A violent Venezuelan prison gang known as Tren de Aragua has spilled into Aurora, Colorado, despite the fact that the city wanted “no part” in welcoming so-called “asylum seekers” as a result of President Joe Biden’s open border policies.
According to a report from the New York Post, Aurora has a population of 390,000 residents. Now, it’s become the base of operations for the gang, which has seized apartment complexes and instigated a crime wave.
In February, the Aurora City Council reportedly passed a resolution 7-3 stating that it will not provide resources for illegal immigrants brought into the town from neighboring cities, notably, Denver.
“We will not be aiding into this migrant crisis,” city council member Danielle Jurinsky said in an interview at the time.
However, many gang members have trickled into the city and wreaked havoc.
One local gang leader, Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirino, who decided to stay in Aurora goes by “Galleta.” Within months of coming to the states, Pacheco-Chirino and other gang members beat up a man at an apartment complex that the gang took over. In July, Pacheco-Chirino was arrested for a shooting that wounded two people.
🧵🧵🧵EXCLUSIVE: The city of Aurora, Colorado, is overrun by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and we’re the first to reveal its “shot caller” known as “galleta” or cookie in English, in the region who has has been committing crimes all over the region.https://t.co/hYxuYa9LFf
— Jennie Taer 🎗️ (@JennieSTaer) August 25, 2024
Pacheco-Chirino reportedly crossed the southern border in 2022 into Texas. He was released into the states by federal authorities after he said he was going to New York. However, he ended up at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Colorado in June 2023, where he was given a court date and released.
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Pacheco-Chirino and other men who said they were “part of a gang that steals from Walmart” brutally assaulted a man in a now-defunct apartment complex. They allegedly hit the victim in the head and beat him up as he fell to the ground. The victim reportedly suffered a traumatic brain injury, a broken nose and a broken upper jaw.
In addition, the gang members began terrorizing apartment staff who were forced to flee the properties.
An apartment investor told the Post that they’ve “lost control” of several properties because the gang has taken over the units.
“They were first hanging out around the property and creating a bad element that’s constantly there. And then they started taking over, quite a few months ago, they started taking over vacant units,” they said.
In March 2024, Pacheco-Chirino was “nabbed” and faced several felony assault charges. He bailed out of custody and did not show up to his court date.
On July 28, police arrested Pacheco-Chirino and three others for a shooting at the same apartment complex where the assault occurred. He was then turned over to ICE.
Last week, Pacheco-Chirino was reportedly ordered deported by an immigration judge. However, Venezuela is not accepting deportations from the U.S.
This month, the Aurora Police Department announced that it formed a task force with Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to handle the gang’s threats.
“APD will not tolerate violent crime in our communities,” Aurora police reportedly said.
Illegal immigrant crime in this region is nothing new. Last month, Townhall covered how two Denver councilmembers acknowledged that the influx of illegal immigration into the city over the past 18 months has contributed to the uptick in crime in certain areas.
In addition, the residents of Lakewood, Colorado urged their city council to not help out Denver with its overwhelming illegal immigration crisis, which Townhall also covered.
In Denver, officials began limiting the number of days illegals could stay in its shelters.
Last month, a bulletin from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned border agents and other law enforcement agencies of a threat posed by Tren De Aragua. The gang gave an apparent "green light" to its members who have infiltrated the United States to shoot American law enforcement.
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