A Venezuelan national with the alias “Pig Face” and ties to the Tren de Aragua gang faces terrorism charges after allegedly claiming an Arizona community as his “territory.”
Javier Enrique Erazo-Zuniga, 27, is accused of threatening neighbors at gunpoint in a rural community near Maricopa, Ariz., in Pinal County. He faces multiple felony charges, including terrorism and aggravated assault, authorities said.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety arrested Erazo-Zuniga following a series of violent incidents in the Hidden Valley neighborhood, where he allegedly claimed territory and extorted residents at knifepoint and gunpoint, FOX 10 Phoenix reported.
Investigators said Erazo-Zuniga is a Venezuelan national in the U.S. illegally. He has claimed affiliation with TdA and tried to extort money from his victims. The federal government has designated the group as a terrorist organization.
Several residents came forward to report violent attacks by Erazo-Zuniga. He reportedly held a man at gunpoint in his own driveway in December, which is when detectives began investigating the reports.
DPS spokesperson Bart Graves told InMaricopa that they received information that he was “claiming Hidden Valley in Maricopa as his territory and demanding money from victims.”
According to Graves, Erazo-Zuniga has been connected to a series of violent incidents involving residents who were targeted at their homes.
In 2024, Erazo-Zuniga put another victim in a headlock and held a knife to his neck, cutting him, according to another FOX 10 report.
Investigators believe there are more victims who are too afraid to come forward. FOX 10 said local residents were too afraid to speak for fear of retaliation and the potential presence of other gang associates in the area.
DPS detectives with the Gang & Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission executed a search warrant on Jan. 9 at the Hidden Valley residence where Erazo-Zuniga lived.
They reportedly found the gun used in the 2025 gunpoint incident in his bedroom. Erazo-Zuniga is not allowed to own guns as an illegal immigrant.
“This is a documented criminal street gang,” investigators said. “This particular gang has been named a terrorist group by the United States government.”
Erazo-Zuniga was arrested and booked into Pinal County Jail on suspicion of assisting a criminal street gang, aggravated assault, misconduct involving weapons, and terrorism, FOX 10 reported. He is being held on a $250,000 bond.
He was later indicted by a Pinal County grand jury, InMaricopa reported. Court records show the grand jury charged him with aggravated assault involving a firearm, two counts of forgery and two counts of misconduct involving weapons, including possession of handguns while prohibited.
Prosecutors allege the aggravated assault count qualifies as a dangerous felony because it involved the use or threatened exhibition of a firearm.
He also faces charges for assisting a criminal street gang and terrorism, DPS said, though those allegations were outlined by the agency rather than in indictment documents obtained by InMaricopa from the Pinal County Superior Court.
More charges may be forthcoming at the federal level, particularly if the investigation reveals further ties to TdA or organized crime.
The Trump administration’s terrorist designation is part of a national crackdown on transnational gangs and organized crime, particularly among Venezuelan criminal groups.
The Hidden Valley investigation is ongoing and follows a series of high-profile investigations in Colorado in 2024 and 2025.
In December, federal prosecutors there indicted Venezuelan nationals tied to the TdA gang. They are accused of participating in organized robberies, kidnappings, extortion schemes and firearms offenses, including a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.
Authorities have confirmed multiple violent cases involving armed suspects and coordinated criminal activity at Colorado apartment complexes and elsewhere. Federal and state agencies have warned that criminal gangs may attempt to establish footholds in U.S. communities through intimidation and violence.
In Portland, Oregon, two Venezuelan nationals with ties to TdA attempted to resist arrest and weaponize their vehicle against Customs and Border Protection.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office later confirmed the target of the traffic stop, Yorlenys Zambrano-Contreras, an alleged prostitute and TdA associate, was a person of interest in a July 2025 shooting at an apartment complex in unincorporated Washington County, Fox News Digital reported.
