DEA Announces Multiple Arrests in Colorado Raid Targeting Venezuelan Gang

January 27, 2025 TruthUSA

The DEA reported that approximately 49 undocumented immigrants were apprehended, linked to the Tren de Aragua gang.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced the arrest of several individuals during a recent operation in Colorado aimed at the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.

On Sunday night, the DEA’s Rocky Mountain division shared in a post that their agents, along with federal and local law enforcement, conducted a predawn operation at a makeshift nightclub in Adams County, situated outside Denver.

Drug substances, weapons, and cash were confiscated during the raid, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Denver detained 49 illegal immigrants. In a subsequent post, the DEA noted that over 100 law enforcement personnel participated, with no shots fired and no injuries reported.

“Many of those apprehended are affiliated with the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang from Venezuela,” stated the DEA. They also provided video evidence of arrests made by the agents alongside individuals in handcuffs. Additional footage showed a bus transporting “nearly 50 illegal aliens” following the raid, according to the agency.

During the 2024 electoral campaign, Tren de Aragua became a focal point when President Donald Trump underscored that gang members had taken control of buildings and areas throughout Colorado, especially in the Aurora region.

Trump visited Aurora, addressing a gathering where he expressed his belief that the area “has been invaded and conquered.”

“These communities have been overtaken, and we will either imprison these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals or expel them from our country. We will act swiftly and effectively,” he stated in October of the previous year.

City officials, however, contested Trump’s assertions regarding gangs dominating parts of the city.

Concurrently, Trump committed to deporting criminal undocumented immigrants from the U.S.

Originally a prison gang based in Aragua, Venezuela, officials in the U.S. claim that the gang has rapidly expanded throughout North and South America in recent years. The gang is involved in human smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering, and various other criminal activities.

The operation near Denver was conducted shortly after Trump’s inauguration and in the wake of several executive orders he issued that targeted illegal immigration. One such order aimed to designate Tren de Aragua, drug cartels, and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations, emphasizing his intention to declare a state of emergency to tackle these groups.

“Their campaigns of violence and terror in the United States and globally are extremely violent and perilous, similarly threatening international stability in the Western Hemisphere,” the order indicated.

According to Trump, such measures are necessary following the influx of millions of individuals entering the U.S. during the Biden administration, both illegally and through Biden’s temporary legal entry programs.

Furthermore, the Trump administration alerted officials in so-called sanctuary cities that they could face punitive measures or even prosecution should they choose not to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts. A memo issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last week instructed U.S. prosecutors to investigate authorities who allegedly obstruct such enforcement.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall examine incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution, including for obstructing federal functions,” the memo stated, indicating potential legal repercussions for those violating laws that hamper government operations.

In the weeks leading up to Trump’s inauguration, Denver’s Mayor Mike Johnston declared his willingness to face imprisonment in opposition to the Trump administration’s deportation strategies.

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, remarked in a Fox News interview at the time that he would be “willing to put [Johnston] in jail” if he refused to comply with federal immigration directives.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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