Four Tren de Aragua gang members who illegally entered the United States during the Biden Administration have pleaded guilty to a double murder in New York City.
The gang members, all from Venezuela, entered guilty pleas on May 26 for the shooting that killed a man and a woman and injured another person in the Bronx in May 2024. They were charged in a superseding indictment last September as part of a larger racketeering conspiracy.
All four pleaded guilty to two counts of murder through use of a firearm, as well as the charge of attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon. Three of them have final removal orders, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The four defendants include Keiber Jaen Martinez, alias “Keybe,” from Venezuela, who illegally crossed the border in Texas in 2023. An immigration judge issued Martinez a final order of removal on Sept. 5, 2024.
Venezuelan gang members who entered US illegally plead guilty to gunning down two unarmed Americans | Alexandra Koch, Fox News
Federal authorities announced on Wednesday that four members of the notorious Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) pleaded guilty to the May 2024… pic.twitter.com/cB8j5uLWyi
— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) June 4, 2026
Samuel Gonzalez Castro, alias “Klei” or “Kley,” from Venezuela, entered the country illegally in 2022. Castro received a final order of removal on Nov. 20, 2024.
Eferson Gabriel Morillo-Gomez, alias “Jefferson,” and Keineyer Ibarra-Mujica, alias “Keiner,” both from Venezuela, also crossed the border in Texas in 2023 and were released by the Biden Administration. Ibarra-Mujica had a final order of removal issued on June 17, 2024, DHS said.
The shooting occurred shortly after midnight on May 24, 2024. Two suspects dressed in all black fled the scene on a moped, New York Police Department said.
Police identified the victims as Justin Lawless, 36, and Claretha Daniels, 44, and said both died from gunshot wounds to the chest. A 40-year-old man was also shot in the arm, according to FOX 5 New York.
“I’m thankful that the victims and their families of these heinous acts finally get the justice they deserve,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Tren de Aragua is one of the most vicious gangs on planet earth. They rape, maim and murder for sport.”
The four who pleaded guilty are among multiple defendants arrested in connection with the crime. Additional charges in the case include racketeering, carjacking, firearm trafficking, drug trafficking and sex trafficking, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche credited the hard work of various law enforcement partners and prosecutors for bringing down the TdA members and charging them for the “ruthless and senseless murders” in the Bronx two years ago.
“As a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted violent crimes and gangs in the Bronx, this case hits home for me,” Blanche said. “Tren de Aragua is a terrorist organization with no place and no future in the United States, and this Department of Justice will not stop until we have rooted out, dismantled and destroyed them.”
TdA was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration. In September 2025, the DOJ charged 10 TdA members in a racketeering conspiracy, alleging they committed the double murder in the Bronx and multiple violent crimes tied to racketeering.
In the superseding indictment, prosecutors alleged the four who pleaded guilty and two others agreed to kill Daniels and Lawless in the vicinity of 2290 Davidson Avenue in the Bronx and then carried out the shooting or aided and abetted the murders.
Gonzalez Castro was also charged with participating in the shooting of a rival gang member on Aug. 3, 2024, in Queens, New York, which also resulted in an innocent bystander being shot and injured.
Six of the 10 defendants charged in the superseding indictment were previously charged with racketeering, firearms, drug, and sex trafficking offenses on April 16, 2025, the DOJ said.
On Sept. 30, 2024, defendant Jarwin Valero-Calderon aka “La Fama,” along with Gonzalez Castro and Morillo-Gomez, were accused of committed a gunpoint carjacking and robbery of an employee of a car dealership in the Bronx.
The crimes carry various penalties, including up to life in prison for the murder charges, and they await sentencing by a judge.
