The Department of Homeland Security’s account of a January shooting by a US border patrol agent in Oregon has begun to collapse under judicial scrutiny, with court records contradicting official claims that the two people shot were violent gang members who tried to attack officers.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, DHS said agents had opened fire on two “vicious” members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua during a “targeted” enforcement action in Portland. The agency alleged the pair were linked to a previous shooting and had attempted to ram officers with their vehicle.
Weeks later, filings obtained by the Guardian show federal prosecutors have retreated from key elements of that narrative, while new evidence casts doubt on the government’s claims about gang ties and criminal history.
The shooting occurred on the afternoon of 8 January, one day after an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. According to DHS statements released the following day, border patrol agents stopped a vehicle carrying Yorlenys Zambrano-Contreras and her boyfriend, Luis Niño-Moncada. DHS said Zambrano-Contreras was involved in a Portland shooting the previous year and affiliated with Tren de Aragua.
DHS claimed the driver “weaponized” the vehicle, prompting an agent to fire in self-defense. Zambrano-Contreras was struck in the chest, Niño-Moncada in the arm. Both survived, were hospitalized and taken into federal custody. No agents were injured.
But during a later court hearing, a Department of Justice prosecutor directly contradicted DHS’s public claims, telling a judge: “We’re not suggesting … [Niño-Moncada] is a gang member.”
An FBI affidavit filed after the shooting also undermines DHS’s assertions. It indicates that in the prior shooting cited by DHS, Zambrano-Contreras was not a suspect but a reported victim of sexual assault and robbery. Defense attorneys say neither Zambrano-Contreras nor Niño-Moncada has any prior criminal convictions.
Legal experts who reviewed the filings described DHS’s public statements as a “smear campaign” designed to justify the shooting by portraying the victims as dangerous criminals.
Niño-Moncada, 33, who is undocumented, remains in custody and is charged with aggravated assault on a federal officer based on allegations that he intentionally tried to strike agents with his vehicle. Zambrano-Contreras, 32, was not charged in the shooting but pleaded guilty to improper entry, a misdemeanor. Prosecutors have said the two were in a relationship.
The case comes amid mounting scrutiny of false or misleading government statements in other recent immigration-enforcement shootings, including the deaths of Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, and a series of alleged assaults on federal agents that later unraveled in court.
“There’s a playbook here,” said Sameer Kanal, a Portland city councilor. “Demonize people, claim vehicles were used as weapons, and blame the victims. We should assume skepticism because this has become propaganda.”
No body-camera footage
None of the six border patrol agents involved were wearing body cameras. The shooting took place in a hospital parking lot, but the FBI said surveillance cameras did not capture the incident.
In the absence of video evidence, prosecutors relied heavily on agents’ testimony. Court filings allege that Niño-Moncada reversed into an unoccupied border patrol vehicle and repeatedly shifted between forward and reverse gears.
Four agents testified that they feared for their safety; one said he did not. The officer who fired the shots has not been publicly identified.
The FBI affidavit claims Niño-Moncada later admitted to intentionally ramming a patrol vehicle while attempting to flee.
Prosecutors later disclosed that investigators had obtained partial surveillance footage. The video, released by a local television station, is grainy and distant, showing agents approaching the vehicle and Niño-Moncada driving away. The moment of the shooting is not clearly visible.
Sergio Perez, a civil rights attorney and former federal prosecutor, said it was troubling that charges were filed within days while investigators acknowledged they lacked video evidence. “There’s a rush to criminalize and smear rather than conduct a careful investigation,” he said.
Niño-Moncada’s lawyers dispute claims he intended to harm officers, noting prosecutors failed to identify any agent who believed they were about to be struck. They argue he was acting out of fear amid heightened immigration enforcement.
“Anyone who looks like Mr Niño-Moncada would wonder what could happen to them,” the lawyers wrote in court filings.
Gang allegations under scrutiny
DHS has repeatedly alleged Zambrano-Contreras was affiliated with Tren de Aragua, citing a July 2025 incident. But FBI records describe her as a victim in that case.
According to the affidavit, Zambrano-Contreras told police she was sexually assaulted and robbed while working as a sex worker. After fleeing, she contacted Niño-Moncada, who found her injured and distressed. Later that day, she returned with other men to retrieve her belongings, during which a shot was fired by someone else. She was not accused of firing a weapon.
A separate shooting days later involved other Venezuelan nationals and was linked to a dispute allegedly involving people associated with Tren de Aragua. Zambrano-Contreras was not present, and Niño-Moncada was not involved in either incident.
Legal experts said the government appeared to rely on vague associations rather than evidence.
“If they had real proof of gang membership, it would be charged,” said Elliott Young, a Portland-based historian who frequently testifies in asylum cases. “Instead, they’re using an incident where she was victimized to portray her as a criminal.”
At a detention hearing, prosecutors conceded they were not alleging Niño-Moncada was a gang member. A federal judge questioned why the government continued to reference gang connections if they were not relevant to the alleged crime.
Former federal prosecutor Carley Palmer said the case appeared to involve “dirtying up the defendant” rather than establishing a factual link between alleged gang ties and the shooting itself.
‘Credibility is everything’
Prosecutors argued Niño-Moncada should remain detained due to prior traffic violations and a misdemeanor DUI arrest. Defense attorneys countered that he has no criminal convictions and fled Venezuela to escape political persecution.
Experts say the case will be difficult to prosecute without video evidence and with DHS’s public claims already contradicted in court.
“The government has to prove intent,” Palmer said. “Without body cameras, without injuries, and with shifting narratives, this becomes a credibility test — not just for the defendant, but for the agency itself.”
As the case proceeds, the gulf between DHS’s initial public statements and what prosecutors are now willing to assert under oath continues to widen.