The Trump administration hit back Thursday at a Reuters report that showed drone footage of suspected members of the ruthless Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua forming an SOS distress signal at a detention facility in Texas, labeling it "the mainstream media's latest attempt at a criminal gang sob story."
On Tuesday, 31 Venezuelan detainees wearing red and orange jumpsuits at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas, were photographed by a Reuters drone – Reuters reported it was denied access to the facility by Immigration and Customs Enforcement – forming an SOS in the camp yard.
Ten days earlier, Reuters reported dozens of Venezuelan detainees at the facility were notified they were subject to deportation because they were members of Tren de Aragua, which has been declared a foreign terrorist organization and an invading force by Presidential Donald Trump, whose March 15 executive order called for their deportations under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. Under Trump's order, the U.S. has deported more than 200 suspected Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador's CECOT maximum-security prison.
Reuters reported the families of seven detainees at the Texas facility said they were not gang members, but the detainees on April 18 were loaded onto a bus bound for nearby Abilene Regional Airport before the bus was sent back to the detention center. That night, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked their deportations.
"This is more irresponsible, lazy reporting by Reuters," Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a news release. "Why do they continue to peddle the sob stories of these gang members but ignore their American victims?
"Tren De Aragua is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet Earth. They rape, maim, and murder for sport. The previous administration released these gang members into our communities. President Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem have ended catch-and-release and will not allow criminal gangs to terrorize American citizens."
DHS focused on two individuals mentioned in Reuters' report – Jeferson Daniel Escalona Hernandez and Diover Millan Leon – and their links to the Venezuelan gang.
DHS said in the news release that Escalona Hernandez, 19, is a self-admitted Tren de Aragua member from Venezuela who illegally entered the U.S. on March 27, 2024.
"The previous administration released this gang member into our country," DHS said. "He was arrested for felony evading arrest with a vehicle and put in a Denton County jail. An immigration judge ordered Escalona removed from the U.S. on April 11, 2025, and he remains in ICE custody … pending his removal from the U.S."
DHS said Millan, 24, is a Venezuelan and documented member of Tren de Aragua who illegally entered the U.S. on an unknown date and unknown location. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested Millan on May 3, 2023, near Brownsville, Texas, and he was processed as a Notice to Appear and released on his own recognizance.
"ICE officers arrested Millan in Lawrenceville, Georgia on March 12, 2025," DHS said, adding that Millan was transferred from the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, to the Bluebonnet Detention Facility on April 15, "where he remains pending disposition of his immigration proceedings."
Newsmax reached out to Reuters for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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