FBI says man with ties to Venezuelan gang arrested near Bryan

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - A Venezuelan national with alleged ties to the Tren de Aragua gang was arrested April 9 during a joint operation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) near Bryan, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).

A statement from ICE said 47-year-old Jesus Alberto Escalona-Mujicas entered the country illegally at an unknown time, but U.S. Border Patrol agents took him into custody near Brownsville back in 2023. He was then placed into immigration proceedings and a judge from the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review ordered Escalona-Mujicas removed in March of last year. According to the FBI, he escaped authorities before they could remove him.

ICE officials said Escalona-Mujicas is a documented Tren de Aragua gang member but did not expand on his history.

Escalona-Mujicas was taken into ICE custody and transported to the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, pending his removal from the country.

“Another example of the FBI’s partnerships with federal, state and local law enforcement to strategically target violent criminals within our communities,” a statement from the FBI said.