Losing Ground to Liberal Hell in Colorado
Among the millions of illegal immigrants coming across our Southern border are the members of the once Venezuelan Prison Gang, Tren de Aragua—in English, the Aragua Train. Beginning in 2018, Tren de Aragua has now become an aggressive and vicious multinational migrant crime syndicate being investigated by over 100 U.S. police departments in all 50 states. They traffic in drugs, guns, women, children, and more. They are engaged in kidnapping-for-ransom, protection racketeering, sex-crimes, robbery, various bribery and money-laundering schemes, and general thuggery, theft, and bullying. In Aurora, Colorado, they recently took over some apartment buildings and demanded that the residents pay them rent. The owner was forced to sell out. Aurora is a large eastern suburb of Denver and the third largest city in Colorado with nearly 400,000 residents. Police reports show the Tren de Aragua (often locally abbreviated to “TDA”) is active in the entire Metro-Denver area.
The national media and the Aurora Police are now trying to portray this as an isolated and insignificant event, but see this pre-September 10 presidential debate CBS News coverage video, including testimony by Aurora City Council Member Danielle Jurinsky, Chair of the Public Safety Committee:
Apparently, the Aurora Police considered these apartments something like a “No Go” without special reinforcement zone.
The Aragua Gang and now crime syndicate gets its name from the Venezuelan state of Aragua in north central Venezuela, which is where Tocoron Prison, its birthplace, is located.
Several government and police organizations estimate Tren de Aragua total membership is over 5,000. Their principal strongholds are Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, and the United States. Judging from their exploding activity in the United States, a majority or near-majority of their 5,000 membership may be in the United States. Their organization structure is close to the model of Colombian crime cartels. They do not generally identify themselves with tattoos. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas and the State of Texas have identified Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization. According to Texas authorities, Tren de Aragua attempted to take over a Texas hotel. That seems to be part of their modus operandi across their multi-national territories, and has also occurred in Chicago.
According to the New York Post, Tren de Aragua migrants to the United States go first from Venezuela to Chihuahua, Mexico, to prepare for entry into the United States. They typically enter around El Paso, Texas. Major dispersions go to Denver/Aurora, Chicago, and New York City. They spread to smaller cities through these major concentrations.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies (cis.org), there are at least 715,000 Venezuelan migrants in the United States. At least 400,000 came illegally. In March 2021, there was a surge of 46,000 processed through the Border by the Border Patrol. The total for fiscal year 2022 was, 187,000, and over 200,000 in 2023. This reached 281,000 in the first 10 months of FY 2024. In addition, large numbers were flown into the United States under the CHNV Parole Program—my estimate is at least 30,000. But Homeland Security is giving 715,000 of them total Temporary Protection Status (TPS). There are undoubtedly more illegal Venezuelan immigrants in the United States, who were not delayed by the Border Patrol.
The heaviest concentrations of Tren de Aragua tend to be in cities and counties, which have naively and shamefully designated themselves as sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. Denver is a self-declared sanctuary for illegal immigrants and helps them with resettlement. At least 42,000 of them have arrived in the last 12 months, and they continue to pour in at about 3,500 per month. This now includes many Venezuelans and the Aragua Train. Several smaller suburban cities are suing Denver for the hardships and unwanted consequences brought on them by Denver’s liberal sanctuary policies.
The Denver area has also become a major commercial center for legalized sale of marijuana, which has correlated with higher crime, corruption, and other social ills. Highly concentrated “candy” forms of marijuana sometimes result in unexpected violent behavior. Commercial marijuana may be an attractive investment for Tren de Aragua and other criminal organizations. This often leads to political corruption and a spiral of community deterioration.
The population of Aurora grew by 40 percent from 2000 to 2020. The white non-Hispanic population shrank from 59 percent to 42 percent during that period. The Hispanic Latino population increased from 20 percent to 30 percent. Few of these were Venezuelans in 2020. The Venezuelan surge came with the CHNV Program with TPS protection status accelerated by the Biden Administration in 2021 and further accelerated thereafter.
Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, was one of only three sanctuary municipalities in Georgia. It was in Athens, Georgia, that Tren de Aragua member Jose Ibarra, 26, was charged with Killing 22-year-old August University nursing student Laken Riley in February 2024 as she was jogging near the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens.
Investigative reporter Ryan Matta has collected evidence that suggests a chain of corruption in funding the settlement of illegal immigrants. This has been bolstered by the Biden/Harris fiat Immigrant Parole and Protection Status programs. Billions of dollars are paid by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) to NGOs (Non-government Organizations) involved in refugee and immigration settlement. FEMA had a $29.5 billion budget in FY 2023, and is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
NGOs can do things that are not very visible and not lawful for a Federal government agency. Matta points out that NGOs handling immigration settlement have taken in hundreds of millions, even billions, of dollars per year and paid their executive officers extravagant salaries. The implication is that the Department of Homeland Security is not only allowing our country to be overrun by illegal immigrants, many of which have criminal or politically nefarious ambitions, but indirectly funding this criminal and treasonous behavior lavishly through NGOs. Matta points to a specific example of NGO funding accounting, where an NGO charity with annual income of $4.7 billion reports $2.2 billion as “Other Income,” thus concealing its source. Perhaps this is why the CIA likes to establish and use NGOs to exercise invisible intervention in foreign elections and regime changes. Many of these NGOs are religiously associated charities that otherwise do good work. They may naively believe they are doing good, but they are doing enormous harm. They are being manipulated on immigration issues by cynical, greedy, and power-hungry scoundrels and idealogues, who have little or no moral compass.
Matta is primarily interested in the 325,000 missing immigrant children, a byproduct of our absolutely corrupt open-border immigration system. He also warned against NGOs being allowed to operate or supervise voting locations. He is disappointed that Republicans have not reacted to his warning. Matta recently appeared on Clayton Morris’s Redacted News. "This is America's DARKEST SECRET and both parties are hiding it" | Redacted w Clayton Morris (rumble.com)
The Obama-Biden-Kamala Harris Immigration policies have been deliberately designed to establish and maintain absolute ongoing power for a radicalized Democratic Party. They are corrupting America and attempting to reshape and cancel its traditional values and Constitutional protections. Yet a truth-allergic, consequence-blind, politically captive mainstream media strains every nerve to support their rabid madness and false narratives.
But we have only to persevere in adding courage to truth to inevitably crush all these lies and depraved purposes and send their followers packing. Perseverance requires courage supported by hard work, good judgment, and necessary sacrifice.
May we celebrate our first step to victory following the November 5 Election.
“Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again; The eternal years of God are hers; But Error, wounded, writhes with pain, And dies among his worshippers”—William Cullen Bryant, 1839.
“At a time when liberty is under attack, decency under assault, the family under siege, and life itself is threatened, the good will arise in truth; they will arise in truth with the very essence and substance of their lives; they will arise in truth never shying from the Standard of Truth, never shrinking from the Author of Truth.”—Henry Laurens, South Carolina Revolutionary War patriot, President of the Continental Congress, November 1, 1777, to December 9, 1778.
Mike Scruggs is the author of two books: The Un-Civil War: Shattering the Historical Myths; and Lessons from the Vietnam War: Truths the Media Never Told You, and over 600 articles on military history, national security, intelligent design, genealogical genetics, immigration, current political affairs, Islam, and the Middle East. 
