Aurora police were aware of Tren de Aragua operations in the city last fall, emails appear to show

AURORA, Colo. — Aurora police were aware of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) operating in the city since at least last November, an email exchange made public on social media by an Aurora city councilwoman appears to show.

Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky shared photos of what appear to be internal emails within the Aurora Police Department on the social media site X, claiming they prove the situation in Aurora has been worse than city officials have let on.

One of the emails, dated Nov. 16, 2023 — nine months before claims of Venezuelan gang influence in Aurora began to surface — makes mention of a “Tren de Aragua bulletin” that was to be shared department-wide and details an alleged exchange between an officer in APD’s gang intervention unit and an unnamed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.

“I also spoke with an ICE agent today who reached out to his intel guy, the guy got back rather quickly, and stated TdA has decided to make Denver their headquarters due to sanctuary policies and location,” the purported email reads.

A separate email exchange dated June 30, 2024, doesn’t mention TdA by name but appears to show city officials recommending Aurora officers bring backup when responding to calls at the Whispering Pines apartments and Fitzsimmons Place apartments due to a purported large group of suspects at both complexes.

In a statement sent to Denver7 Thursday, the city acknowledged “speculation and concern” about TdA among police dating back more than a year, but said the information shared in the emails details only “portions of the investigative process.”

“We must remember that police departments and the justice system as a whole must rely on admissible evidence, not hearsay, rumors and fragments of information,” the statement read in part. “Contrary to claims made on social media and by select news organizations, the city, including APD, has remained consistent in responses on this matter.”

Denver7 has requested to independently obtain documents related to Tren de Aragua from the City of Aurora.

Allegations that TdA was operating in Aurora surfaced publicly in August when city officials said they were going to shut down an apartment complex on Nome Street for a host of code violations and poor living conditions. The property manager, CBZ Management, blamed the poor conditions on an alleged gang takeover of the complexes.

• A judge earlier this month ordered a third-party caretaker to oversee the troubled apartment complexes. Read that story here.

Those claims gained national attention when former President Donald Trump amplified them on the presidential debate stage in September.

Residents at the complexes in question have denied the claims of a gang takeover, placing blame on their out-of-state landlord. City officials have repeatedly said the takeover claims were overblown.

• We asked Aurora's new police chief, Todd Chamberlain, about Tren de Aragua and other issues facing the department. Watch his full interview with Denver7 Investigates here.

CBZ Management earlier this month took to social media doubling down on their claims that their properties were overrun with gangs, sharing a slew of photos, videos and documents it says back up the allegations. Their posts garnered viral attention, even catching the eye of X owner Elon Musk. In one post, the company shared a photo claiming to show its property manager, Zev Baumgarten, bloodied after an alleged beating by a documented TdA member last November.

Aurora police say they have identified and arrested 10 documented TdA members in recent months.