Governor, lawmakers 'welcome' DEA raid with 41 detained by ICE in Adams County ...Middle East

DENVER (KDVR) — Federal law enforcement agencies, joined by local partners, raided what the Drug Enforcement Agency called a "makeshift nightclub" in Adams County on Sunday, resulting in 49 people arrested.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement took 41 of those arrested into custody, alleging they were in the U.S. illegally. The raid was the result of a months-long investigation by the DEA's Rocky Mountain Field Division. The RMFD has been investigating drug trafficking by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua since "last summer," according to DEA RMFD Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen.

The DEA RMFD said the party at the nightclub was "invite-only," which Pullen said is only set up on certain weekends and is "invitation-only to members of TdA and their associates." The law enforcement at the raid Sunday morning — which included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Homeland Security Investigations; and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations — seized guns, drugs and U.S. currency.

"Denver had a problem with this Venezuelan gang called TdA. Our investigation started in the summer, we've seized quite a large amount of drugs from TdA members, including fentanyl," Pullen explained to FOX31's Kasia Kerridge. "That really raised the awareness inside DEA of how important this gang was. We started really focusing on them across Denver and Aurora, and really around the metro area. Since then, we've been able to identify a lot more members and their network and that's what led us to this nightclub."

Many lawmakers weighed in on the raid. FOX31 reached out to the Colorado Governor's Office for Gov. Jared Polis' stance on the raid. Following his State of the State address earlier this month, Polis told FOX31's Vicente Arenas the gangs in Denver and Aurora have been problems "for decades." When asked if he would support an increased use of local and state law enforcement agencies for immigration-related cases, Polis said officers don't make that discernment in apprehending criminals.

"If they are undocumented, ultimately the federal government would detain and deport that person," Polis told Arenas.

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Governor's Office shared a statement on the raid.

“The Governor is still learning details about the early morning action and welcomes the news that guns and drugs were removed from Colorado streets. Governor Polis is committed to making Colorado one of the top ten safest states. He hopes law enforcement continues to coordinate to keep guns and drugs out of our communities."

George Brauchler, who is the district attorney for the newly formed 23rd Judicial District, spoke about immigration with FOX31 in December 2024. He told Kim Posey that "Nobody elected me to enforce federal law at any level including immigration law and I don't intend to allow myself to be sucked into that role."

On his campaign website, Brauchler called the U.S. southern border "neglected," "open" and "unprotected." On Sunday, he applauded the Adams County nightclub raid on X.

"More like this, please," he wrote. "Great first steps."

U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Republican who is representing Colorado's 8th Congressional District, pointed to federal immigration policies.

"Better federal immigration policies are cleaning up Colorado's sanctuary state and crime mess," Evans wrote on X. "Strong law enforcement makes for safe communities."

"Good work," Evans told the Rocky Mountain DEA.

Evans and Brauchler are both ex-law enforcement officers.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican representing Colorado's 4th Congressional District, has been vocally supportive of the Trump Administration's immigration plans and took to her personal X account to applaud the raid. Boebert represents portions of Adams County.

"I remember when this was a 'feature' of our imaginations..." she wrote on X, quoting the DEA RMFD's tweet announcing the raid. Aurora officials had pushed back on narratives that included having apartment complexes "taken over" by TdA, among other rumors.

The company that manages the apartments in question, CBZ Management, said the gangs had assaulted one of its representatives. The company said migrants were not the issue, but that gangs had taken over the complex and management could not get help to stop them. The properties were placed into receivership by the city of Aurora.

“We are not going to give credence to these continued exaggerations,” Aurora Communications and Marketing Deputy Director Ryan S. Luby said at the time.

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