DENVER, CO - Officers with the Denver Police Department (DPD) have been told to stay extra vigilant and to stay on high alert after the notoriously violent Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua has seemingly given its members a "green light" to attack, shoot, and kill police officers.
According to Fox News, a screenshot of a bulletin by the Colorado Information Analysis Center was shared with Fox News Digital showing that a police department in New Mexico received information from federal partners that members of the gang have been "encouraged" to attack officers with the DPD.
The bulletin reads, "The Albuquerque New Mexico Police Department (APD) has released this officer safety bulletin to notify law enforcement of information regarding the Tren de Aragua criminal organization and reports that TdA members in Denver have been given a 'green light' to fire on or attack law enforcement."
As reported by the New York Post, the gang is already tied to hundreds of crimes, including the shootings of two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers who were trying to arrest one of its members back in June. A screenshot of the memo, which came from the Homeland Security Investigations office in Chicago also shows that it says, "Credible human sources from Colorado provided information on TdA ... As many of you know, we have a TdA presence here in Chicago, so please be vigilant as you encounter TdA members or affiliates during your investigative and operational activities."
The warning comes as Denver has been inundated with over 42,000 illegal immigrants, with many of them being from Venezuela. The prison gang, whose name means "The Aragua Train," a reference to the Aragua region in Venezuela has infiltrated the United States by sending its members posing as asylum seekers across the southern border.
Once across the border, its members have flocked to major U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, Miami, and Denver. Once they get themselves settled, they engage in money laundering, gun smuggling, theft, and human trafficking. According to federal data, the U.S. Border Patrol only began tracking the group in 2023 and since has recorded catching 70 of its members.
TdA is said to specialize in extortion, kidnapping, murder, and sex trafficking. Federal authorities have been warning that the gang is trying to establish itself in the U.S., where police are already linking it to organized crime. The FBI has also warned that the gang could team up with the notoriously violent street gang, MS-13.
John Fabbricatore, a former ICE field office director who is now running for a congressional seat in Colorado as a Republican, said that the gang has got a foothold in the state and is taking over apartment buildings. He said that the gang has taken advantage of the ongoing southern border crisis. He added, "This whole border situation over the last three and a half years has allowed countless criminals to be allowed into the United States, and we're seeing an uptick in crime, especially in illegal immigrant crime throughout the US, and sanctuary cities are just magnetizing it."
He joins others in warning citizens about the gang, saying that they are involved in drug trafficking, large-scale operations, and other crimes. He said, "For United States citizens, for people here within the United States, they are a dangerous gang. And with them just putting a green light on police officers here in the United States, we could potentially see police officers being shot by these gang members because they do not fear law enforcement in the United States."
According to NBC News, the gang has been the subject of more than 100 criminal investigations opened by federal authorities. In July, the Biden administration finally designated the gang as a transnational criminal organization and began offer a $12 million reward for the arrests of its leaders.
According to Fox News, a screenshot of a bulletin by the Colorado Information Analysis Center was shared with Fox News Digital showing that a police department in New Mexico received information from federal partners that members of the gang have been "encouraged" to attack officers with the DPD.
The bulletin reads, "The Albuquerque New Mexico Police Department (APD) has released this officer safety bulletin to notify law enforcement of information regarding the Tren de Aragua criminal organization and reports that TdA members in Denver have been given a 'green light' to fire on or attack law enforcement."
As reported by the New York Post, the gang is already tied to hundreds of crimes, including the shootings of two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers who were trying to arrest one of its members back in June. A screenshot of the memo, which came from the Homeland Security Investigations office in Chicago also shows that it says, "Credible human sources from Colorado provided information on TdA ... As many of you know, we have a TdA presence here in Chicago, so please be vigilant as you encounter TdA members or affiliates during your investigative and operational activities."
The warning comes as Denver has been inundated with over 42,000 illegal immigrants, with many of them being from Venezuela. The prison gang, whose name means "The Aragua Train," a reference to the Aragua region in Venezuela has infiltrated the United States by sending its members posing as asylum seekers across the southern border.
Once across the border, its members have flocked to major U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, Miami, and Denver. Once they get themselves settled, they engage in money laundering, gun smuggling, theft, and human trafficking. According to federal data, the U.S. Border Patrol only began tracking the group in 2023 and since has recorded catching 70 of its members.
TdA is said to specialize in extortion, kidnapping, murder, and sex trafficking. Federal authorities have been warning that the gang is trying to establish itself in the U.S., where police are already linking it to organized crime. The FBI has also warned that the gang could team up with the notoriously violent street gang, MS-13.
John Fabbricatore, a former ICE field office director who is now running for a congressional seat in Colorado as a Republican, said that the gang has got a foothold in the state and is taking over apartment buildings. He said that the gang has taken advantage of the ongoing southern border crisis. He added, "This whole border situation over the last three and a half years has allowed countless criminals to be allowed into the United States, and we're seeing an uptick in crime, especially in illegal immigrant crime throughout the US, and sanctuary cities are just magnetizing it."
He joins others in warning citizens about the gang, saying that they are involved in drug trafficking, large-scale operations, and other crimes. He said, "For United States citizens, for people here within the United States, they are a dangerous gang. And with them just putting a green light on police officers here in the United States, we could potentially see police officers being shot by these gang members because they do not fear law enforcement in the United States."
According to NBC News, the gang has been the subject of more than 100 criminal investigations opened by federal authorities. In July, the Biden administration finally designated the gang as a transnational criminal organization and began offer a $12 million reward for the arrests of its leaders.
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