A Torren de Aragua thug arrested in a major drug and gun bust in New York City was deported by an immigration judge in February, months before he allegedly took part in an armed invasion of an apartment in Aurora, Colorado. The Post has learned that he was ordered to do so.
Edison Pena Angulo, 25, one of 15 suspected members of a Venezuelan immigrant gang arrested on Wednesday, crossed the U.S. border illegally in 2023 because the ICE facility was overcrowded. Officials revealed that he was released.
Upon his release, Angulo apparently formed a relationship with Denil Alamillo Meneses, 23, who had also entered the United States illegally and was released due to overcrowding. Sources say Meneses is also currently a suspect in the Aurora robbery that was captured on video.
The two Venezuelans, wanted on warrants along with four others in the armed hijacking, traveled from Colorado to the Bronx, where a dragnet of NYPD officers and Homeland Security investigators intercepted them early Wednesday morning. I was arrested.
Why Mr. Angulo was not deported despite a judge's order in February remains unclear, as does whether Mr. Angulo actually appeared in immigration court, the people said. .
The Torren de Aragua crackdown stems from a six-month investigation into gang crimes that include drug cartels stretching from the Bronx to lower Manhattan, officials said.
So far, sources have only confirmed to the Post that Mr. Angulo and Mr. Meneses are also involved in the Aurora apartment scandal. Members of the violent TdA prison gang have taken over an apartment building in the city and turned it into a violent and crime-ridden headquarters.
Both men were arrested for unrelated crimes while in Colorado, officials said. Angulo was arrested by Westminster police in March on suspicion of shoplifting, and Meneses was assaulted for robbery in August, sources said.
Since the Bronx attack, sources have confirmed the identities of four other Torren de Aragua members who have been arrested. At least two people are said to have clashed with local police during their brief stay in the United States.
According to officials, New York City police arrested John Kennedy Bravo Castro, 27, on November 16 on charges of theft and resisting arrest, and he was later released pending charges.
He was arrested by Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, in February and was being processed for expedited deportation from the United States, officials said.
An immigration judge in Aurora, Colorado, ordered Bravo Castro to be deported in April, but he remained in the United States for unknown reasons, officials said.
According to officials, Carlos Chibico Medina, 24, was also arrested by the New York City Police Department in September 2023 on suspicion of theft and possession of stolen property.
Carlos Medina Rodriguez, 26, and Angel Jose Hernandez Hernandez, 21, were also involved in the Bronx bust, officials told the Post.
The group trafficked a variety of drugs, including heroin, fake marijuana and the synthetic drug Tussi, and also dabbled in credit card fraud and violence, officials told the Post.
Police also discovered a cache of semi-automatic weapons, including three assault rifles, during the raid, officials said.
The federal charges against Torren de Aragua remained sealed as of Friday.
Both Mr. Angulo and Mr. Meneses are being held at the Orange County Correctional Facility, officials said.
