Portland's police chief just showed America exactly what's wrong with Democrat-run cities.
The chief admitted the truth about two gang members who tried to murder federal agents.
And Portland Police Chief broke down in tears after he admitted this one truth about gang members who tried to run over Border Patrol agents.
Portland Police Chief Cries Over Tren de Aragua Gang Members Shot by Border Patrol
Friday's press conference exposed the rot at the heart of Portland's leadership.
Chief Bob Day removed his glasses mid-sentence and started crying while confirming what DHS told everyone from the start — Luis David Nino Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras have ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
"It saddens me that we even have to qualify these remarks because I understand or at least have attempted to understand your voices, your concern, your fear, your anger," Day said while wiping tears.
Day confirmed "they do have some nexus to involvement with TDA" but spent most of his time apologizing to the Latino community.
"This information in no way is meant to disparage or to condone or support or agree with any of the actions that occurred yesterday," Day added.
Wait — a police chief just apologized for confirming gang members attacked law enforcement officers.
Former DHS Official Slams Portland Leadership After Border Patrol Shooting
Former acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli didn't hold back when Fox & Friends host Rachel Campos-Duffy asked him about Day's tearful press conference.
"Do we have a girly man problem with police chiefs in our country?" Campos-Duffy asked.
"It's Portland, Rachel," Cuccinelli replied. "They have a girly man problem that's much broader than just the police chief. This is a statewide problem, and they're not the only state."
Cuccinelli nailed the core issue — Portland's leadership has been "hiring for softness instead of for toughness and reliability" and it's destroyed public safety.
Here's what actually happened Thursday afternoon.
Border Patrol agents were running an operation targeting the vehicle when Moncada turned his car into a weapon and tried to run them down.
An agent fired in self-defense, wounding both gang members who then fled before being found and transported to the hospital.
Day initially hesitated to reveal the Tren de Aragua connection, citing concerns about "historic injustice of victim blaming."
There were no victims here — just criminals who attacked federal agents and suffered the consequences.
Venezuelan Gang Tren de Aragua More Dangerous Than MS-13, DHS Official Warns
Cuccinelli warned that Tren de Aragua is rapidly becoming a worse threat than MS-13.
"They escalated up the ramp of violence, if you will, much faster than other gangs like, say, MS-13," Cuccinelli explained.
According to Cuccinelli's assessment from previous testimony, Tren de Aragua accomplished in roughly four years what took MS-13 two decades — spreading across the entire country while maintaining connections back to Venezuela and operating as one organized criminal network.
President Trump designated Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization on his first day back in office for good reason.
The gang operates prostitution rings, human trafficking networks, drug distribution, extortion, kidnapping, and murder-for-hire operations across at least 20 states.
Portland leadership cares more about the feelings of gang members than protecting law enforcement officers doing their jobs.
Day's performance sends a clear message to criminals — attack federal agents in Portland and the police chief will cry about how unfair it is that people find out you're a gang member.
Cuccinelli praised Day for eventually correcting himself and revealing the gang connection.
"I appreciated that the police chief corrected his error," Cuccinelli said. "He's the only person on the left who's been critical and then come back and corrected his errors."
But correcting the error while crying about having to do it doesn't exactly inspire confidence that Portland will get serious about fighting gang violence.
The contrast couldn't be clearer between Trump's America First approach to border security and the soft-on-crime policies destroying Democrat cities.
Border Patrol agents put their lives on the line to stop gang members from terrorizing American communities.
Portland's police chief responds by breaking down in tears over having to admit the truth about who these criminals really are.
Sources:
- Max Bacall, "Former DHS official calls out Portland police chief's tearful remarks on gang suspects who attacked feds," Fox News, January 12, 2026.
- "Portland protests erupt after DHS links shooting suspects to Tren de Aragua," Fox News Video, January 11, 2026.
- Andy Ngo, "Portland police chief cries while admitting DHS was right about Tren de Aragua ties in CBP shooting," Fox News, January 10, 2026.
- "Portland Police Chief Bob Day cries while revealing suspected Tren de Aragua links in CBP incident," MEA WorldWide, January 10, 2026.
