The DEA said that about 49 illegal immigrants were arrested, connected with the Tren de Aragua gang.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has said it arrested dozens of people during a recent raid in Colorado that targeted the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.
The DEA’s Rocky Mountain division, in a post on Sunday night, said its agents, along with federal and local officials, “conducted an early morning operation at a makeshift nightclub in Adams County,” outside of Denver.
Drugs, weapons, and cash were seized in the raid, and 49 illegal immigrants were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) officials in Denver. In a separate post, the DEA division said that more than 100 law enforcement officials were involved, no shots were fired, and no one was injured.
“Many are connected with the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang from Venezuela,” said the DEA, which included video footage of agents making arrests alongside individuals in handcuffs. Other footage included a bus taking away “nearly 50 illegal aliens” after the raid, according to the agency.
During the 2024 election campaign, Tren de Aragua became a talking point after President Donald Trump highlighted that members of the gang had taken over buildings and areas in places across Colorado, particularly the Aurora area.
Trump visited Aurora and told a crowd that he believes it “has been invaded and conquered.”
“These towns have been conquered … and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them out of our country. And we will be very, very effective in doing it. It’s going to happen very, very fast,” he said in October of last year.
Some officials in the city pushed back against Trump’s claims about gangs taking over parts of the city.
At the same time, Trump pledged to deport criminal illegal immigrants from the United States.
The gang originated as a prison gang that was based in Aragua, Venezuela, but U.S. officials say it has quickly expanded across North and South America in recent years. The gang has partaken in human smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering, and other criminal activity.
