This article reviews the newly unsealed affidavit and criminal complaint tied to Luis Nino-Moncada, the undocumented man who allegedly rammed a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle in Portland and was later shot, and it examines how local messaging and official statements compared with the facts revealed by investigators.
The unsealed complaint paints a clear picture of the incident and the suspects’ backgrounds, challenging early narratives pushed by some local officials and media. The document shows that Nino-Moncada faced serious federal charges, including 18 USC §§111(a) and 111(b) for aggravated assault on a federal officer and 18 USC §1361 for damage to federal property exceeding $1,000. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted photos on X showing the damage Nino-Moncada allegedly caused to the Border Patrol vehicle with his truck.
Anyone who crosses the red line of assaulting law enforcement will be met with the full force of this Justice Department.
According to a newly unsealed complaint, Luis Nino-Moncada — an illegal alien in Portland, Oregon with ties to Tren de Aragua — is alleged to have repeatedly rammed a Border Patrol vehicle, threatening the lives of federal law enforcement officers.
He should NEVER have been in our country to begin with, and we will ensure he NEVER walks free in America again.
The complaint details that Nino-Moncada had been ordered removed by an immigration judge in Denver on November 21, 2024, yet remained in the U.S. over a year later. That fact highlights enforcement gaps critics say sanctuary policies and weak coordination can produce, especially when suspects are embedded in cities that resist federal immigration operations. Law enforcement also indicated ties between Nino-Moncada and Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal network linked to human trafficking and other violent crimes.
LUIS NINO-MONCADA is also known to law enforcement as a Venezuelan TdA associate and was previously ordered removed by an immigration judge in Denver, Colorado, on November 21, 2024, and is eligible for arrest and removal. Law enforcement continues to investigate the links between these subjects and TdA.
Investigators say the agents were initially pursuing a different target, referred to in the complaint as “Adult Female 1,” later identified as Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, a person of interest who had been previously arrested and served with a Notice to Appear. That connection led agents to Nino-Moncada’s vehicle on January 8, when six Border Patrol agents located the car in a parking lot and moved to apprehend the occupants. The situation escalated quickly once agents made contact.
Adult Female 1 was previously arrested by U.S. Border Patrol near El Paso, Texas, as part of a family unit on September 17, 2023, and served with a Notice to Appear and instructed to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Portland, Oregon. Adult Female 1 never checked in with Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and was eligible to be arrested and held in immigration custody. 8. According to Law Enforcement reports, Adult Female 1 is a Venezuelan national known to be involved with a Tren de Aragua (TdA) prostitution ring and believed to have been previously involved in a shooting stemming from a bad prostitution deal in Washington County on or around July 7, 2025. Law enforcement had knowledge that Adult Female 1 was associated with LUIS NINO-MONCADA.
The complaint records that agents identified themselves and approached the vehicle while wearing tactical gear and badges, and that the driver appeared anxious. When agents ordered occupants to exit, Nino-Moncada reportedly put his truck in reverse and rammed the Border Patrol vehicle repeatedly, continuing a forward and reverse maneuver that struck the federal vehicle multiple times. A Border Patrol agent then fired a service weapon at the driver as the vehicle fled the scene.
At approximately 2 p.m., Border Patrol agents initiated a traffic stop of the target vehicle in the parking lot of Adventist Health Primary Care using four unmarked vehicles. Six Border Patrol agents exited the vehicles. Four Border Patrol agents approached the target vehicle, and two Border Patrol agents remained near the vehicles. The Border Patrol agents identified themselves as law enforcement officers to the occupants and were wearing law enforcement identifying markings, including tactical vests and/or badges. One Border Patrol agent described the driver, LUIS NINO-MONCADA, as appearing anxious and visibly moving around in the driver seat.
After fleeing, Nino-Moncada sought help at a nearby apartment building and emergency responders arrived; he shouted an expletive toward immigration enforcement while EMS treated him. Both he and Zambrano-Contreras were transported to hospital for care, and later federal agents interviewed Nino-Moncada. According to the complaint, he admitted to deliberately ramming the Border Patrol vehicle and acknowledged he knew they were immigration enforcement vehicles.
A Border Patrol agent interviewed by FBI special agents described being fearful that LUIS NINO-MONCADA could strike them and other Border Patrol agents with the target vehicle. Another Border Patrol agent then fired their service weapon at the driver of the target vehicle. The target vehicle then fled the scene. It was unknown at the time if the shots struck either LUIS NINO-MONCADA or Adult Female 1.
The affidavit frames the episode as both a violent attack on federal officers and as an example of how individuals with removal orders or suspected ties to transnational criminal groups can remain at large. Local officials’ initial statements, including decisions about what to release publicly, are now scrutinized against the court record and the sequence of events investigators documented. The complaint continues to be a key source for the ongoing federal case and related inquiries.
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