How Tren de Aragua infiltrated Aurora, Colorado: report

Parts of Aurora, Colorado have become thrust into the national conversation, as a prime example of the dangers posed by the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The gang has taken over apartment complexes in the small suburban town, and all it took was a few apartment buildings to fall into disrepair, according to a report from the New York Post.

Aurora became part of the national conversation regarding illegal immigration when a video of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members going around an apartment complex with guns went viral online. Donald Trump even cited the suburban area in his debate with Kamala Harris on Tuesday as a consequence of the Biden-Harris administration's soft border policies.



The gang has reportedly been using different apartment complexes that have fallen into disrepair to base their activities. Resident Jessica Montenegro as well as her young family were forced to move out of one of these complexes to get away from the violence and crime that subsequently took place after the gang arrived.

Montenegro told the outlet, "We were scared to stay there, and we knew it was gonna get worse." Local officials as well as some local outlets have downplayed the gang's activities. Despite this, it has been revealed that the “shot-caller” for that area in the Tren de Aragua gang with the nickname of "Cookie” is based in Aurora.

On Wednesday, police in the area identified 10 suspected members of the gang that have been arrested recently for various crimes while terrorizing the city.

At one point at the Edge at Lowry complex, Montenegro and her husband were confronted by a man with a gun on his waistband who knocked on the door and tried to get inside. After the frightening encounter, the family fled the complex.

District Attorney John Kellner, who oversees a large swath of the Aurora suburbs, told the Post, “We are not a border state, but we’re dealing with the fallout of a failed immigration policy and trying to do our best in trying to keep our citizens safe and immigrants."

Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirinos, the leader of the gang in the Aurora area, nicknamed "Galleta" - Spanish for "Cookie" - was named among the 10 suspected gang members. Months after he crossed the border, Pacheco-Chirinos and other gang members reportedly beat a man at the Aurora complex.

Pacheco-Chirinos was released on bond and went on to carry out more acts of violence, police told the outlet. He was arrested again in July, along with his gang member brother Jhonnarty Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos. This was for a shooting near the same complex that wounded two men.

A landlord in the Aurora area told the Post that the gang took advantage of vacancies at various apartment complexes. They would move in and take over empty units and threaten those who got in their way, such as maintenance workers and staff. The city shuttered two apartment complexes in response and forced the owner to give up control over the buildings.

Tren de Aragua is not just in Aurora, the outlet reported, gang members have also been busted by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office in late August when they were at the Ivy Crossing apartments. Cops seized 750 counterfeit pills, ketamine, as well as a stolen car in the bust.

Many things related to gang activity have gone unreported, as the residents in and around the affected communities fear retribution from Tren de Aragua. One resident near Montenegro's old building told the Post that Aurora police have been unresponsive to calls about gunshots and loud music playing at all hours of the night.

“I’ve called the cops 20 times in the last month or two and they never come out,” he said, adding that he feels "totally" helpless. Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly, who is in a nearby county, told the outlet, "The Aurora police department has minimized this issue.”

“They need somebody who is willing to go in there, straighten out the mess, be committed to the community and solve crime and arrest bad guys, hold criminals accountable,” Weekly said. “They haven’t had that. It’s been a mess.”