The Trump campaign on Friday prominently displayed on stage the mugshots of two alleged members of a Venezuelan gang that operated at apartment complexes in Aurora.

Who are the two alleged Venezuelan gang members pictured at Trump rally?

The two mugs belong to Jose Miguel Reyes-Perez, 30, and Juan Carlos Mejia-Espana, 27. 

Mejia-Espana was arrested at the Whispering Pines on March 17 following an alleged domestic dispute involving a weapon.

Meanwhile, Reyes-Perez was arrested on May 22 on a warrant out of Jefferson District Court for aggravated assault, menacing and motor vehicle theft.

Stephen Miller, a Trump advisor, took the stage and pointed to the mugs on display.

“Are these the people you grew up with?” he said.

“Are these the neighbors you were raised with?” he added.

Calling them “criminal migrants,” Miller said, “As swiftly as they came, Donald Trump will send them back.”

“Occupied America” was emblazoned atop the mugs.

Trump rally in Colorado: Live blog from Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora

Aurora officials last month had admitted they had been arresting people suspected — though not yet confirmed at the time of their apprehensions — of being members of Tren de Aragua long before the media spotlight on the city.

Authorities had linked 10 people to the gang and arrested several of them. 

“For some time, well before concerns about TdA in Colorado generated national attention, APD had been arresting people for various criminal activities who had suspected, but not necessarily confirmed, TdA connections. To date, APD has now linked 10 people to TdA and has arrested eight of those people,” the officials said in the statement that the city manager and Aurora Police Department helped put together.  

“Two of the eight individuals who were taken into custody were involved in a July shooting at one of the specific properties in the city that have experienced issues with TdA activity. In line with these arrests, we can also now confirm that criminal activity, including TdA issues, had significantly affected those properties,” the officials said. 

The Aurora Police Department released the names of all 10 suspects linked to the Venezuelan gang, offering a comprehensive look into the gang’s activities — or at least what they had been accused of perpetuating — in metro Denver. The police sought the suspects for a string of alleged crimes that included shootings, a beating, and threats to kill.

One alleged gang member faced numerous charges — notably kidnapping and robbery — for crimes that went back to December of last year. One shooting happened outside of a probation office.

Here’s what the police records said. 

Aspen Grove

Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirinos, 22, and his older brother, Jhonnarty DeJesus Pacheco-Chirinos, 24, were part of a group of several men who allegedly terrorized residents of The Aspen Grove apartments at 1568 Nome St., Aurora, with automatic weapons, according to details compiled from police-written arrest affidavits.

Jhonnarty Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos was arrested after a shooting at the apartment complex in July on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree aggravated assault, among other charges.

The brother, Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirinos, was arrested on March 28 by Aurora police on a first-degree assault warrant out of Adams District Court, tying back to an assault at an apartment in November 2023. He was also arrested in connection to the July shooting.

The Aspen Grove apartment complex in which the crimes allegedly took place made national and international headlines when Aurora officials shuttered it and evicted roughly 300 people, citing health and safety hazards. 

The landlord blamed the deteriorating conditions at Aspen Grove on gang activity — an allegation that city officials dismissed, and later walked back, insisting that the gangs were a problem but a limited one.

The Whispering Pines

Other arrests occurred at the Whispering Pines Condominiums complex also in Aurora. The complex is also owned by the landlord of Aspen Grove, CBZ Management. 

Police arrested 33-year-old Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose at the complex on Aug. 5 in connection to an assault at the complex in November 2023.

Juan Carlos Mejia-Espana, 27, was also arrested at the complex on March 17 following an alleged domestic dispute involving a weapon.

Larry Medina, 28, was arrested on July 10 for a felony menacing incident at on July 2.

Medina pointed a gun and threatened to kill someone, police said.

Aurora police contacted Yorman Camilo Sangronis-Garcia, 27, about a hit-and-run at the complex on Feb. 4. Though police have not had any contacts with the man since, they noted that he is an affiliate with the gang.

Recently, a law firm said that, through violence and intimidation, the Venezuelan gang took over the Whispering Pines complex and sought to collect up to half of the rent from leaseholders, drying up collections for the landlord.

The other four suspects were arrested or contacted elsewhere in the city.

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Luis Miguel Calzadilla-Rojas, 32, was arrested on Jan. 3 in connection to the shooting that occurred outside of the Arapahoe County Probation Office earlier that day.

Carlos Aranguren-Mayora, 23, has had “numerous encounters” with Aurora police, the department said. He faces 38 charges in five active court cases throughout Adams, Arapahoe and Boulder district courts for crimes dating to December 2023.

Some of these charges include kidnapping, burglary, motor vehicle theft and robbery. 

Roiberth Daniel Mora-Marquez, 23, was arrested on April 17 in connection to an April 4 assault over rent money that occurred in the 1600 block of Lima Street, police said. He is also a suspect in the shooting that occurred on June 28 in the 400 block of Nile Street.

Finally, 30-year-old Jose Miguel Reyes-Perez was arrested on May 22 on a warrant Jefferson District Court for aggravated assault, menacing and motor vehicle theft.