Three Tren de Aragua members sentenced to 20 years for Denver kidnapping and torture Three Venezuelan nationals tied to Tren de Aragua were sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for kidnapping, torturing and severing the finger of a Denver roommate after learning he and his father were police officers in Venezuela. Three Venezuelan nationals connected to the Tren de Aragua gang have been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for kidnapping, torturing and severing the finger of a man at a Denver home in October 2024, federal prosecutors announced. Darwin Veliz-Gonzalez, Jefferson Balza-Delfin and Yender Enrique Campos-Malave each pleaded guilty to attempted kidnapping and received the 20-year sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado. A fourth defendant will be sentenced at a later date. The victim had been renting a room in the home on South Hazel Court in Denver when his roommates learned that he and his father had been police officers in Venezuela, prosecutors said. Two of the defendants were his roommates.Gang Members Torture Victim in Denial HouseThe men took him captive and held him tied up with rope for several days without food and with very little water. During that time, the men filmed themselves strangling him with a rope until he nearly lost consciousness, repeatedly holding his head in a bucket of water for 30 seconds or longer, threatening him with a firearm and pistol-whipping him, authorities said.They sent the recordings to the victim's wife, who was in Venezuela, and demanded $30,000 in ransom from his family. The men also shared the videos with international Tren de Aragua leaders, including global head Niño Guerrero, whom they consulted about the kidnapping, prosecutors said. Guerrero was killed in a U.S. military airstrike in Venezuela in June.When the family did not pay the ransom, one gang leader explicitly suggested cutting off a finger to pressure them into sending money, prosecutors said. The victim heard his captors discussing the plan before Balza-Delfin used a pair of pliers to sever his right pinky finger, an act the men also filmed. On Oct. 16, 2024, Denver police responded to the home after receiving a welfare call reporting that someone had been kidnapped there.Victim Escapes After Police Respond to HomeOfficers conducted a limited visual search but found no one in distress because the victim, who was still inside, was too afraid to make himself known, prosecutors said. After the police visit, three of the men fled the residence, giving the victim an opportunity to escape. He walked into a Denver police station the next morning, reported the kidnapping and assault, and showed officers his missing finger."These people are carrying out crimes for Tren de Aragua here in our state," said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly. "These types of crimes have no place in Denver and no place in Colorado no matter who's committing them." McNeilly added: "Colorado is safer with these violent criminals in federal prison for the next 20 years, and we will continue to pursue every member of Tren de Aragua until there are no more left in our state. " A federal grand jury has separately indicted Brawins Dominique Suarez Villegas, also known as Chino San Vicente, a well-known Colombian-based leader of Tren de Aragua, for his alleged role in the October 2024 kidnapping and torture.FBI Targets Tren de Aragua Leadership in ColoradoAttorneys said the four defendants consulted with Vicente during the kidnapping. Vicente is also charged with a RICO conspiracy, alleging he conducted activity for Tren de Aragua including robbery, extortion, kidnapping, money laundering and controlled substance offenses between May 2024 and approximately March 2025. The FBI's Denver Field Office and Denver police investigated the case. FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Amanda Koldjeski cited it as part of the bureau's efforts to dismantle the gang."The FBI, alongside our local, state, federal, and international partners, is working to disrupt and dismantle TdA through intelligence-driven investigations like this from our Violent Criminal Enterprise Task Force," Koldjeski said. Denver police also praised the collaboration."I applaud the victim of this heinous crime, and all victims, regardless of immigration status, for reporting criminal behaviors and helping us arrest those who prey on our community members," said Thomas, a department official.