A shocking video emerged recently of a gang roaming an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. Video showed armed men strolling around a building, knocking on doors, unafraid of consequences. How did things get so bad in the small city of Aurora?
South American gang life has arrived in America in droves. Law enforcement agencies call Tren de Aragua (or “TdA”) “the largest transnational criminal operation in the South American nation of Venezuela” with estimates of as many as 7,000 members.
The group was formed in the late 2000s at the Venezuelan Aragua State’s Tocorón prison. American intelligence agencies believe there are over 1,000 TdA members in the United States right now. Members are often identified by visible tattoos. A popular one is anything commemorating Michael Jordan or his jersey number, 23, but clocks, trains, crowns and gas masks are also favored by gang members.
The gang is believed to have originated in Venezuelan prisons and moved north over the last decade. But its reputation within the U.S. has grown this year, in part due to a number of high-profile crimes linked to the gang, with many believed to have arrived by coming across the southern border as part of the sharp increase in migration in recent years.
A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) bulletin in March alerted agents to tattoos and other identifiers of the gang. Federal authorities had previously warned that the gang was trying to establish itself in the U.S, and could potentially team up with the violent MS-13 gang.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview this year that the gang “has unleashed violence across Central and South America.”
“Now, we’re seeing more people coming across the border illegally with ties to Tren de Aragua. Until we get the border crisis under control, more and more bad actors will take advantage of the loopholes in our immigration system,” he said.
In February, New York officials linked the gang to more than 62 robberies in the city, and two suspected members of the gang were arrested in connection with a shocking assault of two NYPD officers.
The brother of the suspect in the killing of Georgia student Laken Riley has ties to the gang, and in Texas 10 migrants affiliated with the gang were arrested earlier in May.
“Keep your eye on this gang,” Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said at that time. “Their criminal activities represent a serious threat to our communities!”
The gang has established a significant presence in parts of Colorado. Fox News Digital reported in July that TdA members have been given a “green light” to fire on or attack law enforcement in Denver.
More recently, reports have emerged of the gang taking over at least two apartment buildings in Aurora, with surveillance video showing heavily armed men kicking down an apartment door. The Aurora mayor said on Fox News that there are “several buildings actually under the same ownership, out of state ownership, that have fallen to these Venezuelan gangs.”
The city, however, has said there is only a “small” presence in Aurora, and that media “have conflated and considerably exaggerated incidents that are isolated to a handful of problem properties alone.”
A spokesman for Aurora Police recently told The Denver Post that “it’s still too soon to quantify TdA’s presence in Aurora one way or another.” In a statement, the city said the police “continue to identify criminals and make arrests” and also noted that residents have cited poor living conditions rather than a takeover in those properties.
Meanwhile, ICE confirmed to Fox News last week that four known or suspected gang members arrested by police in Aurora this week connected to a shooting in July are illegal immigrants who were caught and released at the border.
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