footage posted by Nick Sortor shows heated exchanges between the agitators and federal officers in the streets of Portland throughout late Thursday night.
🚨 BREAKING: Police and leftist rioters actively clash outside ICE Portland after Border Patrol shoot a Tren de Aragua gang member who tried to RUN THEM OVER
Democrats DOUBLING DOWN on their support for foreign gangs
Run this as an AD for 2026! pic.twitter.com/BJiZzcyunP
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 9, 2026
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson (D) has since urged ICE to stop all operations in the city pending the investigation. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) echoed the calls to shut down ICE operations in Portland.
The Tren de Aragua gang, which first sprouted from a small organization inside a Venezuelan prison and has now expanded into a global criminal organization, has been linked to a litany of violent crimes, including murder, kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, and drug trafficking throughout the U.S.
DHS designated TdA as a foreign terrorist organization, with federal agents intensifying their efforts to dismantle the criminal operation, specifically throughout the past year.
The Dallas Express has previously reported on the gang’s activities, such as the arrest of a convicted child killer and confirmed TdA member in El Paso under the statewide crackdown from Abbott’s office called Operation Lone Star. Texas authorities have also reportedly captured over 40 TdA members near Austin and busted operations closer to home – involving drug and gun crimes in Fort Worth, where suspects had very distinctive crown and star tattoos associated with the gang.
Additional indictments have charged dozens of alleged TdA members in schemes ranging from ATM hacking to mass cocaine trafficking across the states, with one case in Nebraska accusing 54 of the gang members of stealing millions to fund their crime sprees, as previously reported by DX.
ICE and CBP have made multiple high-profile arrests of TdA members across Texas, including one example in Houston last year, where a 47-year-old gang member was arrested in a joint operation with the FBI and Texas DPS.
“Every transnational gang member or dangerous criminal alien that we remove from the community is another life saved, and another violent crime prevented. This is especially true for Tren de Aragua gang members who are known to be among the most brutal transnational gangs with a presence in the U.S,” said Bret Bradford, Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, Houston Field Office.
In response to the gang’s impact on the Lone Star State, Governor Greg Abbott has officially declared Texas “hostile territory” to TdA.
On January 3, Customs and Border Protection posted a photo of another recently arrested TdA gang member, with a caption reading, “USBP remains committed to identifying, arresting, and deporting violent gang members and criminals who threaten public safety.”
