Police have identified what they say are 10 members of a notorious Venezuelan gang threatening residents of a Colorado town, with some crimes dating back to late last year.
The Tren de Aragua (TdA) members have been known to Aurora Police Department for several months, but the town entered the national spotlight after a video showing violence in an apartment building went viral.
Aurora PD said Wednesday that TdA members had been “committing acts of violence against members of the migrant community” in the town.
A boy guides his bicycle past apartment buildings as a rally staged by the East Colfax Community Collective is held in the courtyard to address chronic problems in the apartment buildings occupied by people displaced from their home countries in central and South America Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in Aurora, Colo.
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the department shared the mugshots of nine of the ten known or reported members and outlined their alleged crimes.
Members of the Republican party, including Donald Trump and JD Vance, have claimed Aurora has been overrun by Venezuelan gang members in recent weeks.
The town’s mayor, Mike Coffman, told Newsweek on Friday that that was not the case and that the situation had been given “an exaggerated importance.”
Who are the members of Tren de Aragua in Aurora?
Members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua identified by Aurora Police Department in Colorado on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. The town has been in the national spotlight after reports it was “overrun” by Venezuelan gang members.
Aurora Police Department
Larry Medina
Larry Medina was arrested July 10, police said, in connection with an incident just over a week before at Whispering Pines Condominiums, in which he allegedly pointed a firearm at a victim and threatened to kill them.
Jhonardy Pacheco-Chirinos
Cops arrested Jhonardy Pacheco-Chirinos on March on a first-degree assault warrant out of Adams District Court connected to an incident in November 2023 at Fitzsimons Place apartments on Nome St.
Aurora PD said Jhonardy is also suspected of being involved in a non-fatal shooting on July 28 at Fitzsimons Place apartments. He was arrested July 29.
Jhonnarty Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos
Known as “Galleta” or “Cookie”, Jhonnarty Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos, the former’s brother, was also arrested July 29 in connection with the same shooting at Fitzsimons Place.
Luis Miguel Calzadilla-Rojas
Following another nonfatal shooting, this time on January 3 outside the Arapahoe County Probation Office, Luis Miguel Calzadilla-Rojas was arrested later that day.
Yorman Camilo Sangronis-Garcia
Police said Yorman Camilo Sangronis-Garcia was involved in a consensual contact with officers over a report of a hit-and-run on Feb. 4 at Whispering Pines. He has not had any other contact with police.
Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose
Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office arrested Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose Aug. 5 on a warrant out of Arapahoe District Court linked to an assault in November 2023, again at Whispering Pines.
Juan Carlos Mejia-Espana
Juan Carlos Mejia-Espana was arrested March 17 after a domestic dispute with a weapon at Whispering Pines.
Carlos Aranguren-Mayora
Aurora PD said they have had multiple encounters with Carlos Aranguren-Mayora. He faces a total of 38 charges in five active court cases in Adams, Arapahoe and Boulder district courts, for crimes dating to December 2023.
Roiberth Daniel Mora-Marquez
After a dispute and assault over unpaid rent on Lima St., police detained Roiberth Daniel Mora-Marquez on April 17. Mora-Marquez is also a suspect in nonfatal shooting on June 28 in the 400 block of Nile Street.
Jose Miguel Reyes-Perez
On May 22, Jose Miguel Reyes-Perez was arrested by Aurora PD on an outstanding warrant out of Jefferson District Court for aggravated assault, menacing and motor vehicle theft.
Aurora’s gang problem in the spotlight
Residents hold up placards during a rally staged by the East Colfax Community Collective to address chronic problems in the apartment buildings occupied by people displaced from their home countries in central and South America Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in Aurora, Colo.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
During Tuesday’s presidential debate, Trump brought up Aurora as an example of the an American community struggling to manage an influx of migrants.
Along with Springfield, Ohio, where misinformation has spread about Haitian migrants eating pets and local livestock, GOP members have refuted what Aurora officials have said about the scale of the problems.
Mayor Coffman, a Republican, previously told Newsweek that the issue was confined to a few apartment complexes with ongoing issues, and that the rhetoric being used by his fellow party members was damaging to the existing migrant population in his town.
“TdA has not “taken over” the city,” the mayor said in a statement released Wednesday. “The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true.
“For some time, well before concerns about TdA in Colorado generated national attention, APD had been arresting people for various criminal activities who had suspected, but not necessarily confirmed, TdA connections,” the mayor added.
The mayor pointed to other arrests in Denver and Arapahoe County, due to a special task force set up to tackle the TdA.
The TdA began as a prison gang in Aragua, Venezuela, before expanding rapidly in recent years, according to the State Department, focusing on human trafficking and other abuses of desperate migrants.
Newsweek reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for further comment on the gang’s presence and immigration status Wednesday afternoon via email.
