The suspect in the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley is a documented member of the notorious Venezuelan crime syndicate Tren de Aragua (TdA), NewsNation reported Monday.
As Jose Ibarra’s trial resumed in Athens, Georgia, it emerged that the 26-year-old illegal immigrant was a reported member of the notorious gang, alongside at least one of his brothers.
The gang was thrust into the national conversation surrounding immigration after a viral video surfaced on social media, depicting armed members storming an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. Since then, TdA’s presence has been reported across the country.
Newsweek contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment via email Monday morning.
Who is Jose Ibarra?
Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP
Ibarra was arrested shortly after Riley, 22, was found dead on the University of Georgia’s Athens campus on February 22, 2024.
Prosecutors believe he killed the student just after 9 a.m. while she was out for a run. She died from blunt-force trauma, with a medical examiner detailing a complex skull fracture and eight other lacerations.
Ibarra is charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another. He faces 10 charges in total, which he denies, and he has waived his right to a jury trial.
The 26-year-old Venezuelan was living less than a mile from the campus at the time with his two brothers.
Ibarra arrived in the U.S. in September 2022, having crossed the southwest border illegally in El Paso, Texas. Immigration officials detained him but later released him, while his case was pending.
The suspect was later arrested in New York in August 2023. It is not clear at which point between that date and February 2024 he arrived in Georgia.
Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool
Ibarra’s brothers called to court
On Friday, the defense subpoenaed Ibarra’s brothers, Argenis and Diego Ibarra, as witnesses.
Diego was charged with green card fraud in February 2024. He previously worked at a UGA cafeteria before his arrest.
According to CNN, Diego was linked to TdA by the U.S. Department of Justice following that arrest earlier this year, having a five-pointed crown tattoo on his neck, typical of the gang’s members.
What is Tren de Aragua?
TdA, one of the largest and most violent criminal organizations in South America, has been expanding its presence in the U.S., as evidenced by U.S. Border Patrol reports of significant apprehensions among its members—41 in FY2023 and 23 in FY2024—highlighting its growing activity.
The transnational criminal organization, formed in a Venezuelan prison and named after the state where it was founded, focuses on human trafficking, extortion and other abuses targeting vulnerable migrants.
In October, Mexican authorities issued warnings that migrant caravans traveling toward the U.S. are being “extorted” by the infamous crime syndicate and the gang is also accused of smuggling women and girls for sexual exploitation.
A report by Telemundo estimates that the gang has approximately 5,000 members and generates annual profits ranging from $10 to $15 million.
The crime syndicate has been connected to a string of high-profile crimes on U.S. soil.
In October, an alleged sex trafficking ringleader known as La Barbie, who is said to have links to TdA, was arrested in El Paso, according to a leaked Border Patrol memo seen by the New York Post.
Two men, Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, charged with Jocelyn Nungary’s death in Houston last summer, have ties to the gang.
In October, an alleged sex trafficking ringleader known as La Barbie, who is said to have links to TdA, was arrested in El Paso, according to a leaked Border Patrol memo seen by the New York Post.
The owner of a hotel in El Paso faces legal action due to alleged violent criminal activity involving suspected members of the Venezuelan gang
Governor Greg Abbott has taken steps to designate the group as a terrorist organization, a move aimed at increasing criminal penalties for suspected members. Additionally, he has announced a $5,000 reward for information that helps identify or lead to the arrest of known or suspected members involved in criminal activities.
Abbott’s press secretary Andrew Mahaleris previously told Newsweek that TdA is a “ruthless organization that has no place in the state of Texas.”
“The price we’ve paid for the federal government’s failure to secure the border has been deadly. Among the many victims is 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was raped and killed by illegal immigrants,” Mahaleris said.
