Four Venezuelan Nationals, Including Alleged Tren de Aragua Member, Charged with Firearm Offenses

Albuquerque – 

Federal authorities charged four illegal aliens with unlawful firearm possession and related offenses after state-wide law enforcement operations.

On February 25, 2025, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents executed a search warrant at an apartment in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They found a loaded pistol with an extended magazine holding 19 rounds of ammunition in one bedroom. A witness claimed the firearm belonged to Maikol Ramos and had previously seen it in his possession.

Authorities confirmed that Ramos, a Venezuelan citizen, was unlawfully present in the United States. A criminal complaint charges Ramos with illegally possessing a firearm or ammunition.

In another bedroom, agents found a loaded pistol and ammunition under a bed. Antoni Herrera, a Venezuelan national unlawfully present in the U.S., admitted owning the firearm and said he received it two weeks earlier as payment for a debt.

A criminal complaint charges Herrera with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm or ammunition.

On February 19, 2025, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a federal search warrant at the Espanola, New Mexico, home of Raul Esparza-Gonzalez. Agents seized 11 firearms, including pistols, revolvers, shotguns, and rifles. Esparza-Gonzalez admitted to illegally purchasing the firearms through private sales, knowing he was prohibited from possessing them. He revealed that he had previously been deported to Mexico and had unlawfully re-entered the United States about six years ago. A criminal complaint charges Esparza-Gonzalez with being an alien in possession of a firearm.

In a separate investigation, HSI initiated an inquiry into Cristhian Ortega-Lopez in January 2025, following an anonymous tip. Ortega-Lopez, an illegal alien from Venezuela suspected of being affiliated with Tren de Aragua, was allegedly residing with other illegal aliens in Las Cruces and had been in possession of firearms. The investigators determined he had illegally entered the U.S. on December 15, 2023. Prior to the 2025 incident, an unidentified agency detained Ortega-Lopez but released him due to overcrowding while he was awaiting removal proceedings. Social media evidence showed Ortega-Lopez in possession of multiple firearms at a shooting range in Las Cruces.

Ortega-Lopez is charged by criminal complaint with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm or ammunition.

All four men will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, they each face 15 years in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, made the announcement today.

Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation into these cases, with enforcement support from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, Albuquerque Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Trembley, Patrick Cordova, Maria Armijo, and Ry Ellison are prosecuting the cases.