Members of the violent Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua have been terrorizing apartment complexes in the quiet Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado. Aurora was name-checked by former President Donald Trump during Tuesday night’s debate for its ongoing migrant crime crisis.
From The New York Post:
The gangbangers have been using various dilapidated apartment complexes — like the one which Aurora native Jessica Montenegro and her young family were forced to flee — as their home base, terrorizing residents there with gun crime, theft and drug dealing.
“We were scared to stay there and we knew it was gonna get worse,” a shaken Montenegro recently told The Post.
For weeks, local officials denied the gang was operating in Aurora, brushing it aside as a one-off problem.
However, after The Post revealed a top Tren de Aragua leader, nicknamed “Cookie,” was based in Aurora, cops on Wednesday publicly identified 10 suspected members of the gang who have been arrested in recent months for terrorizing the city.
Montenegro and her husband swept up their three kids and bolted from the Edge at Lowry complex after one harrowing encounter: A man with a gun in his waistband knocked on the door of their $1,200-a-month apartment one day and tried to get inside.
“Now that I think [about it], it’s really scary for me, not just for me, but for my kids,” said the mom, 35, who has two middle school-age kids and a 10-month-old. “I couldn’t imagine what could’ve happened if I was there still.”
Gang members poured into Aurora with a wave of Venezuelan migrants from Denver — the sanctuary city next door, which has taken in more than 42,000 migrants since 2022, most of them from the politically unstable South American country.
That’s despite Aurora officials saying they wouldn’t provide support for any asylum seekers.
The Aurora Police Department shared a post on X this week about its active investigation into the Tren de Aragua gang members terrorizing the neighborhood:
“The Aurora Police Department has been actively investigating reports that members of a Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, have been living in Aurora and committing acts of violence against members of the migrant community. Below is a summary of documented and suspected members of TdA known to Aurora police and reflects APD’s actions and authority alone.
Additional information about the specific cases can be obtained from the appropriate clerk of court’s office. For information about custody status, contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the county jails or refer to Colorado court records.”
The department then shared photos of the gang members.
Aurora Police Identifies Known Tren de Aragua Members
The Aurora Police Department has been actively investigating reports that members of a Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, have been living in Aurora and committing acts of violence against members of the migrant… pic.twitter.com/U42ldlOGr7
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) September 11, 2024
More over at The New York Post:
How Aurora, Colo., became a migrant gang war zone after Tren de Aragua took over apartment complexes in quiet suburb https://t.co/308Y6MNGqK pic.twitter.com/m4W3zuzBis
— New York Post (@nypost) September 12, 2024
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