Federal and local law enforcement agencies announced the indictments of 30 people in Colorado on Monday, including alleged leaders of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, which a police chief described as akin to a parasite.

Officials described the investigation leading to the operation as the biggest in the country.

“We learned how violent they are,” Aurora Police Department Chief Todd Chamberlain said of the gang, which has gained a foothold in metro Denver. “We learned what their mission was. Their mission was to be like a parasite, and they basically take over any area that they can control.”

The U.S. Department of Justice, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, and the Aurora Police Department, outlined their operation on Monday.

Around 70 confiscated guns sat on a wall and table behind the agency leaders. 

The indictments included 30 people from the metro Denver area, ranging in ages from 22 to 45. Their alleged crimes varied — from drug trafficking to firearm offenses and murder-for-hire charges. The arrests were made from November to May, officials said.  

The murder-for-hire plot included several defendants agreeing to kill two people for $15,000, authorities alleged.

They would then return the victims’ severed heads as proof of the murders for an extra $5,000, according to U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly.

Authorities believe that eight of the 30 are members of the Venezuelan gang that has drawn national and international attention after taking over apartment buildings in Aurora last year, leading to President Donald Trump calling his crackdown on illegal immigration “Operation Aurora.”

Authorities regarded three of the eight as gang leaders. Some were arrested in Columbia and will be extradited to Colorado.

A significant amount of the rest were associates of the gang, according to McNeilly.

The people indicted included the following:

• Jose Manuel Guerra-Caballero, also known as “Blanco” and “Cuchillo”
• Jose Gerardo Villamediana-Villanueva
• Michelle Peña
• Kleber Arguello-Villegas
• Jose David Hernandez-Gonzalez
• Jonathan Jose Ocopio-Villalobos
• Victor Alexander Hernandez-Villacreses
• Alexandra Nazaret Marin-Risco
• Jonathan Enrique Medina
• Keidinson Orlando Torrealba-Gonzalez
• Kevin Alexander Ruiz-Perez
• Lenguinyer Guevara-Muro
• Jhon Harrison Villalobos-Salas
• Esleiter Vargas-Morales
• Yeiber Samuel Alfonzo-Martinez
• Guarnel Moises Urbina-Betancourt
• Willangel Maieyker Martinez-Sanjoa
• Kendry Jose Robertis-Garcia
• Michael Joel Ojeda-Avila
• Luis Aguilera-Pericaguan
• Nelo Osmel Comenarez-Morillo
• Santtys Jose Silva-Alvarez
• Rosmer Javier Bello-Garcia
• Jose David Rivas-Mendez
• Antony Alexander Diaz-Gonzalez
• Deomar Armando Mendez-Chavez
• Dannys Alexis Moncada-Arteaga
• Jose Daniel Bencomo-Gutierrez
• Luis Henriquez Charaima

McNeilly did not say how many of the suspects were Venezuelan nationals.

The multi-agency investigation began in October after the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office reached out to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regarding violent crime at the Ivy Crossing Apartments near South Quebec Street and High Line Smith Way, according to ATF Special Agent in Charge Brent Beavers.

It was quickly raised to a “complex transnational armed drug and firearms trafficking investigation,” Beavers said.

The investigation led to the confiscation of 69 guns, ranging from handguns to rifles, and multi-kilogram quantities of 2C or “pink cocaine,” fentanyl and methamphetamine. 

One of the affidavits detailed Jose Manuel Guerra-Caballero’s January arrest in a drug operation. The ATF alleged that Guerra-Caballero conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and arranged an armed narcotics transaction. Several others participated in the operation to provide protection for undercover agents, who posed as sellers of 10 pounds of methamphetamine, the affidavits said. 

Authorities identified Jose Gerardo Villamediana-Villanueva as the leader of the group.

During one undercover drug operation, suspects mentioned they had associates that were recently on the local news for being involved in jewelry store robberies, according to the affidavit.

While the specific incident was not noted, an alleged TDA member was arrested in connection with a Denver jewelry store robbery late last year.

The suspects also stated that they have associates around the nation, including in Chicago, New York City and Miami.

“This isn’t just important to Colorado, it’s important to the whole country,” said Jeremy Franker, deputy director of Joint Task Force Vulcan.

Officials called the investigation in Colorado the biggest in the country.

Chamberlain added that the idea of TDA within the city wasn’t well-known two years ago, with the department not identifying direct members until the end of 2023.

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Steve Cagen said the Edge of Lowry apartments in Aurora was the first stronghold of the gang, with members choosing Colorado due to “resources” here that were not offered elsewhere. Then, through word of mouth, the gang began to spread in the city.

Cagen did not specify what the “resources” were.

“This isn’t because Aurora is crime ridden or it’s a horrible place. It’s not, it’s because these buildings were just not being managed,” Peter Schulte, the city attorney for Aurora, said, adding that the run-down apartments allowed for criminal activity.

While the joint-effort has paid off in reducing TDA activity in the state, there is still plenty of work to be done, officials said.

McNeilly said this does not mean directing forces toward anyone that is Venezuelan, — just those connected to the gang.

“We’re not simply pursuing people because of the nation in which they were born or where they came to the United States from,” he said. “Our crosshairs are firmly on Tren de Aragua and anyone else who chooses to commit crimes with Tren de Aragua.”

McNeilly added: “I have a message specifically for TDA. We will not let you use Colorado as your headquarters in the United States. If you bring your dangerous crimes to Colorado, we will hunt you down and we will bring you to justice and we will go anywhere in the world in pursuit of you.”