(LibertySociety.com) – Following the brutal murder of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student, authorities revealed new information about her alleged killer, José Antonio Ibarra, and his brother Diego Ibarra. Federal prosecutors said that Diego Ibarra is linked to the organized crime gang named Tren de Aragua. The gang is based in Venezuela but has branched out into various countries in Central and South America. Federal authorities also believe that the gang is attempting to establish a home base in the United States.
When Diego Ibarra illegally entered the United States for the second known time on April 30, 2023, he tried to bite a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent. For reasons unknown, Diego Ibarra was not charged, but the man he was traveling with was arrested during the incident. Some of the people who were arrested and subsequently released without bail for assaulting several NYPD police officers were also members of Tren de Aragua. The gang also operates in Illinois and the southern states of Florida, Texas, and Georgia. Diego Ibarra was arrested during the search for Laken Riley’s murderer.
Police found a fake green card in his possession at the time of the stop. A spokesperson from the University of Georgia revealed that Diego Ibarra had used the fake green card to get hired to work as a dishwasher in the Bolton Dining Hall on campus. He was fired after failing to provide the university with additional documentation and did not receive a paycheck, according to the spokesperson. Prosecutors believe that Diego Ibarra is tied to the Tren de Aragua gang based on certain tattoos, his choice of clothing, and photos of him flashing gang signs on social media. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) also discovered photos of Diego Ibarra with firearms he illegally possessed. Prosecutors also wrote that Tren de Aragua gang members often wear Chicago Bulls clothing, even if they do not support the team.
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