The Tren de Aragua trail of terror

I retraced the steps of two alleged Venezuelan gang members from Oregon to Washington, where they allegedly kidnapped, tortured and tried to kill a woman, leaving her for dead in the snow

Interstate 90 near Hyak, Washington, where a year ago prosecutors say three men associated with Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua left a woman for dead. (Photo by Jeff Eager, 1/2/26)

Since the summer, Oregon Roundup has uncovered and exclusively reported on overwhelming evidence Oregon company Uplifting Journey LLC defrauded Oregon and American taxpayers when it sought and received at least $2.3 million in Medicaid reimbursements in less than a year concluding March 2025. That figure very likely severely understates the sum Uplifting Journey received from the State of Oregon, but it’s the figure we can prove as of now.

But this remarkable story is not just one of likely massive Medicaid fraud. It’s also a story of alleged Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gangsters, in the U.S. illegally, who lived in a Lake Oswego, OR residential treatment facility operated by Uplifting Journey. King County, WA prosecutors allege the men on January 21, 2025, traveled from Lake Oswego to Burien, WA, kidnapped, tortured, robbed and tried to murder a woman, leaving what they thought was her dead body near Snoqualmie Summit in Washington.

You can read prosecutors’ amended information laying out their allegations, in full, here.

I retraced the steps of Kevin Sanabria Ojeda and an as-yet unnamed second man on their trip of terror through the Pacific Northwest that day. I recorded three short (three to seven minutes)

1. Tren de Oswego. This is the house in Lake Oswego, OR where Sanabria Ojeda and his associate lived. The house was operated as a residential treatment facility by Uplifting Journey LLC. Prosecutors allege the men left Lake Oswego on January 21, to go to Burien, where another associate of theirs had been surveiling a woman who would be their target that day.

2. Maria Guadalupe Hernandez Velasquez’s apartment in Burien, WA. Prosecutors say Sanabria Ojeda and two associates accosted Hernandez Velasquez as she left her apartment. During the struggle, Sanabria Ojeda shot at Hernandez Velasquez shot at, but missed, Hernandez Velasquez. The men ultimately forced her into their car and made their way east, using a power drill to her hand to get her phone password and telling her they were going to kill her and her family and leave her body for the bears to eat.

3. Near Snoqualmie Summit, Washington. Prosecutors say Sanabria Ojeda and friends stopped just east of Snoqualmie Summit on Interstate 90, east of Seattle, forced Hernandez Velasquez out of the vehicle, and threw her over the jersey barrier. Sanabria Ojeda shot her in the shoulder, apparently thinking he hit her in the head. Hernandez Velasquez played dead, and later crawled to get help, leaving a trail of blood in the January snow.

Police later apprehended Sanabria Ojeda at a Red Roof Inn in Lansing, IL. He and an associate from the Seattle area face attempted murder and other charges in King County, WA. Sanabria Ojeda’s roommate from the Uplifting Journey house in Lake Oswego, identified only as “Daniel” by prosecutors, remains at large. Police interviewed a third resident of the Uplifting Journey house in Texas, who appears to have been acting as an informant.

So, prosecutors say there were three alleged Tren de Aragua gang-affiliated individuals living in the Lake Oswego house operated by an Oregon Medicaid provider.

The State of Oregon has refused to say whether it is investigating Medicaid fraud in relation to Uplifting Journey. Federal authorities have not responded to repeated requests for comment.

Oregon Roundup continues to follow this remarkable story fusing likely widespread Medicaid fraud and Tren de Aragua terror in the Pacific Northwest.