The accused killer of Laken Riley is showing that Venezuela’s violent Tren de Aragua gang is a family affair, the NY Post has reported.
Both brothers of illegal Venezuelan migrant Jose Antonio Ibarra are suspected of being involved in the imported prison gang that is wreaking havoc across the US, Homeland Security sources told The Post.
Argenis Ibarra, 24, is the latest brother to be identified as a member of Tren de Aragua, the sources said.
DHS in June identified Argenis as an active member of the gang. He is being held by US Marshals while awaiting the prosecution of fraud charges.
Tren de Aragua has been exploiting the southern border to bring its members into the US, while recruiting for its criminal enterprises in sanctuary cities across the country, including New York City, where it is reportedly engaging in gun smuggling, snatch-and-grab robberies and attacks on cops.
Jose Ibarra is accused of killing Riley on Feb. 22 during a sexual assault along a wooded running trail on the University of Georgia campus in Athens.
Another brother, Diego Ibarra, was identified by authorities as being a member of the Venezuelan gang after he was arrested for using a fake green card to get a job at a UGA dining hall.
He has tattoos associated with Tren de Aragua, including a “five-point crown on the left side of his neck and a five-pointed star on the right side of his neck,” according to an arrest report, and had photos on his social media showing him posing with guns and throwing up gang signs.
He was charged with two counts of possession of a fraudulent document, to which he pleaded guilty last month.
The number of cases federal authorities are investigating over Tren de Aragua is more than “overwhelming,” a source told The Post.
Local and federal law enforcement agencies across the country last week were warned that the gang had given its members the “green light” to shoot cops.
The three alleged gangster brothers all entered the US by crossing the border into El Paso, Texas, but at different times.
Jose crossed illegally into El Paso on Sept. 8, 2022, accompanied by his girlfriend and her 5-year-old son.
He was released soon after due to a lack of detention space, sources said.
Argenis first entered the US by crossing into Eagle Pass, Texas, on April 3, 2023, but was kicked back to Mexico under the COVID expulsion order, per sources.
He was released soon after due to a lack of detention space.
Diego crossed that same day in Eagle Pass and was also expelled to Mexico.
Both, however, made subsequent crossings less than a month later in the El Paso region and were released into the country.
Diego’s release came after he allegedly assaulted a border agent — which wasn’t prosecuted because officials said he claimed to have “epilepsy,” per sources.
While living in the US, Argenis failed to appear for required check-ins with Homeland Security and had his work permit application rejected, said sources.
The brothers all met up in Athens in November 2023.
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