Aurora, Colorado, has become a haven for the notorious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, raising concerns among residents who are demanding accountability from local leaders and a reversal of sanctuary city policies.
In the once-tranquil Denver suburb of Aurora, residents are living in fear as the spillover of migrant gang violence threatens the safety and well-being of their community. The root of the problem lies in the city's sanctuary city status and the Biden-Harris administration's border policies, which have allowed criminal elements to infiltrate the area.
According to former ICE field office director and Colorado GOP congressional candidate John Fabbricatore, Aurora has welcomed over 42,000 migrants since 2022, costing the city more than $72 million. Among these migrants are members of the notorious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, which has established a base of operations in the city.
Migrant Gang Violence Spills Over into Denver Suburb, Residents Demand Action
Tren de Aragua is responsible for a wave of violent crime in Aurora, including brutal beatings and shootouts. The gang's leader, Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirino, known as "Galleta," orchestrated the attack on a man at an apartment complex and a shootout at another property, according to the New York Post.
Fabbricatore believes that Aurora's leaders are "complicit" in the crime, despite the City Council passing a resolution in February stating it will not provide support to migrants brought into the community. "They're allowing this sanctuary just to come into these areas, and they don't want to push back against it," he said.
Migrant Gang Violence Spills Over into Denver Suburb, Residents Demand Action
Many of the migrants entering Aurora cannot even claim asylum, and some have connections to criminal organizations like Tren de Aragua. Fabbricatore calls on communities like Aurora to resist the sanctuary city policies and push back against the Biden-Harris administration's border policies.
"The Biden-Harris administration is complicit in having allowed our borders [to] just be in chaos," he said. "They have allowed this criminal element in. As taxpayers, you have to keep pushing back. You have to say, you know, we're not going to accept this. We just want to know the truth. We deserve our communities to be safe and we deserve for the border to be secure."
Migrant Gang Violence Spills Over into Denver Suburb, Residents Demand Action
Pacheco-Chirino, the leader of Tren de Aragua in Aurora, crossed into the U.S. from Texas in 2022 and was released after being vetted, despite stating that he was headed to New York. He later made it to Colorado and was given a court date but failed to appear. He was arrested again in July and is currently in ICE custody.
The Treasury Department has designated Tren de Aragua as a significant transnational criminal organization and has offered financial rewards for the conviction of its leaders. Residents of Aurora are demanding that local and federal authorities take action to address the gang's presence in their community and protect their safety.
Migrant Gang Violence Spills Over into Denver Suburb, Residents Demand Action
