U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and federal partners have arrested hundreds of criminal foreign nationals in Denver, and Tren de Aragua (TdA) members in Detroit, as federal immigration enforcement actions continue.
In one TdA bust in Detroit, ICE officers, working with Homeland Security Investigations, arrested Kleiber Siso Balza, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national with active warrants in Virginia for possession of burglary tools and in Florida on a pending charge for larceny. He was apprehended with a group of men who were also in the U.S. illegally.
“Tren De Aragua is known to engage in sex trafficking, debt bondage, drug trafficking, and murder to advance their interests,” ICE HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey said. “We’re thankful to have the assistance of our TSA, Federal Air Marshals and IRS partners in executing this important mission.”
In another TdA bust in Detroit, Marysville Station Border Patrol agents responded to a request from law enforcement partners in Shelby Township, who stopped a vehicle displaying a fraudulent license plate. Inside were three Venezuelan nationals, all in the country illegally. One was identified as a TdA member with a criminal history since 2023, including weapons violations, immigration violations, and violent robbery.
“The arrest of this Tren de Aragua gang member, who has a history of firearms and other criminal charges and was wanted on an active warrant out of Denver, Colorado for Failure to Appear, removes another dangerous criminal illegal alien from our country and enhances public safety,” Detroit Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent John Morris said. “This marks the second arrest of a gang member from a foreign terrorist organization this month and underscores the relentless efforts of our agents and law enforcement partners. These cases highlight the critical value of interagency cooperation in removing these criminal threats from our communities.”
In the Denver metro area, ICE officers arrested 243 illegal foreign nationals with criminal records in a one-week targeted operation, ICE said.
“By partnering with federal agencies, we have successfully apprehended individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety,” ICE-Enforcement and Removal Operations Denver Field Office Director Robert Guadian said. He also pointed out that “Many of the criminal aliens ICE arrested during this operation had been previously released into the Denver metro area by local county jails – directly into the community – because of Colorado’s sanctuary laws that prevent Sheriffs from cooperating with ICE.”
Some arrested are suspected or confirmed members of gangs, transnational criminal organizations, drug trafficking organizations and designated foreign terrorist organizations, ICE said. So far, authorities have identified known or suspected members of Los Zetas Cartel (1), TdA (4), Sinaloa Cartel (1), among others, through ongoing vetting and intelligence gathering.
Those arrested are citizens of Algeria, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Honduras, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Romania, Spain and Venezuela – all in the country illegally.
They include one wanted for murder, one wanted for human trafficking, five wanted for or convicted of sex related offenses (including sex assault and sexual exploitation of a minor), nine charged with or convicted of drug related offenses, 13 charged with or convicted of assault, eight charged with or convicted of theft charges (including burglary, robbery and motor vehicle theft) and 17 with charges or convictions related to driving under the influence.
Their convictions and charges include 17 for DUI, eight for theft, including burglary, robbery and motor vehicle theft; 13 for assault, including aggravated assault and domestic violence; nine for drug offenses, including distribution of fentanyl; five for sex offenses, including sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor; two for homicide, including murder and vehicular manslaughter, and one for human trafficking.
Other crimes include criminal impersonation, carrying a concealed weapon, false reporting, child cruelty, intimidation, hit-and-run, illegal entry and illegal reentry, ICE said.
ICE also highlighted “the most egregious offenders” they arrested in the group, including 28-year-old Venezuelan national and suspected TdA member, and a 51-year-old Mexican national and confirmed Los Zetas member convicted of criminal impersonation, controlled substance distribution and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Others ICE highlighted are all Mexican nationals in the country illegally. They include a woman with approximately 20,000 fentanyl pills in her possession. With one pill considered a lethal dose, her stash was enough to kill 20,000 people.
Others include Mexican nationals convicted of murder and DUI and previously removed from the U.S.; convictions for theft and pending charges of fentanyl distribution and convictions of sex assault against a child and DUI in Greeley; pending charges for sex assault on a helpless victim, non-consensual sexual assault, and sexual assault against a victim of incapable of appraising condition, and conviction of careless driving resulting in death in El Paso County.
ICE ERO Denver led the operation with significant support from ICE ERO Dallas, Homeland Security Investigations Denver, Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the DEA, ATF, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and the IRS.
