ICE carries out raid in Colorado, arrests over 100 members of Venezuelan gang: Officials
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(AURORA, Colo.) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 100 alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua during an early morning raid at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, on Wednesday.
Dozens of federal agents were seen going door to door and speaking to residents in their apartments.
ICE was supported by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Customs and Border Protection and the FBI, the agency said.
Volunteers with the Colorado Rapid Response Network, an immigrant rights group, were also seen using megaphones to advise residents to not speak or open their doors.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration sent its first flight of migrants to Guantanamo Bay, alleging the 10 individuals were members of Tren de Aragua.
President Donald Trump has railed against criminal gangs, specifically Tren de Aragua, in Aurora since his time on the campaign trail.
“We will stop the invasion of illegals into our country. We will defend our territory,” Trump said during a visit to Aurora in October 2024. “We will not be conquered. We will reclaim our sovereignty. And Colorado will vote for Trump as a protest and signal to the world that we are not going to take it anymore.”
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris ended up winning in Colorado by about 350,000 votes.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — A moderate risk for severe weather is in place from eastern Texas through Louisiana and Mississippi and into Alabama on Saturday.
The risk for severe weather begins in Texas on Saturday morning and then charges east through the evening and into overnight.
The greatest risk will be for several strong and large long-tracked tornadoes, potentially EF3 or greater, according to the Storm Predication Center.
Other risk factors will be from large hail, damaging wind and flash flooding.
As for the rain, 2 inches to 4 inches of rain is expected in the South on Saturday from Texas to Alabama and Tennessee, with localized areas of 5 or more inches possible, leading to that flash flood risk.
This same storm complex will reach the Southeast on Sunday, leading to a severe threat there as well, although it is expected to be far less extreme than Saturday will be.
Strong to severe storms will be rolling through Georgia through the morning hours, as well as the Carolinas – where major hubs like Charlotte and Atlanta may see morning delays due to the storm.
The main threats will be from damaging wind and possible tornadoes on Sunday, though again, the threat is lower than on Saturday.
Virginia may also see strong to severe storms late morning and early afternoon.
This rain will reach Philadelphia to New York City early Monday morning but likely be gone by sunrise Monday. Boston, however, will have a rainy Monday morning.
Police officers investigate the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot/Photo credit: Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Police appear to be closing in on an identity of the man suspected of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan, sources told ABC News on Thursday.
Police have sought a search warrant for a location in New York City where they believe the suspect may have been staying, sources said.
The masked gunman shot Thompson several times at close range on Wednesday morning outside a Hilton Hotel where he was attending a conference.
The “brazen, targeted attack” was “premeditated,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. The motive remains unknown, police said.
Detectives believe the gunman is not a professional killer, sources said. Bullet casings found at the scene had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” written on them, police sources said.
Thompson, 50, was in New York City for the UnitedHealthcare investors conference, which was scheduled to start at 8 a.m. His schedule was widely known, police sources said.
The suspect — who was caught on surveillance cameras before, during and immediately after the shooting — had been lying in wait near the hotel.
Thompson was shot at about 6:40 a.m. After the shooting, the shooter fled on foot into an alley, where a phone believed to be linked to the suspect was later recovered, police sources said.
The suspect then fled on a bike and he was last seen riding into Central Park at 6:48 a.m., police said.
The shooter was caught on surveillance video at 5 a.m. the morning of the shooting outside Frederick Douglass Houses, a public housing project on the Upper West Side, sources told ABC News. That footage showed the suspect carrying what appeared to be an e-bike battery.
Police have recovered a water bottle and candy wrapper from the scene of the shooting which they believe are linked to the gunman. Fingerprint and DNA tests on the items are ongoing, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, said in a statement that she was “shattered” by the “senseless killing.”
“Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives,” she said. “Most importantly, Brian was an incredibly loving father to our two sons and will be greatly missed.”
Police urge the public to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS with any information.
ABC News’ Mark Crudele and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The Mexican drug lord who founded the Sinaloa cartel with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is in plea talks with federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, to resolve his case before a trial that could yield the death penalty, an assistant United States attorney said during a hearing Wednesday.
Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, 76, has pleaded not guilty to a slew of federal drug and weapons charges. He had been wanted in the U.S. for more than two decades when he landed over the summer at a small airport in New Mexico where he was taken into custody.
A frail-looking Zambada appeared at the hearing in a beige smock over an orange T-shirt and reading glasses dangling from the collar. He held an earpiece to his right ear with an index finger to listen to the interpreter.
“The parties have been engaged in discussions to resolve the case pre-trial,” federal prosecutor Francisco Navarro said.
The judge asked the parties to return to court on April 22 and, in the meantime, to keep working on a plea deal. No trial date has been set.
During the hearing, Judge Brian Cogan also allowed Zambada to keep his lawyer, Frank Perez, despite a conflict over Perez’s representation of El Mayo’s son, Vicente Zambada Niebla, who is cooperating with the government and who is likely to be called to testify against his father.
“Because Vicente has information that might be used against you, and indeed because Vicente may testify against you, Mr. Perez has conflicting loyalties,” Cogan said. “You don’t have to proceed with a lawyer like Mr. Perez, who is conflicted.”
Zambada put on his glasses to read a prepared statement that said he wished to retain Perez as his lawyer despite the conflict.
“I understand that upon representing two people in the same case there will be problems,” Zambada said in Spanish. “But I don’t want a different attorney. I want Mr. Perez to represent me even if this presents a conflict.”
The successors of El Mayo and El Chapo have been waging a bloody fight for control of the Sinaloa cartel after El Mayo accused El Chapo’s son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, of betraying him and turning him over to the United States.
Zambada and Guzman Lopez were arrested in New Mexico in July, following an operation that a Homeland Security Investigations official told ABC News had been planned for months.
Zambada faces multiple federal indictments in jurisdictions across the U.S. and has been on the run from U.S. and Mexican law enforcement for years.
He was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court in September on 17 counts related to drug trafficking, firearms offenses and money laundering. The charges make El Mayo eligible for the death penalty. He was ordered detained pending trial.
Federal prosecutors allege that under El Mayo’s leadership, the Sinaloa cartel expanded its drug business into fentanyl manufacturing and distributed thousands of kilograms of fentanyl into the U.S.
The co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, El Chapo, was extradited to the U.S. in 2017, convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.
His son, Guzman Lopez, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges.