Federal prosecutors have charged a Venezuelan man shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Portland last week with aggravated assault on federal officers, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
The DOJ alleges that Luis Nino‑Moncada, who officials say is a Venezuelan national previously ordered removed from the United States, used a red pickup truck to ram a Border Patrol vehicle multiple times during a targeted arrest operation. The agency released photos showing significant damage to the federal vehicle.
According to the criminal complaint, Nino‑Moncada admitted to intentionally striking the vehicle, acknowledged knowing the individuals were immigration agents, and made an expletive‑laden remark about ICE while medics applied a tourniquet to a gunshot wound he sustained during the incident. DOJ records indicate he had been ordered deported by an immigration judge in Denver in November 2024.
Authorities say the operation’s primary target was Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano‑Contreras, described in the complaint as a Venezuelan national and suspected associate of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua. She reportedly entered the United States illegally in September 2023, was released at the Texas border pending an ICE check‑in, and never appeared, making her subject to immigration arrest.
Investigators also believe Zambrano‑Contreras may be connected to a prostitution ring linked to Tren de Aragua and to a July 2025 shooting in Washington County during a prostitution‑related dispute.
