As violent crime continues to plague Oregons cities, the states Democrat leadership appears more animated by outrage over federal action against suspected cartel-linked criminals than by the daily toll on law-abiding residents.
On Thursday, federal agents in Portland shot two individuals after the driver allegedly tried to run over U.S. Border Patrol officers during a targeted stop, as reported by Gateway Pundit. According to federal authorities, both occupants were quickly identified as being tied to the Venezuelan criminal syndicate Tren de Aragua, a gang that has spread its influence across the Western Hemisphere while exploiting lax border enforcement.
Following the incident, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that the driver and passenger were affiliated with Tren de Aragua. In a statement to Fox News, DHS said: At 2:19 PST, US Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon. The passenger of the vehicle and target is a Venezuelan illegal alien affiliated with the transnational Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and involved in a recent shooting in Portland. The vehicle driver is believed to be a member of the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents.
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. Despite these details, left-leaning activists and their allies in the corporate press rushed to portray the pair as an innocent married couple, downplaying their alleged gang ties and immigration status.
Governor Tina Kotek responded not with support for federal law enforcement, but with indignation directed at Washington. Kotek said at a press conference that she is shaken and outraged by the shooting, language she rarely applies to the murders, rapes, and violent assaults that have become disturbingly routine in Oregons urban centers.
We are standing here today united, as a state, wanting peace and safety in our communities. Yet in the next breath, Kotek shifted blame from violent foreign gangs to the White House, declaring: We are all shaken and outraged by another terrible, unnecessary, violent event instigated by the reckless agenda of the Trump administration, adding, This time in our own state, in our largest city, coming just one day after the tragedy in Minnesota.
Her remarks come less than a month after President Trump signed Executive Order 14157, Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists. That order explicitly extends to other transnational organizations, such as Tren de Aragua, underscoring the administrations view that these gangs are not misunderstood migrants, but foreign terrorist threats that must be confronted rather than coddled.
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