Immigration and Customs Enforcement published a photo on X last month of a man who had been arrested in east Charlotte, identifying him as a Tren de Aragua gang member from Venezuela, but the post didn't include his name or the crime he was accused of.
WFAE reporter Julian Berger was there the day of the arrest and has been digging into the case. He spoke with WFAE's Nick de la Canal to explain who the man is and how the arrest came about.
De la Canal: So this all started on April 17, almost three weeks ago. Tell us what happened.
Berger: Sure, Nick. That morning, DHS agents arrested a 25-year-old Venezuelan man named John Jairo Paz Azuaje. At the time, he was coming home to the Buena Vida Apartments on Eastway Drive. The property manager says she asked for a warrant, but they told her they didn’t have one — and at the time, they weren’t trying to enter the building.
The agents returned hours later in unmarked cars and sat in the complex’s parking lot — that was around the time I arrived, after I was called by some community members. Around 4 p.m., CMPD officers and other officials presented the property manager with a search warrant. They entered this man’s apartment with a battering ram and searched the apartment.
De la Canal: So obviously, there was a lot of confusion after this arrest about who this man was and why he was targeted. What were you able to find out?
Berger: Initially, it was really hard to get any information because ICE didn’t want to provide a name.
I went back to the man’s apartment and spoke to his roommates, who gave me his name, and with that information, I was able to get the search warrant from the Mecklenburg County Clerk of Superior Court.
De la Canal: OK, and what did the warrant say?
Berger: Well, this investigation goes back to March of 2024. A detective from the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office was investigating a human trafficking ring. He detained two sex workers in Concord who said they were working for a man named Yeffrey Azuaje — who soon fled the country.
Then, last month, detectives heard from sex workers that John Jairo was now involved. He’s Yeffrey’s brother, and the search warrant claims that he had rented a hotel room on April 9 in Concord on behalf of a sex worker. And that’s what led officers to John Jairo’s apartment in east Charlotte on April 17.
De la Canal: Now, ICE is saying that he’s a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. What evidence do they have to support that?
Berger: Well, we haven’t seen any evidence. The warrant says Homeland Security has confirmed his gang membership, but doesn’t say how.
The warrant says officers seized 14 phones from his apartment — seven of them from inside an air vent — as well as an AR-15 in his car. They also found some marijuana.
Now, I followed up with ICE this week, and asked if there are specific guidelines for determining whether someone is a member of a gang, but ICE said they don’t share intelligence information or how they investigate cases.
De la Canal: These criminal investigations have regularly happened before the Trump administration. Why is this case now being touted as part of a bigger crackdown on gangs and undocumented immigrants?
Berger: Yes, we’ve seen that as the Trump administration promises mass deportations, the federal government is claiming that Tren de Aragua gang members are living in communities across the country, and that they are a threat to national security. But ICE has been using this label a lot recently, even in cases where it’s not clear if there is a strong connection. And to be clear, this investigation started before Trump took office, as what appears to be a pretty standard prostitution case.
Back in 2016, Trump said MS-13 gang members from El Salvador were coming into the country illegally, and used the gang as a reason for stricter immigration policies. Now, the focus has shifted to the Tren de Aragua.
De la Canal: OK, so, what will happen next in this investigation?
Berger: According to an ICE database, John Jairo is in ICE custody in a detention facility in Georgia. He will most likely face a removal proceeding, and then possible deportation.
