Law officials escort a suspect from an apartment to a waiting utility vehicle for transport during a raid Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in east Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DENVER – Donald Trump’s border czar on Thursday blamed news media leaks for hindering a large-scale operation in a Denver suburb the president has held up in his efforts to link violent crime with immigration.
More than 100 members of the Tren de Aragua gang were targeted Wednesday at apartment buildings and other sites in Denver and neighboring Aurora, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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It was unclear how many people were arrested. Fox News, which was embedded with the operation, said 30 people were arrested, including at least one member of the Venezuelan gang. But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said more than 100 members of Tren de Aragua were deported from Colorado on Wednesday.
It was not clear where they would have been sent since Venezuela has refused to accept its citizens back. The Defense Department said Wednesday that 10 people sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were Tren de Aragua members.
ICE, which promoted the operation on social media, referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Dozens of heavily armed officials from several federal agencies, many wearing masks and arriving in armored vehicles, swarmed locations across the Denver area in the daylong operation that had been anticipated since Trump took office.
They knocked down doors in at least one apartment building and provoked outrage among activists, who were on scene at some of the operations and taunted agents as they worked.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told reporters Thursday that details on the operation had been leaked, putting officers at risk. Media reports leading up to the raids said they were imminent.
“This isn’t a game,
US border czar blames leaks for hindering immigration raids in Colorado suburb spotlighted by Trump
