A nightmare in Denver
It’s giving absolute horror. A man living in Denver went through a living nightmare after his own roommates discovered his family had law enforcement ties back in Venezuela. The trio turned their shared home into a legit torture chamber, carrying out a brutal ransom plot under the direction of the violent Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.
For days, the victim was tied up, starved, and kept with barely any water. His captors—Darwin Veliz-Gonzalez, Jefferson Balza-Delfin, and Yender Enrique Campos-Malave—filmed themselves strangling him, pistol-whipping him, and holding his head underwater to near-suffocation. They sent these horrific clips to his wife in Venezuela to extort money from his family. When the ransom wasn’t paid, they actually checked in with TdA leaders, who suggested they cut off his finger to speed things up. Balza-Delfin then used pliers to sever the man’s right pinky finger, filming the entire thing. It’s wild—the cruelty is just next level.
The escape
Denver police actually showed up at the South Hazel Court home on October 16, 2024, after a welfare check, but the victim was so terrified he didn’t speak up. It wasn’t until the men fled the house that he finally had a chance to get out. He walked straight into a police station the next morning, reported everything, and showed them his missing finger. The three men have now each been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly kept it 100, saying, “Colorado is safer with these violent criminals in federal prison.”
The plot thickens
A fourth person, Brawins Dominique Suarez Villegas—also known as “Chino San Vicente”—has also been indicted by a federal grand jury for his role in the scheme. He’s facing charges for a wider net of TdA crimes, including robbery, extortion, and drug running. The FBI and local police are still on the hunt to dismantle the gang’s operations in the area. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas shouted out the victim for his bravery, noting that victims should report these crimes regardless of their immigration status.
Why it matters
This case exposes the extreme lengths TdA is going to in local communities. By locking these guys away, authorities are trying to send a message that this level of violence won't fly in Colorado.
