At least 16 illegal aliens were surprised and arrested as a group of Border Patrol agents emerged from a Penske rental cargo truck in an early Wednesday morning raid. The raid took place at a Los Angeles Home Depot store near MacArthur Park.
In a social media repost on X (formerly Twitter), Gregory K. Bovino, El Centro Border Patrol Chief and Commander of California’s deportation enforcement effort known as “Operation at Large” facetiously referred to the Wednesday morning surprise raid as “Operation Trojan Horse”. The post highlighted the operation as originally posted by Fox News Channel’s Matt Finn.
A Border Patrol spokesperson told Breitbart Texas a total of 16 illegal aliens were apprehended after being chased through the parking lot. The nationalities, according to the agency spokesperson, included citizens of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The spokesperson stated that agents are still involved in determining the criminal records of those apprehended at the press time.
The Penske Corporation was quick to distance itself from the operation via a social media post on X, saying, “Penske Truck Rental is aware of recent reports and videos regarding a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operation in Los Angeles. Penske strictly prohibits the transportation of people in the cargo area of its vehicles under any circumstances. The company was not made aware that its trucks would be used in today’s operation and did not authorize this.”
The operation took place at the Home Depot store located on Wilshire Boulevard, several blocks away from downtown MacArthur Park. Immigration enforcement actions taken by DHS at the park and the surrounding area have become a point of contention between the Trump administration and the City of Los Angeles. In July, Karen Bass, the city’s Mayor, showed up in protest of a large-scale operation aimed at disrupting illegal alien gang activity at the park.
Bass was unsuccessful in her attempts to stop the immigration enforcement action that involved ICE, Border Patrol, and a contingent of United States Marines who provided security for the agents. Bass spoke to the crowd gathered at the park at the time, emphasizing her displeasure with the presence of the military, adding, “It’s outrageous and un-American that we have U.S. Marines who are trained to kill foreign soldiers overseas deployed in our American city.”
Bass did not mention the previous violence in the park, considered a stronghold of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang. As early as 2020, the foreign gang has openly operated within the park and committed numerous acts of violence.
At the time of the MacArthur Park operation in July, Breitbart Texas spoke with Gregory K. Bovino, Commander of DHS’s Operation At Large, about the focus of the operation at MacArthur Park and the surrounding neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area. According to Bovino, operations in July at the park were aimed at impacting illegal alien gang activity that includes the production and sales of false documents.
In addition to Mexican and Central American gang members suspected of operating in the area, Bovino told Breitbart Texas the problem was larger than just illegal alien gang activity. The park is known for operatives that specialize in providing special interest aliens with false identity and immigration documents. Bovino emphasized this at the time saying, “We were targeting special interest aliens as well, if they get their hands on false documents, it could allow them to travel across the country more easily, that’s dangerous and unacceptable.”
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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