A violent Venezuelan gang member accused of kidnapping and strangling a man in Florida was in the United States illegally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
ICE told DCNF that Border Patrol agents in Dany Beach, Florida, arrested Yulwin Salazar Mayta, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, on state murder and kidnapping charges on January 10th. A detainer was sent to the Dade County Department of Corrections. Salazar Maita, a member of the Venezuelan gang Torren de Aragua, is accused of kidnapping and murdering Jose Luis Sánchez Barrera in November. according to For local news coverage. (Related: Exclusive: The man who allegedly defrauded elderly Americans out of thousands of dollars was in the U.S. illegally)
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro speaks during the closing election ahead of the Essequibo referendum in Caracas, December 1, 2023. (Photo by PEDRO RANCES MATTEY/AFP via Getty Images)
“As part of its mission to identify and apprehend deportable noncitizens, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) conducts operations to identify and apprehend deportable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement.” Immigration agents are dispatched to noncitizens.Immigration agents require ICE to notify state or local law enforcement agencies as soon as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from custody. ICE spokesperson told DCNF.
According to local reports, the victim was lured to the La Quinta Inn & Suites in Doral, Florida on November 27 by the women. At around 2:35 a.m. on November 28, Sanchez Barrera and two women left their hotel room when they were ambushed by three people, including Salazar Mayta, and allegedly kidnapped in the hotel parking lot. .
According to local reports, two gunmen also broke into Sánchez Barrera's apartment and stole a safe. Sanchez-Barrera's relatives were later found dead in the back seat of the car with his hands and feet bound with tape, and a medical examiner later determined the cause of death was asphyxiation.
Torren de Aragua primarily exploits Venezuelan women and children for human trafficking in Peru. according to to the State Department. The gang's leader, Hector Guerrero, 40, escaped from a Venezuelan prison he had taken control of and is wanted by Venezuela, Peru, Chile and Interpol. according to to local news outlets.
Kyle Williamson, director of the West Texas Anti-Gang Center in El Paso, Texas, previously told DCNF that young members of Venezuelan gangs often travel to the U.S. without tattoos indicating their affiliation with border authorities. He is said to be trying to enter the country.
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