WATERTOWN, Wis. — A man believed to be a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman and her daughter in a small Wisconsin town, prompting local Republican Rep. David Van Orden to say it's “just a matter of time” before a tragedy occurs due to the Biden-Harris administration's open border policies.
Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate, 26, is accused of handcuffing a woman and her daughter last weekend and holding them against their will “under particularly brutal circumstances” and “sexually and physically assaulting both of them over a period of time,” Prairie du Chien Police Chief Kyle Tainer said at a news conference Monday.
Police said the victim's minor child was also injured in the incident.
He sexually abused a mother and daughter in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Crawford County Jail
Police initially said they “suspected” Zarate had ties to the Tren de Aragua gang, which has been wreaking havoc across the country, but on Monday said based on the results of their investigation they were “now more certain” about Zarate's links to international gangs.
Van Alden, who won the 3rd Congressional District in the 2022 election, said the news came as a shock to his hometown of 5,500 people but it didn't come as a surprise.
“It's shocking, but not surprising,” the former Navy SEAL told The Washington Post on Monday. “Everyone in the neighborhood, everyone back home, called us right away.”
Speaking at a campaign event an hour north in La Crosse last weekend, Van Alden said Coronel Zarate's arrest is a big problem because the community is being “terrorized” by these crimes.
“To me, what this administration is doing is shocking and almost unacceptable,” he told The Washington Post.
“They opened the border, they allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the country, many of whom are clearly easily identifiable as criminal illegal immigrants. And they're kidnapping, raping, and murdering our children. They're terrorizing our communities across the country. And the Biden administration is ignoring that.”
“Criminals with easily identifiable gang tattoos have been allowed into the country under Border Control Secretary Harris,” the congressman added in disbelief.
Just this week, the Tren de Aragua gang has infiltrated the outskirts of sanctuary cities, destroying quiet communities. The Washington Post reported that the brutal immigrant gang took over an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado, forcing the landlord to sell the dilapidated property.
Coronel Zarate has previously been incarcerated, facing a long list of brutal charges including sexual assault, assault, strangulation, suffocation, false imprisonment, child abuse and disorderly conduct.
He was taken into custody in Minneapolis on Nov. 5 for receiving stolen property. An arrest warrant was issued for the 26-year-old in Dane County, Wisconsin on Dec. 1 on charges of strangulation, false imprisonment, assault and disorderly conduct.
There is no record of an arrest, and Coronel Zarate traveled by road from Madison to the Mississippi River town where this heinous act was committed.
Prairie du Chien police confirmed Zarate entered the U.S. in September 2023 “at or near the El Paso, Texas, port of entry.”
Speaking at a news conference with Tayner and Sheriff Dale McCarrick of Crawford County, where the migrants are jailed, Van Alden blamed the Biden administration for mismanaging the border and allowing gang members to infiltrate communities.
“It doesn't matter what your political stance is. This is not a Democrat issue. This is not an independent or a libertarian issue. This is a human rights issue,” he said.
“The civil rights of American citizens are being violated. They are being kidnapped, raped and murdered by criminal illegal immigrants. This must stop.”
Van Alden is defending his seat in November against Democratic challenger Rebecca Cook on Wisconsin's western border, an R+4 seat that the Cook Political Report rates as a “Republican-leaning” race.
A June poll from Marquette University Law School found that immigration was the second most important issue for voters choosing a candidate in November's presidential election, behind the economy and ahead of abortion.
Since President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office, there have been nearly 11 million illegal entries into the United States, defined as those confirmed by Customs and Border Protection inspections.
