More than 100 immigrants, apparently in the country illegally, were detained in Colorado Springs following a nocturnal raid on what authorities characterised as an underground nightclub in a strip mall.
Over a dozen active-duty military members were also present in the club during the raid, with federal officials claiming that several were involved in the illicit activity.
DEA special agents disclosed their presence before entering the nightclub, according to the Rocky Mountain Field Division on X. “There were 200 persons inside, at least 114 of them were in the United States illegally. Furthermore, more than a dozen active-duty military personnel served as patrons or security guards, according to the report.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced on X that two people were apprehended on outstanding warrants during the raid.
“Trump’s directive to make America safe again is achieving results!” she posted.
“What was happening inside was significant drug trafficking, prostitution, crimes of violence,” DEA Rocky Mountain Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan C. Pullen said at a news conference Sunday morning. “We seized a number of guns in there. We had active-duty service members who were running security at the club and involved in some of these crimes.
Cocaine and “tusi,” or pink cocaine, were among the drugs discovered at the subterranean club, according to Pullen.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained anyone suspected of being in the United States illegally, according to Pullen, while active-duty service personnel were turned over to the US Army Criminal Investigation Division.
A spokeswoman for the Army Criminal Investigations Division told CNN that a collaborative investigation was being conducted with the DEA, the lead agency. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide additional information at this time,” a spokeswoman informed me.
President Donald Trump hailed the raid, stating on TruthSocial that it targeted some of the worst people in the United States, whom he claims judges are unwilling to deport.
Above a video of agents entering the building, the President wrote: “A massive raid last night on some of the worst people illegally in our country – drug dealers, murderers, and other violent criminals of all kinds and sizes, and Judges don’t want to send them back where they came from. If we do not win this battle at the Supreme Court, our country as we know it will be finished! It will be a crime-ridden mess. “Make America Great Again!”
The Trump administration’s major deportation operation is facing legal difficulties.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court temporarily halted the deportation of immigrants who may be subject to the Alien Enemies Act.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has consistently stated that it will pursue any municipal officials who refuse to cooperate with federal authorities on immigration concerns.
Last Monday, it charged a Milwaukee County Circuit Judge with allegedly assisting an undocumented immigrant to evade arrest, in what her colleague termed as “a message to chill the judiciary.”
The DEA put a video online. On Sunday morning, federal officials broke a large front window of a nondescript structure while people ran through the door into the night, only to be apprehended by further armed agents. Some of those stopped were dressed appropriately for a nightclub.
Other DEA video shows agents addressing occupants from outside the building: “This is the police with a search warrant demanding entry. Exit the front door one at a time with nothing in your hands, held high above your head.” The message was followed by instructions in Spanish.
The raid involved hundreds of agents from more than ten federal agencies, according to Pullen.
The DEA and other agencies had been monitoring the nightclub for “a number of months,” and officials discovered drug trafficking, prostitution, and members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, MS-13, and the Hells Angels, according to Pullen.
“I don’t have the information about whether those members were there tonight, but we’re still working through a lot of that, because we have so many people in custody,” Pullen said.
“Colorado Springs is waking up to a safer city this Sunday morning,” he said.
