Free Republic

Joel Cano denies knowledge of criminal ties, resigns from bench amid investigationA former Doña Ana County magistrate judge is responding to allegations that he knowingly allowed members of a Venezuelan gang to live on his property, calling the claims “sensationalism at the highest possible level.” Joel Cano, who resigned from his position in March, is now permanently barred from serving as a judge in New Mexico. The controversy began in late February when Homeland Security Investigations arrested three Venezuelan nationals, including Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, during a raid on Cano’s property. Federal investigators claim the men were well-known members of the...

Somehow, in today’s upside-down world, the radicalized left has decided that violent gang members are the new underdogs they need to defend. Instead of standing up for law-abiding American citizens, they’ve gone all-in on protecting the worst of the worst—drug traffickers, sex offenders, murderers, and now, even foreign-backed gangbangers. And while they’re busy shedding tears for MS-13 and waving in cartel thugs at the border, everyday Americans are being thrown to the wolves. But now we’ve reached a whole new level of disturbing. A new report from Fox News has dropped—and every single American should be talking about it. This...

A former judge and his wife were taken into custody after authorities raided their home in Las Cruces following accusations that they had an alleged Tren de Aragua member living in their home. KFOX14/CBS4 were on the scene Thursday afternoon when the home of former Dona Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed a search warrant and a probable cause arrest warrant, and both were taken into custody. A spokesperson for ICE confirmed they were both taken into custody as part of an ongoing investigation led by Homeland Security...

Donald Trump’s administration must facilitate the return of a second man wrongly deported to a prison in El Salvador, a federal judge has ruled, deepening a standoff between the courts and White House over the president’s radical immigration policies. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher said Wednesday the 20-year-old Venezuelan, along with multiple other migrants, was protected by a 2024 class action settlement prohibiting the deportation of migrants who arrived as unaccompanied minors until their asylum claims are fully adjudicated. His case comes amid a mounting political row over the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran returned to his native...

The FBI has determined that in the next six to 18 months, the Venezuelan government will try to use the members of TdA in the US to threaten, kidnap, and kill US-based Venezuelans critical of the Maduro regime. The FBI has said that Venezuelan officials are "likely using" members of the Tren de Aragua gang in order to destabilize the United States as well as other countries, according to a new report from Fox News. This comes after President Donald Trump has said that the government of Venezuela has purposefully been sending the terrorist gang members into the US. According...

EXCLUSIVE: The FBI assesses that some Venezuelan government officials "likely facilitate" the migration of members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua from Venezuela to the United States to advance the Maduro regime’s objective of undermining public safety in the U.S., Fox News Digital has learned.A senior administration official exclusively shared with Fox News Digital Wednesday unclassified portions of the FBI’s classified intelligence assessment of the Venezuelan government’s relationship with Tren de Aragua.President Donald Trump, upon taking office, designated Tren de Aragua, as well as several other migrant gangs present throughout the U.S., as a foreign terrorist organization.

In an unprecedented move, the Justice Department has announced the indictment of a leader of the violent Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang, who will face terrorism and international drug distribution charges. This is the first time the DOJ has brought terrorism charges against a member of the newly designated foreign terrorist organization. FBI Director Kash Patel called the first-of-its-kind terrorism indictment ‘a critical step in dismantling their network and holding its members accountable.’ Enrique Martinez Flores, 24, a reportedly high-ranking member of TdA who goes by the name ‘Chiqui.’ He is charged with conspiring to provide, and providing, material support...

The first RICO racketeering charges against members and associates of the migrant terrorist group Tren de Aragua were filed this week in New York. A statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said that the case is part of "Operation Take Back America," which it said is a "nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime." According to the statement, the charges filed...

A federal judge in New York on Tuesday extended his block on removal of Tren de Aragua gang members facing deportation under the Alien Enemies Act. US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a 91-year-old Clinton appointee, blasted DOJ lawyers during a hearing on Tuesday and accused them throwing people out of the US “because of their tattoos.” Earlier this month Hellerstein blocked the removal of two alleged Tren de Aragua gang members in New York.

Credit: Polk County Sheriff’s Office ******************************************************************** Someone find the world’s smallest violin. An illegal alien and an alleged Tren de Aragua gangster broke down like a baby being arrested in connection with a violent liquor store robbery spree across central Florida, authorities said. Ramon Jesus Carpintero-Luna, 26, was caught alongside four other suspects tied to a series of armed heists that targeted more than 30 liquor stores, netting an estimated $30,000 in stolen goods. Many of the thefts involved threats of violence and a specific focus on high-end liquor, including bottles of premium scotch, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s...

A Doña Ana County magistrate judge has abruptly stepped down after an alleged Tren de Aragua gang affiliate who is in the U.S. illegally was reportedly arrested at his home and charged with possession of a firearm or ammunition. Judge Jose “Joel” Cano reportedly submitted a letter of resignation on Mar. 3 of this year. Judge Cano, a former police officer who took the bench in 2011, told a Border Hawk source that he did indeed resign but did not comment further. Border Hawk contacted the judge’s office on Apr. 1 and was told by a clerk that he had...

BREAKING: DEMOCRAT NEW MEXICO JUDGE RESIGNS AFTER HOMELAND SECURITY ARRESTS TREN DE ARAGUA DESIGNATED TERRORIST LIVING AT JUDGE'S HOME! The Longtime Doña Ana County Judge Joel Cano, A Democrat Has Abruptly Resigned After Federal Agents Arrested Alleged Violent Venezuelan Tren De Aragua Gang Member & Illegal Alien, Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, At A Guest House At The Judge's Residence. The Venezuelan National Was Arrested While In Possession Of Multiple Firearms, Including Ones Linked To Disturbing Alleged Crimes. Federal Court Filings Show Ortega-Lopez Was Living In The “Casita” Behind Judge Cano’s Residence In Las Cruces After Allegedly Meeting Nancy Cano While Doing Handyman...

BREAKING: DEMOCRAT NEW MEXICO JUDGE RESIGNS AFTER HOMELAND SECURITY ARRESTS TREN DE ARAGUA DESIGNATED TERRORIST LIVING AT JUDGE'S HOME! The Longtime Doña Ana County Judge Joel Cano, A Democrat Has Abruptly Resigned After Federal Agents Arrested Alleged Violent Venezuelan Tren De Aragua Gang Member & Illegal Alien, Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, At A Guest House At The Judge's Residence. The Venezuelan National Was Arrested While In Possession Of Multiple Firearms, Including Ones Linked To Disturbing Alleged Crimes. Federal Court Filings Show Ortega-Lopez Was Living In The “Casita” Behind Judge Cano’s Residence In Las Cruces After Allegedly Meeting Nancy Cano While Doing Handyman...

The Supreme Court on Saturday blocked, for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th-century wartime law. In a brief order, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.” Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. The high court acted in an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The Supreme Court had said earlier in April that deportations could proceed only...

A first-pass run at the life and times of the left's latest version of George Floyd, repatriated illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia, flown to his native El Salvador and imprisoned as an MS-13 gang member, leaves one marveling at how the radical left sure knows how to pick 'em. After all, the guy is a composite of every detested stereotypes about migrants -- illegal border crosser, ignored his final deportation order, identified in police reports as an MS-13 gang member accepted by two judges, crazy high-speed driver endangering others, suspected human trafficker, (with a mysterious dropping of those charges by...

Washington, D.C. Street gangs have existed in the United States since the 1800s. But in the last few years, street gangs have grown more violent, more numerous and more widespread, from the big cities to rural areas. Many gang members are illegal immigrants, mostly from Latin America. An adolescent may hunger for a sense of power. Especially if that youngster has few things in life: no money, little education, a broken family and no cultural attachments to his community. Analysts say teenagers may find power and fear through a street gang, and that is why gangs are growing so rapidly...

Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 @julie_kelly2 Breaking: As I have warned, Jeb Boasberg just filed an opinion finding Trump adm officials in contempt. 11:06 AM · Apr 16, 2025

Federal agents cornered a Venezuelan man in a New Hampshire courthouse elevator before tackling him as he tried to flee — and taking down an elderly bystander in the melee, wild security footage shows. Video released Monday from the Nashua Circuit Court shows two agents throwing 33-year-old Arnuel Marquez Colmenarez down to the floor and handcuffing him just outside an elevator on Feb. 20. An elderly man with a cane, who also rode the elevator with the agents and Colmenarez, was knocked to the floor during the confrontation. He was seen writhing in pain on his back. Another older man...

January 21, 2022 With inflation at a record high, millions of its citizens fleeing the country, and a political opposition recognized by most Western democracies as the legitimate government of Venezuela, the regime of Nicolás Maduro seemed to be on the brink of collapse in 2019. But Maduro regime survived, thanks to a number of factors — among them the external support it received from malign state actors such as Russia and China. Moscow and Beijing never wavered in their political support of the Venezuelan regime, or of Maduro himself, including by refusing to recognize the constitutionally mandated interim presidency...

Two federal judges on Wednesday blocked the removal of Venezuelan nationals and alleged TdA gang members facing deportation under the Alien Enemies Act after the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case. US District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, Fernando Rodriguez, Jr., a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) through April 23 or until he issues an order. “Respondents are enjoined from transferring, relocating, or removing J.A.V., J.G.G., W.G.H., or any other person that Respondents claim are subject to removal under the Proclamation, from the El Valle Detention Center; and Respondents are enjoined from...