Two “confirmed” members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua who allegedly forced their way into Aurora apartments and threatened residents were arrested in New York, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Denyeer Aramillo-Meneses, 23, and Edilson Pena-Angulo, 25, were on suspicion of first-degree burglary and menacing with a firearm for the Aug. 18 incident at The Edge at Lowry apartment complex, security video of which set off an international media and political firestorm.
Shortly after the video was taken, 25-year-old Oswaldo Jose Dabion Araujo was fatally shot at 12th Avenue and Dallas Street, near the complex.
Aramillo-Meneses and Pena-Angulo, both Venezuelan citizens in the U.S. illegally, were arrested after a Homeland Security gang task force executed a search warrant in the Bronx borough of New York City on Nov. 27, ICE and Aurora police officials said in a statement.
The men will remain in federal custody “pending criminal and immigration proceedings,” according to ICE.
Police also seized five guns while arresting Aramillo-Meneses and Pena-Angulo, which are being sent back to Colorado so Aurora investigators can see if they are connected to other crimes in the city and metro Denver.
are two of six suspects who allegedly forced their way into two apartments at the Edge at Lowry and threatened residents with guns, according to police officials.
Naudi Lopez-Fernandez was previously arrested in the case while Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, Niefred Jose Serpa-Acosta and Adan Jose Ramirez-Sanchez are still at large, police officials said Wednesday.
In a statement, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain attributed the arrests to the dedication of Aurora officers and detectives and collaboration with other law enforcement agencies.
“We will continue our unwavering pursuit of all the remaining suspects in this case, and anyone else who victimizes members of our community, until they are brought to justice,” Chamberlain said.
The case is still under investigation and anyone with information can contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
Pena-Angulo was first detained by U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, in April 2023 after entering the country illegally, and immigration officials issued a notice to appear and released him in May 2023, according to ICE.
He was later arrested by Westminster police in a different case and an immigration judge ordered him removed from the country “in absentia” — meaning he wasn’t at the hearing — in February.
Aramillo-Meneses was detained by border agents in El Paso in September 2023 after entering the country illegally and released days later with a notice to appear, ICE officials said.
