A Denver man’s roommates allegedly transformed their home into a torture site after discovering that he and his father had ties to law enforcement in Venezuela, launching a ransom scheme at the direction of violent Tren de Aragua (TdA) leaders, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The victim endured days of abuse before escaping and walking into a police station with a finger missing, prosecutors said. His captors recorded the torture and sent the footage to his wife while demanding that his family in Venezuela pay a ransom.
Darwin Veliz-Gonzalez, Jefferson Balza-Delfin and Yender Enrique Campos-Malave, all Venezuelan nationals, were each sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the kidnapping and torture, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced.
Sentencing for a fourth defendant was postponed.
“This is what Tren de Aragua was doing in our community,” U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly said. “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.”
The victim had been renting a room in the Denver house when his roommates learned that he and his father were police officers in Venezuela, prosecutors said. The men then took him captive.
They bound him with rope and held him for several days without food, providing very little water, according to federal prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors said three Venezuelan nationals each received 20-year federal prison sentences for kidnapping and torturing their Denver roommate as part of a ransom scheme carried out for Tren de Aragua. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Colorado)
During the ordeal, the men filmed themselves choking the victim with a rope until he was nearly unconscious. They also repeatedly forced his head into a bucket of water for at least 30 seconds at a time, threatened him with a gun and struck him with a pistol.
The recordings were sent to the victim’s wife as part of a demand for money from his family in Venezuela. Prosecutors said the men also shared the videos with international Tren de Aragua leaders and sought their guidance during the kidnapping.
After the family failed to pay, one gang leader specifically proposed cutting off one of the victim’s fingers to pressure them into sending money, prosecutors said.
The victim was renting a room in a Denver home when his roommates learned that he and his father were police officers in Venezuela. (Dave Parsons via iStock, File)
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The victim overheard his captors discussing the plan. Balza-Delfin then used pliers to sever the man’s right pinky finger, an assault the group also recorded, prosecutors said.
Denver police went to the South Hazel Court residence on Oct. 16, 2024, after receiving a welfare call about a possible kidnapping. Officers made a limited visual search but did not find anyone in apparent distress. The victim was still inside, but prosecutors said he was too frightened to reveal himself.
After police left, three of the men fled the home, creating an opportunity for the victim to escape. The following morning, he walked into a Denver police station, reported the kidnapping and assault, and showed officers that his finger had been cut off.
Denver police investigated the kidnapping and torture of a man by his roommates in a ransom scheme allegedly carried out for Tren de Aragua, federal prosecutors said. (Denver Police Department)
Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas commended the victim for coming forward and reporting the crime.
“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,” Thomas said.
A federal grand jury separately indicted Brawins Dominique Suarez Villegas, also known as “Chino San Vicente,” on allegations that he participated in the kidnapping and torture.
An armed group of nine suspected Tren de Aragua members was captured on video causing chaos at a Colorado apartment complex in an incident Aurora police described as “very reminiscent” of what the city experienced at another apartment building the previous summer. (Aurora Police)
He is also accused of participating in a broader TdA criminal operation involving robbery, extortion, kidnapping, money laundering and drug crimes between May 2024 and approximately March 2025.
The FBI’s Denver Field Office and Denver police investigated the case, which FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Amanda Koldjeski cited 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.
