Second suspect arrested in Doral murder linked to Aragua train – Telemundo Miami (51)

MIAMI, Florida – Miami-Dade police have arrested a second suspect in connection with the murder of Jose Luis Sanchez Valera, which occurred in Doral in November 2023. This is Julio Cesar Hernandez Montero, 27, who faces a series of charges, including first-degree murder, armed robbery in a home invasion, carjacking and kidnapping.

Hernandez Montero was arrested in Panama and extradited to the United States for the crime, according to Judge Mindy Glazer in bail court. Hernandez Montero was denied bail.

According to police, Urwin Salazar, 27, is an accomplice of Maita, who was arrested in January for the murder, robbery, kidnapping and home invasion of Jose Luis Sanchez Valera.

The tragic incident took place between 2:35 AM and 9:50 AM on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, when the body of Sanchez Valera was found in an abandoned vehicle in Miami, Florida.

The victim was bound by duct tape to the back seat of a 2018 Toyota 4Runner. The investigation led to the arrest of Hernández Montero, who identified himself as a member of the Venezuelan criminal gang “Train de Aragua”. Report. Police.

“The Aragua Train is a violent Venezuelan street gang that operates in the United States, according to the FBI,” Judge Glazer said.

Brother’s version

In January of this year, Debbies Zambrano, the victim’s brother, provided Telemundo 51 with a video that could be one of the last recordings of Sánchez Valera’s life. In the video, the victim is seen with two women, one of whom is wanted by police for her alleged connection to the murder.

The women were identified by Zambrano as Yoledi Ilarraza and Yordaliz Henriquez, and according to Zambrano himself, Ilarraza and Henriquez are mother and daughter and belong to the neighborhood where the victim grew up. Additionally, Zambrano points out that his brother loaned him money to travel to the United States.

Another surveillance video shows the victim leaving the La Quinta Hotel when Montero and two other men abducted him, according to police. Police believe that after the kidnapping, the suspects invaded the victim’s home, demanded money from the roommate and stole the safe.

On that occasion, Zambrano also mentioned two men identified as Yorvi Arenas and the recently arrested Julio Cesar Hernandez Montero as possible accomplices in the crime against his brother.

Although Zambrano suggests that Hernandez Montero has a history of kidnapping in Venezuela, which operates under the Tren de Aragua network, this information has not yet been confirmed by Miami-Dade Police.

That same Thursday, the same day Montero appeared in a Miami court, Senator Marco Rubio and Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, along with other lawmakers, sent a letter to President Biden calling for the gang to be immediately designated an organized international criminal.

This could help mobilize the resources needed to stop the growing violence of the organization in the United States.