Children rescued after Texas kidnapping and murder linked to Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua

Police arrested three people linked to Tren de Aragua who allegedly participated in the kidnapping and murder of a Texas man whose body was found in August.

The body of 33-year-old Nilzult Petit was discovered on August 24 in Irving, Texas, with a single gunshot wound to the head. Officers located Petit’s body and later found two small children, allegedly related to Petit, wandering along the IH-35E road.

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Officers say the children were left on the side of the road after Petit was allegedly executed by suspects linked to the international gang Tren de Aragua. reporting from FOX 4 Dallas.

According to a police release, four Venezuelan nationals allegedly kidnapped Petit and his two young relatives, taking them to an apartment in Farmers Branch, Texas. Investigators say the suspects executed Petit and then abandoned the children on a nearby access road.

Four suspects were allegedly linked to the death of Nilzult Petit and the kidnapping of two of his minor relatives, one of whom is still at large. (Agricultural Branch Police Department)

Agricultural department police identified and detained three suspects involved in the case: 38-year-old Ehiker Alexander Morales Mendoza, 25-year-old Carlos Luis Zambrano Bolivar and 22-year-old Jhonata Nahin Toro Gonzalez. The suspects were charged with capital murder and two counts of aggravated kidnapping.

Authorities are still searching for a fourth suspect, 29-year-old Jhonny Jesus Martinez Serrano, who remains at large.

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Police discovered that Petit was allegedly working with the suspects in an ATM theft. When Petit reportedly failed to pay his co-conspirators, they retaliated by kidnapping him and the children.

Two suspects, Bolivar and Gonzalez, were arrested by ICE agents in Aurora, Colorado, while Mendoza was arrested in New Mexico by agents of the Department of Homeland Security. Aurora, Colorado, has been linked to the activities of the Tren de Aragua gang since August, when surveillance footage of an apartment building taken over by the criminal group became popular.

A still from a social media video shows suspected underage Tren de Aragua members staying at the Roosevelt Hotel, who allegedly attacked nearby Times Square in a series of attacks. (obtained by the New York Post)

Tren de Aragua is based in Venezuela but has recently expanded into the United States to include drug and human trafficking.

Farmers’ unit police officers indicated that the suspects and Petit were linked to Tren de Aragua, although the crimes were not specifically gang-related, according to the disclosure.

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Bolivar, Gonzalez and Mendoza are awaiting extradition from Colorado and New Mexico, respectively.

Anyone with information on Serrano’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Farmers Branch Police Department at (972) 919-1406 or by email at [email protected], on condition of anonymity.