The Department of Homeland Security says the two individuals shot by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday were a gang member and “his prostitute.”
The statement was a direct response to ABC 17 News, which shared a CNN article on the shooting to X with a caption saying federal agents “left a married couple wounded in Portland.” (RELATED: Hugh Hewitt Says Resistance To Immigration Enforcement Won’t End Well For Blue States)
“The two criminal illegal aliens who attacked Border Patrol in Portland are a gang member and his prostitute, NOT an innocent ‘married couple,’” DHS said.
The two criminal illegal aliens who attacked Border Patrol in Portland are a gang member and his prostitute NOT an innocent “married couple.”
The driver of the vehicle, Luis David Nico Moncada is a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela and suspected Tren de Aragua GANG MEMBER.…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 9, 2026
The CNN article ABC 17 shared did not the pair’s immigration status, though other details about the couple were not reported at the time.
DHS identified the driver as Luis David Nico Moncada, a Venezuelan national and suspected member of Tren de Aragua, which the State Department has designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Nico Moncada entered the U.S. in 2022 and was released into the country during the Biden administration, according to DHS. He has since been arrested for DUI and unauthorized use of a vehicle and has a final order of removal.
DHS identified the woman as Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, also allegedly associated with Tren de Aragua. She entered the U.S. in 2023 and was released during the Biden administration. She “played an active role in the Tren de Aragua prostitution ring,” DHS said, and was involved in a prior Portland shooting.
Local police said Thursday they responded to a call for help from Nico Moncada — unidentified at the time — and treated both his and Zambrano-Contreras’ gunshot wounds.
The shooting came two days after a woman died while evading arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis.
Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said Thursday afternoon that both individuals were alive to her knowledge, while Mayor Keith Wilson called for a halt to federal operations in the city, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation.