The horrific murder of a 12-year-old girl in Texas, allegedly by two Venezuelan illegal immigrants in Houston, comes amid a continued block by the socialist Maduro regime on deportation flights of Venezuelans from the U.S.
Two illegal immigrants, Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, face capital murder charges in the death of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray. They are accused of luring her under a bridge, tying her up and killing her, before throwing her body into a river.
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An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson said last week that both men are in the country illegally. Martinez was apprehended by Border Patrol in March and Pena was apprehended in May. Both were released on an order of recognizance pending their immigration court hearings.
Their arrivals came after Venezuela in January stopped accepting deportation flights from the U.S. and Mexico. The socialist regime had started accepting returns of their migrants, whose numbers coming to the U.S. border spiked in 2023, in October.
But the Wall Street Journal reported that it stopped the almost weekly deportation flights in February after the U.S. re-imposed economic sanctions it had previously lifted. Only about 1,800 had been deported on the flights up to that point.
Biden administration officials had told reporters weeks earlier that they wanted to increase the number of flights to Venezuela, saying that “we do have the intention of ramping up repatriation flights to Venezuela” and that the administration sees it as a “critical part” of the broader immigration strategy.
“It’s an important deterrent,” they said.
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The U.S. is still able to return a limited number of Venezuelans to Mexico as part of an agreement secured last year, and Mexico recently reportedly won promises from Venezuela that it could deport illegal immigrants back to Venezuela. But the U.S. flights are still on hold.
Overall, Venezuelan numbers have dropped since the highs of last year. According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there were just over 17,000 encounters of Venezuelans at the southern border in May, compared to 57,847 in December.
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But the U.S. has faced continued issues related to Venezuelan migrants. Last week, a Venezuelan illegal immigrant accused of shooting two NYPD officers in Queens was arraigned on attempted murder and other charges. A Venezuelan migrant was charged earlier this year with the violent murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
Officials and lawmakers have repeatedly sounded the alarm about Tren de Aragua – a violent street gang emerging from Venezuela that has seen increased presence in the United States.
The gang, known as TdA, hit the headlines earlier this year when it emerged that the brother of the suspect in the killing of Georgia student Laken Riley had affiliations with it. TdA is said to specialize in extortion, kidnapping, murder and sex trafficking. Federal authorities have been warning that the gang is trying to establish itself in the U.S., where police are already linking it to organized crime. The FBI has also warned that the gang could team up with the bloodthirsty MS-13.
Border Patrol recently announced the apprehension of 10 illegal immigrants with ties to Tda. Chief Jason Owens attached pictures that showed tattoos from gang members.
“Salute me or shoot me,” one of the tattoos read.
