Four members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua entered guilty pleas on June 3, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote in the Southern District of New York, admitting to the May 24, 2024, murders of two U.S. citizens on a Bronx street[1]. The defendants, Keiber Jaen Martinez, Samuel Gonzalez Castro, Eferson Morillo-Gomez, and Keineyer Ibarra-Mujica, each pleaded guilty to two counts of murder through the use of a firearm and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence[1][2]. The victims were Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and Justin Lawless[1].
The four pleas complete the federal prosecution of all eight in-custody defendants charged in the case, each of whom has now been convicted[1]. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York brought the case under federal firearms statutes that carry substantial mandatory penalties for homicides committed with a firearm in furtherance of violent crimes. The Justice Department press release identified U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche among the officials credited with overseeing the prosecution[1]. The case was investigated by Joint Task Force Vulcan, a multi-agency effort involving the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, which has targeted Tren de Aragua operations inside the United States[1][2].
All four defendants entered the United States illegally prior to the murders, a fact the government highlighted in its announcement[1][2]. DHS issued a separate statement the same day underscoring that dimension of the case, framing the convictions within broader immigration enforcement priorities[2]. Tren de Aragua, which originated in a Venezuelan prison, has expanded operations into multiple U.S. cities and was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government, a classification that has carried legal and political weight in related enforcement actions[1].
Sentencing dates for the four defendants have not been publicly announced. Given the charges, each defendant faces a mandatory consecutive sentence on the firearm count in addition to any term imposed on the murder counts. The case has drawn significant attention in debates over immigration enforcement and transnational gang prosecution, and further proceedings will be held before Judge Cote in the Southern District[1][2].