The body of a Chicago Public Schools teacher who had been missing for more than a week was pulled from Lake Michigan on Monday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and school officials.

Police recovered the body of a woman from the water in the 3100 block of South Lake Shore Drive on the city’s South Side just before noon, authorities said. The woman, identified as 53-year-old Linda Brown, was pronounced dead on the scene at 12:53 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Brown, a special education teacher at Robert Healy Elementary School in Bridgeport, had been missing since Jan. 3, Chicago police said. Since her disappearance, family and friends had been putting out public pleas for her safe return and launching their own search, according to several published reports.

In their initial missing persons alert for Brown, police said she was last seen around the 4500 block of South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Bronzeville. Days later, police updated the alert saying Brown was seen in the 3500 block of South Lake Park Avenue, about half a mile from where her body was recovered Monday. Police stated that she may have been in need of immediate medical attention.

Police again updated the alert for Brown Monday stating that she had been located but provided no further details.

Robert Healy Principal Erin Kamradt notified the school of Brown’s death in an email to the campus community.

“Our thoughts are with her family during this difficult time,” Kamradt wrote. “We know that this loss will raise many emotions, concerns, and questions for our entire school, especially our students.”

The school was working with CPS’ crisis management unit to provide grief counseling and support to students and staff, Kamradt said, adding that the campus’ own school-based mental health professionals would also be available for students who need ongoing services.

“We are deeply saddened by this loss,” Kamradt wrote, “and will do everything we can to help our school community heal.”

Attempts to reach Brown’s family were unsuccessful.

An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.

tkenny@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/12/missing-cps-teacher-lake-michigan/ 

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has arrived at a delicate moment as he weighs whether to order a U.S. military response against the Iranian government as it continues a violent crackdown on protests that have left nearly 600 dead and led to the arrests of thousands across the country.

The U.S. president has repeatedly threatened Tehran with military action if his administration found the Islamic Republic was using deadly force against antigovernment protesters. It’s a red line that Trump has said he believes Iran is “starting to cross” and has left him and his national security team weighing “very strong options.”

But the U.S. military — which Trump has warned Tehran is “locked and loaded” — appears, at least for the moment, to have been placed on standby mode as Trump ponders next steps, saying that Iranian officials want to have talks with the White House.

“What you’re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday. “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”

Hours later, Trump announced on social media that he would slap 25% tariffs on countries doing business with Tehran “effective immediately” — his first action aimed at penalizing Iran for the protest crackdown, and his latest example of using tariffs as a tool to force friends and foes on the global stage to bend to his will.

China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Brazil and Russia are among economies that do business with Tehran. The White House declined to offer further comment or details about the president’s tariff announcement.

The White House has offered scant details on Iran’s outreach for talks, but Leavitt confirmed that the president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will be a key player engaging Tehran.

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and key White House National Security Council officials began meeting Friday to develop a “suite of options,” from a diplomatic approach to military strikes, to present to Trump in the coming days, according to a U.S. official familiar with the internal administration deliberations. The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Trump told reporters Sunday evening that a “meeting is being set up” with Iranian officials but cautioned that “we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting.”

“We’re watching the situation very carefully,” Trump said.

Can the protests be sustained?

Demonstrations in Iran continue, but analysts say it remains unclear just how long protesters will remain on the street.

An internet blackout imposed by Tehran makes it hard for protesters to understand just how widespread the demonstrations have become, said Vali Nasr, a State Department adviser during the early part of the Obama administration, and now professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University.

“It makes it very difficult for news from one city or pictures from one city to incense or motivate action in another city,” Nasr said. “The protests are leaderless, they’re organization-less. They are actually genuine eruptions of popular anger. And without leadership and direction and organization, such protests, not just in Iran, everywhere in the world — it’s very difficult for them to sustain themselves.”

Meanwhile, Trump is dealing with a series of other foreign policy emergencies around the globe.

It’s been just over a week since the U.S. military launched a successful raid to arrest Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and remove him from power. The U.S. continues to mass an unusually large number of troops in the Caribbean Sea.

Trump is also focused on trying to get Israel and Hamas onto the second phase of a peace deal in Gaza and broker an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to end the nearly four-year war in Eastern Europe.

But advocates urging Trump to take strong action against Iran say this moment offers an opportunity to further diminish the theocratic government that’s ruled the country since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

The demonstrations are the biggest Iran has seen in years — protests spurred by the collapse of Iranian currency that have morphed into a larger test of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s repressive rule.

Iran, through the country’s parliamentary speaker, has warned that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if Washington uses force to protect demonstrators.

Trump allies want to see US back protesters

Some of Trump’s hawkish allies in Washington are calling on the president not to miss the opportunity to act decisively against a vulnerable Iranian government that they argue is reeling after last summer’s 12-day war with Israel and battered by U.S. strikes in June on key Iranian nuclear sites.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on social media Monday that the moment offers Trump the chance to show that he’s serious about enforcing red lines. Graham alluded to former Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012 setting a red line on the use of chemical weapons by Syria’s Bashar Assad against his own people — only not to follow through with U.S. military action after the then-Syrian leader crossed that line the following year.

“It is not enough to say we stand with the people of Iran,” Graham said. “The only right answer here is that we act decisively to protect protesters in the street — and that we’re not Obama — proving to them we will not tolerate their slaughter without action.”

Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another close Trump ally, said the “goal of every Western leader should be to destroy the Iranian dictatorship at this moment of its vulnerability.”

“In a few weeks either the dictatorship will be gone or the Iranian people will have been defeated and suppressed and a campaign to find the ringleaders and kill them will have begun,” Gingrich said in an X post. “There is no middle ground.”

Indeed, Iranian authorities have managed to snuff out rounds of mass protests before, including the “Green Movement” following the disputed election in 2009 and the “woman, life, freedom” protests that broke out after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in custody of the state’s morality police in 2022.

Trump and his national security team have already begun reviewing options for potential military action and he is expected to continue talks with his team this week.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank, said “there is a fast-diminishing value to official statements by the president promising to hold the regime accountable, but then staying on the sidelines.”

Trump, Taleblu noted, has shown a desire to maintain “maximum flexibility rooted in unpredictability” as he deals with adversaries.

“But flexibility should not bleed into a policy of locking in or bailing out an anti-American regime which is on the ropes at home and has a bounty on the president’s head abroad,” he added.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/12/trump-military-action-iran/ 

Russia Belatedly Reveals Ukrainian Target Destroyed By Oreshnik Hypersonic Missile

Tyler Durden
Mon, 01/12/2026 – 20:10

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-belatedly-reveals-ukrainian-target-destroyed-oreshnik-hypersonic-missile 

Por AAMER MADHANI

WASHINGTON (AP) — El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, ha llegado a un momento delicado mientras sopesa si ordenar una operación militar contra el gobierno iraní, mientras este continúa reprimiendo protestas, en acciones que han dejado casi 600 muertos y han llevado a la detención de miles de personas en diversas partes del país.

Trump ha amenazado repetidamente a Teherán con acciones militares si su gobierno determina que la República Islámica está utilizando fuerza letal contra manifestantes antigubernamentales. Es una línea roja que Trump ha dicho que cree que Irán está “empezando a cruzar”, por lo que él y su equipo de seguridad nacional sopesan “opciones muy fuertes”.

Sin embargo, el ejército de Estados Unidos —que según Trump está “armado y listo”— parece, al menos por el momento, haber sido puesto en modo de espera mientras Trump reflexiona sobre los próximos pasos, y ha afirmado que los funcionarios iraníes quieren tener conversaciones con la Casa Blanca.

“Lo que están escuchando públicamente del régimen iraní es bastante diferente de los mensajes que la administración está recibiendo en privado, y creo que el presidente tiene interés en explorar esos mensajes”, afirmó la secretaria de prensa de la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt, ante periodistas el lunes. “Sin embargo, dicho esto, el presidente ha demostrado que no tiene miedo de usar opciones militares si y cuando lo considere necesario, y nadie sabe eso mejor que Irán”.

Horas después, Trump anunció en redes sociales que impondría aranceles del 25% a los países que hagan negocios con Teherán “con efecto inmediato”, su primera acción destinada a penalizar a Irán por la represión de las protestas, y otro ejemplo de cómo usa aranceles como una herramienta para tratar de forzar a amigos y enemigos en el escenario global a ceder a su voluntad.

China, Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Turquía, Brasil y Rusia están entre las economías que hacen negocios con Teherán. La Casa Blanca se negó a ofrecer más comentarios o detalles sobre el anuncio de aranceles del presidente.

Trump dijo a periodistas el domingo por la noche que se está “organizando una reunión” con funcionarios iraníes, pero advirtió que “podríamos tener que actuar antes de la reunión debido a lo que está sucediendo”.

“Estamos observando la situación muy de cerca”, dijo Trump.

___

Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/12/trump-mantiene-en-espera-accin-militar-contra-irn-mientras-explora-mensajes-de-tehern/ 

SPRINGFIELD — Mary Jane Theis became a judge in 1983, a few weeks before the biggest, most sweeping judicial corruption scandal in Cook County history came to a head.

Operation Greylord resulted in about 100 indictments and the conviction of more than a dozen judges. And throughout a career that eventually saw Theis elected to the Illinois Supreme Court and serve as chief justice, she said the scandal was a constant reminder that the judiciary in Illinois had once been a national disgrace and that judges must approach their roles with integrity, humility, and honesty.

“Judges must be competent and committed to the highest ethical standards,” she wrote in a letter to her colleagues on the high court. “We know that being a judge is not just another job — it is an awesome responsibility.”

On Monday, Theis, 76, announced that her historic judicial career was coming to a close and that she will retire from the state Supreme Court on Jan. 29 after serving more than four decades as a judge on all levels, including more than 15 years on the high court. One of five Democratic justices on the seven-judge panel, Theis served as chief justice of the Supreme Court from 2022 until her term for that role expired last year and she returned to being a regular justice.

Theis’ retirement allowed the high court to appoint 1st District Appellate Court Justice Sanjay T. Tailor, also a Democrat, as Theis’ successor, making him the first Indian American to serve on the state’s Supreme Court.

“I am grateful to Justice Mary Jane Theis and the other justices of the Illinois Supreme Court for their confidence and trust in appointing me Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court,” Tailor said in a statement. “I also look forward to continuing the work of the Illinois Supreme Court to ensure that our system of justice serves all people fairly and equitably.”

The Supreme Court has constitutional authority to fill interim judicial vacancies. Tailor’s term will start Jan. 30 and run through Dec. 4, 2028. Theis’ 10-year term on the Supreme Court was set to end in 2032.

Theis became the fourth woman to serve on the state Supreme Court when she succeeded now-retired Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald in 2010. She also was the fourth woman to serve as chief justice of the high court in 2022 when she succeeded Justice Anne Burke.

Born in Chicago in 1949, Theis was the only child of Cook County Judge Kenneth R. Wendt and his wife, Eleanore. Though her father also served as an Illinois state representative, Theis’ memories of him as a judge stood out. In a news release announcing her retirement, she recalled that while in high school, she would watch legal proceedings in her father’s courtroom.

“It was a time when the law was changing very rapidly. He heard a lot of narcotics cases, and it was a time when issues about the Fourth Amendment (meant to protect people from unlawful searches by law enforcement) were not only on the front pages of the newspapers, but also were important cases in the United States Supreme Court, and it seemed so compelling and exciting,” she said in the statement.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis speaks with the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board on Jan. 30, 2012. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)

Former Illinois Senate President John Cullerton said he met Theis when they applied for work as assistant Cook County public defenders in the 1970s, and they became good friends before she became the godmother of his daughter. He said her father’s influence as a judge and legislator helped Theis navigate the judicial and political worlds.

“I would say that (in) observing her rise through the court system that I was particularly proud of the fact that she became a chief judge because then I had an opportunity to interact with her in a professional manner as the Senate president,” said Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat who served in the Illinois General Assembly from 1979 to 2020 as a member of the House and later as a senator, including 11 years as Senate president. “She, in addition to her really great judicial background, also had kind of a political background in her mind, and that was an advantage when she was a chief judge, because as the chief judge, she had to actually interact with the legislature in a number of matters.”

Theis earned her bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago in 1971 and her law degree from the University of San Francisco’s law school in 1974. She returned to Chicago and served as an assistant Cook County public defender until 1983, when she became an associate Cook County judge. She was elected to the bench in 1988 as a circuit judge, was assigned to the 1st District Appellate Court in 1993, and was elected to the panel the following year.

As chief justice of the high court, Theis authored the 2023 opinion rejecting legal challenges from county prosecutors seeking to invalidate a controversial provision that eliminated cash bail as part of Illinois’ sweeping overhaul of the state’s criminal justice system, known as the SAFE-T Act.

The state Supreme Court upheld the provision 5-2 along party lines, with dissents coming from the two Republican justices, David Overstreet and Lisa Holder White.

“The Illinois Constitution of 1970 does not mandate that monetary bail is the only means to ensure criminal defendants appear for trials or the only means to protect the public,” Theis wrote in the majority opinion. “Our constitution creates a balance between the individual rights of defendants and the individual rights of crime victims.”

“Statutes enjoy a strong presumption of constitutionality because the legislature is principally responsible for determining the public policy of our state,” she also wrote.

In 2012, Theis also wrote the opinion in People v. Wrice regarding the 1983 conviction of Stanley Wrice for the abduction, rape and sexual assault of a Chicago woman. Wrice’s lawyers claimed he had been severely beaten into a confession by two police detectives who worked under Jon Burge, a Chicago police lieutenant who was later promoted to commander before being fired on allegations stemming from the torture of Black criminal suspects.

Wrice was convicted by a jury and spent three decades behind bars after prosecutors introduced his alleged confession, despite there being no physical evidence linking him to the crime. But after a special prosecutor investigated beatings at the hands of Chicago police, the Illinois Appellate Court ordered a hearing on Wrice’s torture claim.

Prosecutors appealed to the Supreme Court before Theis wrote in a ruling in Wrice’s favor that “use of a defendant’s physically coerced confession as substantive evidence of guilt is never harmless error. The defendant has satisfied the cause-and-prejudice test for successive postconviction petitions,” a news release said. Wrice was eventually exonerated.

In a statement on Monday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul thanked Theis for her years of service.

“Justice Mary Jane Theis’ unwavering leadership has been the hallmark of her term as a Supreme Court justice,” Raoul said. “During frequent arguments before the Supreme Court, attorneys from my office have experienced the professionalism with which the court conducts itself under her leadership. I am grateful for Justice Theis’ service to the people of Illinois.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/12/illinois-supreme-court-justice-mary-jane-theis-retiring-after-four-decades-on-the-bench/ 

“The Globalist Deep State Is In Panic Mode” After Trump’s Cash Cut-Off

Tyler Durden
Mon, 01/12/2026 – 19:45

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/globalist-deep-state-panic-mode-after-trumps-cash-cut 

Por ANDREW SELIGMAN

Los Bears de Chicago estaban celebrando ruidosamente en el vestuario después de una remontada tardía para eliminar a los Packers de Green Bay de los playoffs el sábado por la noche.

El entrenador en jefe Ben Johnson dejó claras sus emociones. Repetidamente gritó una grosería dirigida a los Packers para comenzar su charla motivacional posterior al juego.

Mientras los Bears se enfocan en un juego en casa contra Matthew Stafford y los Rams de Los Ángeles en la ronda divisional el domingo, los comentarios de Johnson sobre los Packers siguen recibiendo mucha atención. El lunes, no ofreció disculpas.

“Existe una rivalidad entre estos dos equipos, algo que reconozco plenamente y de la cual soy parte. Y, sí, simplemente, no me gusta ese equipo”, admitió Johnson.

Chicago y Green Bay se han enfrentado más veces que cualquier otro par de franquicias de la NFL en una rivalidad que data de 1921.

Johnson la asumió desde el momento en que los Bears lo contrataron proveniente del staff de Detroit en enero del año pasado. Provocó al entrenador de Green Bay en su conferencia de prensa introductoria cuando dijo: “Me gustó vencer a Matt LaFleur dos veces al año”.

Los Bears vencieron a los Packers dos veces este año, remontando para una victoria en la ronda de comodines 31-27 después de que los equipos dividieran dos juegos de temporada regular muy cerrados. Han ganado tres de los últimos cinco encuentros, contando la postemporada, después de ser dominados durante años por Green Bay.

Los dos entrenadores en jefe parecen tener una relación fría. Su apretón de manos posterior al juego el sábado se volvió viral, con LaFleur extendiendo su mano derecha y Johnson tocándola brevemente antes de salir corriendo.

“Esta es una rivalidad y, la ciudad de Chicago, Green Bay, necesita ser una rivalidad”, dijo Johnson.

El safety de los Packers, Xavier McKinney, elogió a Johnson como un “gran entrenador” y lo llamó un “troll”.

“Es un troll”, dijo. “Así que está bien. Yo simplemente no soy un troll. Así que no sé, eso es solo él. Pero es un gran entrenador, sin embargo.”

Lo que funciona

Finales fuertes. Los Bears lideraron la liga con 103 puntos en el último cuarto y tiempo extra desde la semana nueve hasta la 18 durante la temporada regular. Y fue más de lo mismo contra Green Bay.

Chicago superó a los Packers 25-6 en el cuarto período en camino a su séptima victoria por remontada. Todas han llegado después de ir perdiendo en los últimos dos minutos del tiempo reglamentario.

Necesita ayuda

Los inicios lentos han sido un problema para los Bears esta temporada. Y por segunda semana consecutiva, lucharon por conseguir algo antes del tramo final.

Fueron blanqueados por Detroit durante tres cuartos en una derrota 19-16 para cerrar la temporada regular. Y el juego contra Green Bay siguió un patrón similar. Los Bears perdían 21-3 al medio tiempo y 21-6 al entrar al cuarto.

___

Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/12/ben-johnson-no-se-disculpa-por-su-discurso-profano-tras-la-victoria-de-los-bears-ante-los-packers/ 

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota and its two largest cities sued the Trump administration Monday to try to stop an immigration enforcement surge that led to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by a federal officer and evoked outrage and protests across the country.

The state, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, said the Department of Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to halt the enforcement action or limit the operation.

Illinois and Chicago sue DHS over ‘militarized’ immigration-enforcement tactics

“This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and it must stop,” state Attorney General Keith Ellison said at a news conference. “These poorly trained, aggressive and armed agents of the federal state have terrorized Minnesota with widespread unlawful conduct.”

Homeland Security is pledging to put more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota and says it has made more than 2,000 arrests since December. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has called the surge its largest enforcement operation ever.

Monday was another day brimming with tension, five days after the death of Renee Good, who was shot in the head by an ICE officer while behind the wheel of her SUV. There have been dozens of protests or vigils across the U.S. to honor the 37-year-old mother of three and to passionately criticize the Trump administration’s tactics.

Since the deployment in the Twin Cities, whistle-burst warnings by activists are commonly heard when immigration agents flood streets. Witnesses have regularly posted video of federal officers using tear gas to discourage the public from following them.

The Minnesota lawsuit accuses the Republican Trump administration of violating free speech rights by focusing on a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants.

“They’re targeting us based on what we look and sound like. Our residents are scared. And as local officials, we have a responsibility to act,” said St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, who was born in Laos.

Feds say they’re protecting the public

In response, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin accused Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety.

“President Trump’s job is to protect the American people and enforce the law — no matter who your mayor, governor, or state attorney general is,” McLaughlin said. “That’s what the Trump administration is doing; we have the Constitution on our side on this, and we look forward to proving that in court.”

The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the immigration agent who shot Good, saying she and her vehicle presented a threat. But that explanation has been widely panned by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and others based on videos of the confrontation.

The government also faces a new lawsuit over a similar immigration crackdown in Illinois. More than 4,300 people were arrested last year in “Operation Midway Blitz” as masked agents swept the Chicago area. The lawsuit by the city and state says the campaign had a chilling effect, making residents afraid to leave home.

The lawsuit seeks restrictions on certain tactics, among other remedies. McLaughlin called it “baseless.”

Earlier Monday, agents fired tear gas to break up a crowd of people who showed up to see the aftermath of a car crash in Minneapolis, just a few blocks from where Good was killed.

A crowd emerged to witness a man being questioned by agents who had rear-ended his car. Agents used tear gas to discourage onlookers, then drove off as people screamed, “cowards!”

“I’m glad they didn’t shoot me or something,” Christian Molina told reporters.

Standing near his mangled fender, he wondered aloud: “Who’s going to pay for my car?”

Students walk out of school

In St. Cloud, 65 miles northwest of Minneapolis, hundreds of people gathered outside a strip of Somali-run businesses Monday when news spread that dozens of ICE officers were there.

Hundreds of students, meanwhile, walked out of Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, where federal agents had deployed tear gas on students and staff last week. Adults wearing safety vests cleared traffic, and many parents who are Roosevelt alumni showed up in old school wear.

Marchers held signs that said, “ICE out” and “Welcome to Panem,” a reference to the dystopian society from the “Hunger Games” book series.

Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, federal authorities filed charges against a Venezuelan national who was one of two people shot there by U.S. Border Patrol on Thursday. The U.S. Justice Department said the man used his pickup truck to strike a Border Patrol vehicle and escape the scene with a woman.

They were shot and eventually arrested. Their wounds were not life-threatening. The FBI said there was no video of the incident, unlike the Good shooting.

Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/12/minnesota-twin-cities-dhs-lawsuit/ 

PORTLAND, Ore. — The FBI said in a court document made public Monday that it had found no surveillance or other video of a Border Patrol agent shooting and wounding two people in a pickup truck during an immigration enforcement operation in Portland, Oregon, last week.

Agents told investigators that one of their colleagues opened fire Thursday after the driver put the truck in reverse and repeatedly slammed into an unoccupied car the agents had rented, smashing its headlights and knocking off its front bumper. The agents said they feared for their own safety and that of the public, the document said.

The FBI has interviewed four of the six agents on the scene, the document said. It did not identify the agent who fired the shots.

The shooting, which came one day after a federal agent shot and killed a driver in Minneapolis, prompted protests over federal agents’ aggressive tactics during immigration enforcement operations. The Department of Homeland Security has said the two people in the truck entered the U.S. illegally and were affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

None of the six agents was recording body camera footage, and investigators have uncovered no surveillance or other video footage of the shooting, FBI Special Agent Daniel Jeffreys wrote in an affidavit supporting aggravated assault and property damage charges against the driver, Luis David Nino-Moncada.

The truck drove away after the shooting, which occurred in the parking lot of a medical office building. Nino-Moncada called 911 after arriving at an apartment complex several minutes away. He was placed in FBI custody after being treated for a gunshot wound to the arm and abdomen.

During an initial appearance Monday afternoon in federal court in Portland, he wore a white sweatshirt and sweatpants and appeared to hold out his left arm gingerly at an angle. An interpreter translated the judge’s comments for him. The judge ordered that he remain in detention and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Wednesday.

The agent’s affidavit said that after being read his rights, Nino-Moncada “admitted to intentionally ramming the Border Patrol vehicle in an attempt to flee, and he stated that he knew they were immigration enforcement vehicles.”

His passenger, Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, was hospitalized after being shot in the chest and on Monday was being held at a private immigration detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, according to an online detainee locator system maintained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Nino-Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras are Venezuela nationals and entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and 2023, respectively, the Department of Homeland Security said. It identified Nino-Moncada as an associate of Tren de Aragua and Zambrano-Contreras as involved in a prostitution ring run by the gang.

“Anyone who crosses the red line of assaulting law enforcement will be met with the full force of this Justice Department,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday in a news release announcing charges against Nino-Moncada. “This man — an illegal alien with ties to a foreign terrorist organization — should NEVER have been in our country to begin with, and we will ensure he NEVER walks free in America again.”

Oregon Federal Public Defender Fidel Cassino-DuCloux, whose office represents Nino-Moncada, did not immediately return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. He told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the federal shooting of and the subsequent accusations against Nino-Moncada and his passenger follow “a well-worn playbook that the government has developed to justify the dangerous and unprofessional conduct of its agents.”

Portland Police Chief Bob Day confirmed last week that the pair had “some nexus” to the gang. Day said the two came to the attention of police during an investigation of a July shooting believed to have been carried out by gang members, but they were not identified as suspects.

Zambrano-Contreras was previously arrested for prostitution, Day said, and Nino-Moncada was present when a search warrant was served in that case.

Johnson reported from Seattle.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/12/border-patrol-agent-oregon-shooting/