Jim Piwowarczyk & Jessica McBride

A fuller timeline in the case of Alejandro Coronel-Zarate raises serious questions about Madison and Minneapolis police and the Hennepin County Jail. Since the alleged Venezuelan gang member crossed the border in 2023, he’s accused of leaving trail of abused females in his wake. Why did it take until now for ICE to detain him? 

A Minnesota jail took alleged Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gang member Alejandro Coronel-Zarate into custody for almost three days but freed him into the community even though Madison police had already established probable cause that the noncitizen choked, beat, and threatened to burn and kill a terrified Madison woman, new records obtained by Wisconsin Right Now show.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department – which has a “sanctuary” policy of not cooperating with ICE and is located in a sanctuary county – released Coronel-Zarate, 26, of Venezuela, on Nov. 20, 2023, even though court records show that Madison police had already obtained the key evidence that was eventually used to issue felony suffocation charges in Wisconsin on December 1. There’s no evidence they told ICE. By the time Madison filed charges, Coronel-Zarate was in the wind, and a warrant was issued when he did not show up for court.

The key questions:

Why didn’t Madison police go get him when the Minnesota Jail decided to release him? Did they tell ICE that he was accused of a violent crime?

Why didn’t Minneapolis and Hennepin County authorities tell ICE that he was sitting in jail so a detainer could be placed on him?