Roughly 2,400 miles from the Elgin scene where federal agents spent hours trying to detain her nephew, Genesis Adriana Gutierrez Morales spoke from Maracaibo, Venezuela, her voice trembling with sadness and anger over official statements she says have damaged his reputation.
“I don’t have the words to describe the frustration that you feel as family, of not being able to do anything, to be far away from him and not be able to help him,” Morales, 35, told the Tribune in Spanish. She said she is furious about claims that her nephew is linked to criminal activity: “I’m angered by all the things they’re saying about him that are false, angered that they are smearing his name when I know that does not represent him.”
Morales described 31-year-old Luis Jesus Acosta Gutierrez as hardworking, religious and generous. She said she helped care for him after his mother died of cancer. Authorities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have identified him as a suspected member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua — a label DHS has applied to other Venezuelan detainees under recent enforcement efforts.
DHS also alleges Acosta Gutierrez resisted arrest and intentionally rammed an officer’s vehicle into a tree; his family and their legal advocate dispute that account. They say agents struck Acosta Gutierrez’s car and that he fled because he feared for his safety.
Morales said her nephew left Maracaibo about two years ago seeking a better life. Federal records cited by authorities say he entered the U.S. in April 2023 and was granted temporary protected status, which DHS says was revoked last month. A Tribune search of local court records found no criminal cases under his name. Records show only a 2023 traffic fine for driving without a license that was closed in April 2024, according to McHenry County court files.
Morales said Acosta Gutierrez worked from a young age, starting at 13 as a delivery worker while he studied. In the U.S. he sent money home to support family and two young children, now ages 7 and 9. “It’s the story of one more Venezuelan, one more Latino,” she said, describing his migration as part of a common search for better opportunities.
The confrontation in Elgin began shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday on the 1600 block of West Highland Avenue, according to accounts from the scene. Local attorney and activist Robert Held, who is assisting Acosta Gutierrez, said the man was driving to get his car repaired when agents attempted to stop him. The sequence of events is disputed: DHS maintains agents were attempting a vehicle stop and that Acosta Gutierrez rammed an officer’s vehicle, while Held contends an agent struck Acosta Gutierrez’s vehicle and that his client fled out of fear.
Held said agents rammed Acosta Gutierrez’s car twice, and that he ran because he feared for his safety. Acosta Gutierrez then made his way to an apartment building on Maple Lane and barricaded himself on an outdoor balcony as more than a dozen federal agents attempted to take him into custody. The standoff drew neighbors and onlookers.
By mid-afternoon, the crowd had swelled to about 200 people as roughly 30 agents tried to negotiate. Witness videos and accounts show confrontations between agents and protesters: at least two agents tackling a protester, agents pushing back the crowd and the deployment of tear gas and pepper balls. Around 3:30 p.m., agents reportedly arrested Acosta Gutierrez inside an apartment. Videos taken afterward show people throwing snowballs at agents and vehicles and agents using pepper spray and flash-bang devices as they left.
The DHS statement labeling Acosta Gutierrez a suspected Tren de Aragua member deeply unsettled Morales, who said there is no proof and insisted her nephew has never belonged to a criminal gang. When asked for evidence tying him to the group — which the U.S. designated this year as a foreign terrorist organization — DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said agency intelligence “goes well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos and social media” and declined to release details, saying it would risk undermining national security.
The agency’s claims come amid broader enforcement actions. In September, federal immigration agents executed a predawn raid at an apartment building on Chicago’s South Side that DHS said targeted Tren de Aragua members and associates; reporting by the Tribune noted that no public criminal charges have been filed in connection with that operation.
Held described Acosta Gutierrez as an Uber driver and painter, not a gang member, and said his client was roughed up during arrest, suffering facial injuries. DHS did not directly address that allegation in its response and instead referred to previous public statements. ICE records show Acosta Gutierrez is currently detained in Clay County, Indiana.
From Maracaibo, Morales said she has been comforted by messages from people who witnessed Saturday’s protest and reached out to tell her her nephew wasn’t alone. “Thousands of thanks, really,” she said. “Because together we are stronger.”
