DEA hits Tren de Aragua, arrests 50 illegal immigrants at Venezuelan criminal gang's nightclub

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested 50 illegal immigrants at an underground nightclub. Among those arrested were members of the Venezuelan criminal gang known as Tren de Aragua. The operation was successfully carried out in Adams County, Colorado, during the early hours of Sunday, January 26.

The operation was conducted by the DEA's Rocky Mountain Field Division, which collaborated with the Denver offices of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

"Drugs, weapons and cash were seized in Adams County. Nearly 50 illegal immigrants were arrested," the DEA reported on its X account. The detainees remained at the disposal of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

According to the Denver Post, the authorities broke into a "makeshift nightclub" that was "invitation-only." There, they met with "dozens of people related to the Aragua Train".

José Gustavo Arocha, a Venezuelan security expert and former Venezuelan lieutenant colonel, told Fox News that Tren de Aragua is "a state-sponsored organization of (Nicolás) Maduro's regime, formed and trained by the Venezuelan government to sow chaos, violence and discord throughout the Western Hemisphere."

The operation in Colorado took place in the midst of a series of coordinated actions by various federal agencies to deport illegal immigrants. Indeed, ICE announced 538 arrests and 373 detainers in the first days of the Trump administration.

Fox 5 New York reported ICE raids have already begun in states such as New York, California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida, Utah, Minnesota, Maryland and now Colorado. Authorities are looking for undocumented immigrants with criminal records.