U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Celebrates Arrest Of Tren De Aragua Leader: 'Good For The Mexican People'

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson celebrated the detention of an alleged leader of Venezuelan-born gang Tren de Aragua in the country.

"Congratulations! Greetings to your team. This is good for the Mexican people," said Johnson when replying to Mexico's Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar Garcia Harfuch, after he announced the development.

Harfuch made the announcement during the weekend. Authorities noted that 29-year-old Nelson Arturo Echezuria is considered as a "leader and top operator of the criminal group in Mexico." He also stands accused of being the "intellectual and material author of several femicides."

Echezuria also stands accused of human trafficking, organized crime, drug trafficking, homicide and extortion in the states of Puebla and Morelos, as well as Mexico City. He was caught with drugs and cash on him.

Tren de Aragua has been launched to the forefront of the conversation since the Trump administration declared it a terrorist organization, claiming Venezuela's authoritarian regime emptied prisons to send gang members to wreak havoc in the U.S.

The intelligence community has produced contradicting intelligence regarding the matter. An unsealed FBI memo from late May has supported the claim, while the roader intelligence community, including the C.I.A. and the National Security Agency, have continuously rejected the notion.

The FBI rated its confidence in the assessment as "medium," and acknowledged that alternative explanations—such as independent criminal activity by gang members—were equally plausible.

In contrast, the National Intelligence Council (NIC), representing the consensus of agencies including the CIA and NSA, concluded in a February memo that "the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States."

The assessment was disputed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who bluntly stated during an interview with Face the Nation that "they're wrong". The memo also led Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard firing two top officials involved in the research, including Michael Collins, then acting NIC head.