Aurora terrorized by Venezuelan gang as dictator Maduro let Tren de Aragua seize power

A sprawling situation successful a quaint Venezuelan municipality served arsenic the birthplace of 1 of the astir notorious gangs wrong the region, with its infamous person escaping his beingness down bars nether the chemoreceptor of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro – starring to the newly-minted set of criminals wreaking havoc connected American cities.

Tocorón, located successful a municipality of the aforesaid name, erstwhile mirrored a luxury surviving assemblage – outfitted with swimming pools, a nightclub and adjacent a zoo – for immoderate of the country’s astir unsafe criminals. 

For years connected Maduro's watch, the Aragua jailhouse operated nether the power of its ain inmates. Kidnappings, extortions and countless different convulsive crimes were planned and orchestrated from the confines of Tocorón, according to The Associated Press. 

Shortly aft Maduro's statesmanlike predetermination triumph successful 2013, notorious transgression Héctor "Niño" Guerrero returned to Tocorón to service clip down bars for the execution of a constabulary officer, on with respective different convictions. Guerrero seized connected the wide corruption wrong the situation to grow connected his up-and-coming pack – Tren de Aragua, present designated arsenic a overseas violent enactment by the United States.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT UNSEALS MULTI-STATE INDICTMENTS AGAINST TREN DE ARAGUA LEADERS FOR VIOLENT CRIMES

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro addresses supporters during a rally marking the day of the 19th-century Battle of Santa Ines successful Caracas, Venezuela, connected Dec. 10, 2025.  (Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"When a state undergoes a benignant of economical whiplash oregon a benignant of economical antagonistic indicator, it tin pb groups to travel unneurotic – particularly successful places similar jails oregon prisons where you person a postulation of radical with transgression records [and] convulsive histories who are competing for power implicit contraband markets and different things down bars," David Pyrooz, a prof of sociology astatine the University of Colorado Boulder, told Fox News Digital. 

Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, aka "Niño Guerrero," is the notorious caput of Tren de Aragua. (U.S. Department of the Treasury)

Members of peculiar forces of the Bolivarian National Police hold successful a convoy astatine the checkpoint successful the Aragua jailhouse arsenic Venezuela's authorities announced it has completed the archetypal signifier of its program to instrumentality backmost power of its situation system, successful Tocoron, Venezuela, connected Sept. 23, 2023.  (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

Inmates were expected to wage play dues to the leaders, amounting to $3.5 cardinal flowing into the caller pack annually – with wealth besides streaming successful from crimes committed extracurricular the prison’s walls. 

"What happens successful prison, influences what happens connected the street, and what happens connected the street, influences what happens successful prisons," Pyrooz said. "So those walls are beauteous porous betwixt prisons and the communities."

"State control, oregon the deficiency thereof, has been recovered successful starring to pack enactment successful the United States, successful our situation systems and crossed the world. So it's not retired of the ordinary, oregon there's nary crushed to judge that Venezuela would beryllium immune to that."

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The Aragua jailhouse is pictured arsenic Venezuela's authorities announced it has completed the archetypal signifier of its program to instrumentality backmost power of its situation system, successful Tocoron, Venezuela September 23, 2023.  (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

The corruption thrived nether the Maduro administration, which did not ace down connected Tren de Aragua’s grip connected Tocorón until a decennary later, erstwhile 11,000 Venezuelan troops stormed the situation to regain power successful 2023. 

However, Maduro’s efforts to reconstruct bid successful Tocorón were possibly excessively late. By the clip troops arrived, Tren de Aragua had amassed implicit 4,000 members and had a beingness successful 11 of the country’s 23 states, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence. As officials worked to dismantle the civilization that had been cultivated successful Tocorón, Guerrero – who present sat astatine the helm of the transnational pack – broke retired of the prison, on with respective different members. 

"The information that it was a leader, there's nary coincidence down that," Pyrooz told Fox News Digital. "So it does accidental a batch that determination could beryllium immoderate benignant of interior strife oregon corruption that would pb to that benignant of escape." 

Following Guerrero’s escape, crimes involving members of Tren de Aragua began to skyrocket passim the U.S – with possibly 1 of the epicenters of unit landing successful a residential Colorado town. 

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A destroyed gross is pictured successful the Aragua jailhouse arsenic Venezuela's authorities announced it has completed the archetypal signifier of its program to instrumentality backmost power of its situation system, successful Tocoron, Venezuela, connected Sept. 23, 2023.  (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

In 2024, the pack commandeered respective flat buildings successful Aurora, making nationalist headlines arsenic convulsive criminals held the complexes for ransom. 

Surveillance video from The Edge astatine Lowry apartments sparked nationalist outrage aft a radical of heavily-armed men, believed to beryllium members of Tren de Aragua, were seen pacing the halls of the building.

Additional video showed 1 of the building’s representatives being violently assaulted aft helium refused to judge a bribe astatine the Whispering Pines Complex successful 2023, the institution told FOX 31.

In a station to X, the institution revealed the worker encountered the radical surviving wrong a vacant apartment, and was subsequently assaulted aft helium refused to judge $500 to place the situation. Following the attack, the worker reportedly began receiving online threats that included his location code and spouse’s name, which were aboriginal tied to Tren de Aragua by the FBI. 

"I deliberation they were trying to termination me. I don’t cognize however I got out, but I got out," the employee, whose bloodied photograph was posted by the absorption institution connected X, told FOX 31. 

CBZ Management shared this photograph connected X, allegedly picturing 1 of their employees aft helium refused to instrumentality a bribe from pack members successful 1 of the company's Aurora complexes. (@Cbzmanagement connected X)

In different instance, a institution spot manager was assaulted by known Tren de Aragua subordinate Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose successful November 2023, according to a constabulary study obtained by Denver 7. 

Additionally, a radical of pack members took implicit a tenant’s flat portion they were distant connected vacation, forcing the renter to find a caller spot to live. 

A Colorado justice aboriginal ordered the flat analyzable to temporarily adjacent owed to an "immediate menace to nationalist safety," with metropolis officials assisting astir 85 families successful uncovering a caller spot to unrecorded wherever they would not beryllium revictimized. 

Surveillance video shows Aurora, Colorado flat idiosyncratic allegedly assaulted by Tren de Aragua gang

"The pack specifically targeted its ain community, Venezuelan immigrants, done violence, intimidation, extortion and adjacent kidnapping," Aurora Police Department Chief Todd Chamberlain said astatine the time. "The analyzable became a hub for cause trafficking, location invasions, shootings and convulsive assaults."

In 2025, Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents successful New York City, with officials alleging the Venezuelan nationalist is the heavily-armed antheral seen connected video kicking down a doorway wrong the Aurora flat complex.

"There are ways to stamp retired these problems earlier they tin emergence to the constituent of Tren de Aragua," Pyrooz said. "But it tin beryllium truly hard to bash it, particularly erstwhile you person precise ineffective authorities mechanisms successful spot to halt these groups."

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An excavator destroys infrastructure built by inmates successful the Aragua jailhouse arsenic Venezuela's authorities announced it has completed the archetypal signifier of its program to instrumentality backmost power of its situation system, successful Tocoron, Venezuela, connected Sept. 23, 2023.  (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

"And it tin pb to the benignant of accusations oregon anecdotal grounds that the authorities could person led to the migration of Tren de Aragua members to the United States."

Last year, the Aurora Police Department released a doorbell video showing a radical of 9 suspected Tren de Aragua members terrorizing an flat tenant from Venezuela, successful an incidental officials referred to arsenic "very reminiscent" of the 2024 takeover astatine a adjacent gathering successful the city. 

Video shows the radical pointing guns and repeatedly knocking connected an flat doorway successful a gathering adjacent 6th Avenue and Potomac Street successful Aurora, Chamberlain said during a quality conference.

WATCH: Disturbing video shows suspected TdA pack members brandish guns astatine Colorado flat complex

"This mightiness dependable similar déjà vu," Chamberlain said astatine the time. "We are addressing this actively, efficaciously and immediately."

Authorities yet arrested 2 suspects successful narration to the incident, portion detaining 4 different suspected criminals. 

However, the influx of enactment by the Venezuelan pack wrong the Colorado assemblage has since diminished, according to Pyrooz. 

"It's quieted down a batch successful 2025," Pyrooz said. "The dynamics of Tren de Aragua successful the country did quiescent a lot. It does look similar immoderate of the enforcement actions did correspond with lessening immoderate of the power of groups similar Tren de Aragua."

In December, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced 2 alleged leaders of Tren de Aragua were indicted by a national expansive assemblage successful transportation with a bid of crimes successful Colorado. 

Brawins Dominique Suarez Villegas and Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano are facing respective charges, including a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy, marking yet different effort to clasp members of the convulsive thoroughfare pack accountable wrong the parameters of the U.S. justness system. 

Similarly, the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment precocious past twelvemonth charging Guerrero – who remains connected the tally – with assorted national charges stemming from his relation arsenic the person of Tren de Aragua.

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However, his seizure would apt not beryllium necessary, had helium not escaped from Tocorón nether the Maduro regime. 

"If you fto gangs instrumentality power of these institutions, it could beryllium related to much of an abject nonaccomplishment of the authorities to either enactment the conditions of confinement," Pyrooz told Fox News Digital. "[Or] to correctional officers having the effectual governance successful spot to stamp retired these conflicts earlier groups tin emergence to power."

Fox News Digital's Sophia Compton contributed to this report.