Immigration

Local Police Say Illegal Migrants Arrested For Shootout Have Venezuelan Gang Ties

(Flickr/U.S. Department of Homeland Security)

Local police on Wednesday said two brothers arrested for a July shooting in Aurora, Colorado, are confirmed members of a violent Venezuelan gang, while another two men have suspected ties.

The Aurora Police Department announced that brothers Jhonnarty Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos and Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirinos are confirmed members of Tren de Aragua, an international criminal organization that originated in Venezuela and has since gained a foothold in the United States. Both men were taken into custody after a shooting on July 28 in Aurora that left two men hospitalized with serious injuries.

The police statement also noted that two other men allegedly involved in the shootout, Dixon Azuaje-Perez and Nixon Azuaje-Perez, are suspected of having ties to the Venezuelan gang.

“Any presence of criminal activity, including gang activity, will not be tolerated,” the Aurora Police Department stated on Wednesday, adding that the two brothers are currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. “The Aurora Police Department will continue to fight crime; we will find and arrest those responsible.”

All four men are Venezuelan nationals who entered the U.S. through the southern border during the Biden-Harris administration, ICE confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos and Jose Pacheco-Chirinos were both encountered by Border Patrol on October 2, 2022, and released into the interior of the country, according to ICE.

Dixon and Nixon were encountered by Border Patrol on August 22, 2023, and were also released into the interior of the country, according to the agency. The two men are currently in local custody at the Adams County Jail, Colorado, and ICE confirmed they have lodged detainers for both of them.

Aurora has been subject to national media attention after footage of armed men inside an apartment complex went viral last month. Federal immigration authorities later confirmed the men in the video footage are members of Tren de Aragua and the Aurora city officials sought a court order to clear the apartment building, according to Fox 31.

Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ office initially pushed back on allegations that gang members had taken over apartment buildings in Aurora, with a spokesperson telling the New York Post that “this purported invasion is largely a feature of [Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky’s] imagination.”

Jurinsky had made public statements earlier in August warning about Tren de Aragua activity in Aurora.

“I will continue to speak out until our border is closed and this gang is addressed!” the councilwoman stated on social media on Aug. 26. “I hope the local media will now step up and help with the truth.”

Colorado is identified as a “sanctuary” state by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a Washington, D.C.,-based organization that advocates for tougher immigration laws. The group cites a September 2014 jail policy that prohibits authorities from honoring detainer requests from ICE.