30 charged in TdA drug trafficking, murder-for-hire and firearms offenses

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

As part of the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to pursue violent criminal foreign nationals, two federal indictments were made public charging 30 people, including several alleged leaders and members of Tren de Aragua (TdA). The Trump administration designated the violent Venezuelan gang as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year after a record number of Venezuelans illegally entered the country, including an unknown number with TdA ties.

The charges include drug trafficking, murder-for-hire and firearms offenses.

TdA members have been involved in murder, kidnapping, extortion, and human and drug trafficking, with confirmed cases in roughly half of all U.S. states. That’s up from 22 states first reported by The Center Square last December.

As sanctuary city policies embraced illegal foreign nationals, crime increased, including TdA members taking over apartment complexes and creating terror on the streets in Aurora, Denver and other cities in Colorado.

Nine months ago, a multi-agency investigation was launched targeting criminal activity at an apartment complex in the Denver metro area after violent crime and drug activities escalated. The investigation culminated in a federal grand jury charging 30 people in two indictments.

In one, 28 people were charged in a 39-count indictment for “firearms trafficking; using firearms to commit drug trafficking crimes; possession of firearms and ammunition by illegal aliens; and trafficking controlled substances,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced.

Drug trafficking prioritized methamphetamine, cocaine, and “Tusi,” a pink colored manufactured narcotic originating in Venezuela. It contains a variety of controlled substances including ketamine, methamphetamine, and MDMA (Ecstasy).

Five defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.

ATF officers seized 69 firearms throughout the operation, including automatic machineguns.

Many of the firearms were linked to shootings in Denver and Aurora, including carjackings, robberies, and drive-by shootings, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

A separate indictment charged two people, Luis Fernando Uribe-Torrealba, 29, and Luis Henriquez-Charaima, 29, on six counts on conspiracies to traffic firearms, conspiracies to traffic controlled substances, conspiracies to commit murder for hire, and carjacking.

Colombian authorities arrested both men on July 30, 2025, pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant the U.S. federal government requested based on charges in this case. They remain in custody in Colombia pending further extradition proceedings.

Of the 28 charged in the U.S., 24 remain in federal custody.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) led the investigation involving the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, and Aurora, Denver police departments.

The Colombian National Police and its Anti-Extortion Division (GAULA Elite) force provided investigative support working with two groups within the U.S. Department of Justice. They include its International Affairs and Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia.

The U.S. Attorney’s Violent Crime and Immigration Enforcement Section is handling the prosecution, along with members of Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV).

JTFV was created in 2019 to target MS-13 gang members. Under the Trump administration, its focus was expanded to target TdA members. Both TdA and MS13 were designated as FTOs this year.

In February, President Donald Trump declared an invasion at the southwest border and began removing TdA members from the country. They were among the first removed to the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, The Center Square reported. Venezuelan repatriation flights also began in February, with the Venezuelan government paying for them. By March, Trump had invoked the Alien Enemies Act to remove Venezuelan nationals and TdA members, who continue to be targeted and arrested nationwide.

In April, the DOJ for the first time charged TdA members with racketeering, sex trafficking, drug trafficking, robbery and firearms charges. In this case, 27 TdA members were charged in New York, The Center Square reported.

Major arrests of TdA members were made in Chicago and Raleigh, N.C., in May, wanted for a fatal house party shooting, The Center Square reported.

By June, federal agents had arrested more than 2,700 members of transnational criminal organizations designated as FTOs nationwide, including TdA members, The Center Square reported.