(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — Several suspected members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) Venezuelan gang have been arrested in El Paso County, according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO).
EPSO said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) notified Sheriff Joseph Roybal the first week of March that it had identified, located, and arrested several members of the prolific Venezuelan gang in his jurisdiction.
“My Office is already collaborating with our federal partners at the FBI, DEA, ATF, and ICE to ensure dangerous criminals, regardless of their citizenship status, are removed from the streets and held accountable,” said Sheriff Roybal following the arrests in El Paso County.
In addition to this week’s arrests in El Paso County by ICE, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division (DEA RMFD), has also been cracking down on suspected members of both TdA and the Sinaloa Cartel across Colorado.
The DEA RMFD said arrests like these have removed 130,000 fentanyl pills off the streets, in addition to guns and a fake DEA badge from an alleged drug trafficker, who the DEA believed was using the badge to steal drugs from other criminals.
TdA, which began as a prison gang in Venezuela, has since spread across South America and into the continental U.S. According to the DEA RMFD, it has suspected TdA’s involvement in serious crimes in Colorado, including drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, prostitution, and human trafficking.
