Migrants busted in brutal beating of NYPD cops in Times Square are members of bloodthirsty ‘Tren de Aragua’ gang: feds
At least two of the migrants charged in the shocking caught-on-video mob attack on two NYPD cops in Times Square are members of the notorious Venezuelan street gang “Tren de Aragua,” federal immigration officials told The Post on Thursday.
Wilson Juarez, 21, and Kelvin Servita-Arocha, 19, who are charged in the Jan. 27 attack on New York’s Finest, are being held without bail by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as reputed members of the bloodthirsty gang that has made a footprint in the Big Apple.
“Both unlawfully present Venezuelan citizens have been charged in conjunction with the violent gang assault carried out on two NYPD officers are are currently detailed without bond,” ICE spokeswoman Marie Ferguson said in an email to The Post.
“Both noncitizens have been identified as members of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization,” Ferguson said.
Juarez and Arocha were nabbed by immigration agents inside a Bronx apartment after cops executed an arrest warrant for another asylum seeker wanted in the Times Square attack.
Arocha was arrested on an ICE warrant and will have his custody status re-evaluated, while Juarez was picked up on a deportation order from a judge in El Paso, Texas one year ago, according to ICE officials.
The revelation comes as a second migrant linked to the Times Square attack became just the second to be ordered held without bail in the Big Apple, while another was hit with a $100,000 cash bail.
Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19, who was initially released without bail after the Jan. 27 beatdown of two of New York’s Finest, was shipped off to Rikers Island on Wednesday night after getting busted again for allegedly shoplifting at a Queens Macy’s department store.
“The rule of law and those who enforce it must be respected,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement released Thursday. “Otherwise brazen lawlessness will rule the day and our great city will descend into chaos.”
The decision to jail Gomez-Izquiel came hours before 21-year-old Ulises Bohorquez became the eighth migrant arraigned in the cowardly assault and ordered held on $100,000 cash bail or a $250,000 bond.
A contingent of NYPD cops were in court for the proceedings.
“They have no regard for the law,” NYPD PBA President Patrick Hendry said of the migrant suspects. “They have no regard for police officers. They’re just trying to stay out in the streets of the city of New York and commit crimes.”
Hendry said the union will keep the heat on the suspects — and the prosecutors who are now handling the cases.
“We’re going to hold this criminal justice system — from the top all the way down — accountable,” he said. “Part of it is being in these courtrooms to make sure that these individuals are held accountable for what they did that day.”
Police have identified at least one other migrant who remains on the loose in the incident and another as a person of interest, with as many as 14 suspects believed to have taken part in the beatdown of an NYPD lieutenant and a police officer after they tried to break up an unruly crowd.
Here’s the latest NYP coverage on the cop beatings by migrants in Times Square:
- NYC migrant accused in vicious beating of Times Square cops arrested again after he’s bailed out
- Migrant who kicked NYPD cop in Times Square brawl takes plea deal that could land him in jail for one year
- Cops allegedly beaten by rowdy migrant mob near Times Square — with suspects later freed without bail
- Hochul steps up call to deport migrant mob busted in cop-beating caught on video
- Soft-on-crime Manhattan DA Bragg indicts 7 migrants in Times Square attack on NYPD cops — after letting several go without bail
- Migrant teen accused in Times Square attack on cops is arrested again for Macy’s robbery
Migrants busted in brutal beating of NYPD cops in Times Square are members of bloodthirsty ‘Tren de Aragua’ gang: feds- NYC migrant accused of beating cops in Times Square, punching and biting store workers whines he’s the one in danger as judge sets $100K bail
Migrant teen charged in Times Square shooting ‘needs to pay,’ his aunt says- A look at all the asylum-seekers charged in Times Square attack on NYPD officers
So far eight migrants have been charged with assault on a police officer and obstructing government administration in the Jan. 27 attack: Gomez-Izquiet, Bohorquez, Juarez, Arocha, Yorman Reveron, 24, Yohenry Brito, 24, Jhoan Boada, 22, and Yarwuin Madris, 17.
The first five suspects were initially released without bail by Manhattan prosecutors pending further investigation, including a closer review of video footage of the assault.
Brito, who was arrested last week, became the first to be ordered held on bail, with a Manhattan judge ordering him held on $15,000 cash bail or a $50,000 bond — but was released this week after a Brooklyn activist priest posted the bond pending his next court appearance.
On Wednesday, Madris became the first of the brutal bunch to be held without bail.
Seven of the migrants have now been named in a Manhattan indictment.
According to court filings by the Manhattan DA’s Office, Brito was the initial instigator during the Jan. 27 incident by refusing to move along when police dispersed the rowdy group.
After fleeing the scene he exchanged his distinctive yellow sweatshirt with Juarez to avoid being tied to the attack, prosecutors said.
The other migrants allegedly jumped into the fray, with the cops getting grabbed, thrown to the ground and kicked before the crew ran off — with four taken into custody nearby and the rest in the weeks that followed.
Prosecutors said at least two of the suspects — Juarez and Arocha — were later taken into custody by federal immigration authorities, and said earlier reports that several of the migrants hopped on a bus and fled to California proved to be unfounded.
Officials at ICE confirmed on Thursday that both are “unlawfully present” in the country and have been charged.
At his arraignment Wednesday night, Queens prosecutors asked that Gomez-Izquiel be held without bail on the Macy’s shoplifting charge, or at least have bail set at $10,000.
The judge instead set bail at $1 on the petty larceny case — but ordered the migrant held without bail due to the outstanding Manhattan assault charge.
Gomez-Izquiel was initially released without bail in Manhattan but was hauled back into court after prosecutors said he was part of a migrant crew that tried to steal more than $600 in clothing from Macy’s.
Meanwhile, Bohorquez went before a judge in Manhattan and was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail or a $250,000 bond on Thursday.
His lawyer, Brian Hutchinson, questioned the amount.
“I think it was excessive,” Hutchinson said outside the courtroom. “Especially considering what happened with the other defendants.”
It is unclear if ICE has linked any of the migrants other than Juarez and Arochoa have been linked to Tren de Aragua, or Aragua Train, with the name stemming from the vicious gang’s origins as a railroad labor union in the Venezuelan province of Aragua.
NYPD sources said Thursday that while the investigation is continuing the department has not definitively identified any of the migrants as official members of the vicious South American gang.
The NYPD recently issued warnings about the South American gang infiltrating the five boroughs after members have sneaked into the country requesting asylum — only to set up shop in the city.
The Post reported Wednesday that National Guard troops, who patrol migrant shelters in the Empire State, were urged to keep an eye out for distinctive Tren de Aragua tattoos on incoming asylum seekers.
Additional reporting by Kyle Schnitzer
