USBP agents conduct ‘Trojan Horse’ raid at Home Depot in LA

This Wednesday, federal agents conducted a raid on a Home Depot parking lot in the Westlake/MacArthur Park area of Los Angeles.

In the operation, dubbed "Operation Trojan Horse," federal agents hid inside a Penske moving truck, mimicking the ancient Greek tactic used to infiltrate Troy.

A video circulating on social media shows Border Patrol agents arriving in a van and moving truck to conduct an immigration enforcement operation near downtown Los Angeles.

Several immigrants detained

According to NBC4 Los Angeles, more than a dozen people were detained outside Home Depot on Wilshire Boulevard in the Westlake area during the raid.

"This morning, Border Patrol conducted a targeted raid, dubbed Trojan Horse, in Los Angeles at a Home Depot that resulted in the arrest of 16 illegal aliens from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua," a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman said in a statement picked up by NBC4.

Authorities' reaction

In a post on X, USBP Chief Patrol Officer Gregory K. Bovino shared a video showing federal agents in tactical gear getting out of the back of the truck in a parking lot.

In another X post, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli included a video of an agent appearing to detain two people outside Home Depot.

"For those who thought immigration enforcement had stopped in Southern California, think again. The enforcement of federal law is not negotiable, and there are no sanctuaries from the reach of the federal government," Essayli said.

Penske not aware of USBP operation

On the other hand, the trucking company Penske issued a statement, saying it was not aware that its trucks were being used in such a federal operation.

The company stressed that it "strictly prohibits the transportation of people in the cargo area of its vehicles under any circumstances" and that it "will reach out to DHS."