Two shot by border agent in Portland have Tren de Aragua ties, DHS and police say

by KATU Staff and Bobby Corser,TanviVarma

Fri, January 9, 2026 at 7:20 AM

Updated Fri, January 9, 2026 at 8:04 PM

Luis David Nico Moncada andYorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras have been confirmed as the husband and wife shot by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in southeast Portland - DHS 

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — We're learning more about the two people shot Thursday by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in Southeast Portland, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Portland Police confirming the two had ties to the Tren de Aragua criminal group.

DHS identified the two people as as Luis David Nino-Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras. Both were taken to the hospital after the shooting.

Nino-Moncada, who was shot in the arm, is out of the hospital and is now in FBI custody.

Zambrano-Contreras was shot in the chest. Portland Police Chief Bob Day said she remains in stable condition.

The shooting happened at about 2:20 p.m. Thursday outside the Adventist Health clinic near Southeast Main Street. Officials say Moncada was behind the wheel of the vehicle on Thursday when he was shot. Zambrano-Contreras was a passenger in the vehicle.

DHS said the duo "weaponized their vehicle against Border Patrol" and the agent fired at them in self-defense.

They drove more than 2.5 miles to Northeast 146th Avenue and East Burnside, where they were found and taken to the hospital.

KATU is working to obtain evidence that can explain what happened.

New details revealed in Portland Border Patrol shooting

Preface to the recent event on Thursday (1-8-2026) afternoon in a medical clinic parking lot near Adventist Health hospital in Southeast Portland:

Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, but a change will come. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence.

- Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p.546.

 

DHS identifies 2 shot by federal agents in Portland

2 shot by federal immigration agents in Portland

Updated: Jan. 08, 2026, 7:52 p.m.
|Published: Jan. 08, 2026, 5:39 p.m.

Adventist Health Portland in Southeast Portland on Jan. 8, 2026.Allison Barr/The Oregonian


By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Maxine Bernstein | The Oregonian/OregonLive


U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents shot and wounded a man and a woman Thursday afternoon in a medical clinic parking lot near Adventist Medical Center in Southeast Portland, authorities and witnesses said.

One was shot in the leg and the other in the chest, Portland police sources said. They are believed to be a married couple. Police said they didn’t know their immediate conditions.

The shooting occurred about 2:25 p.m. near the 10000 block of Southeast Main Street, the FBI said in a statement to their X account that was deleted shortly after.

“This remains and active and ongoing investigation led by the FBI,” the statement said.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, said agents were trying to make a traffic stop and characterized the shooting as self-defense.

She said the person agents tried to stop was a “Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring” who had been involved in a recent shooting in Portland. Another person was in the car, too, she said.

“When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents,” she said. “Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene. This situation is evolving, and more information is forthcoming.”

She didn’t release any names.

Japhet De Oliveira, a spokesperson for Adventist Health, said police responded to the shooting in the Adventist Health Portland campus in an area with several clinics and offices.

Tina Henderson, who works in the medical office at the shooting scene, said someone ran into her suite and said, “You guys, be careful. There was just a shooting in the parking lot.”

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VIDEO: US destroys suspected drug boat carrying cocaine

 

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LiveNOW from FOX

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The U.S. Coast Guard says it caught and sank another suspected drug boat. The takedown happened over the weekend but the DHS released the video on Tuesday. As part of Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard conducted three interdictions in one night in which nearly 13,000 pounds of cocaine were seized and seven suspected drug smugglers were apprehended. "ASMR: @USCG captures, burns, and sinks a drug boat," DHS wrote on X.

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