Colorado stands at a crossroads, and its leaders have chosen denial over duty. By doing so — and the proof is mounting — they tacitly aid foreign prison gangs in harming and killing Americans coast to coast.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Gov. Jared Polis, alongside a chorus of state officials, have downplayed the alarming rise of Tren de Aragua — a Venezuelan prison gang carving a bloody foothold in our state.

This is no ragtag band of struggling migrants but a sophisticated criminal syndicate — linked to Iran, Hezbollah, and communist dictator Nicolás Maduro’s narco-regime — establishing Colorado as its North American base. The evidence is clear, the threat is real and the response from those entrusted to protect us has been woefully inadequate.

Consider the facts. Internal Aurora police emails from November 2023, uncovered by this newspaper, reveal TdA targeted Denver for its sanctuary policies — policies Johnston clings to even as they’ve freed gang members to wreak havoc, including an assault on an ICE agent in a jail parking lot.

John Fabbricatore, former ICE Colorado director, has detailed how TdA seized at least four Aurora apartment complexes, running prostitution and drug operations with ruthless precision.

The acting DEA administrator recently labeled Colorado “ground zero” for violent crime, with TdA’s leadership entrenched here. Yet Polis has dismissed such concerns as “imagination,” while Aurora officials have shrugged off residents’ fears as exaggerated. This isn’t hyperbole; it’s a crisis unfolding in plain sight.

TdA’s ambitions extend far beyond street-level thuggery. Experts tie the gang to Hezbollah’s financing and Maduro’s orders, painting a picture of a terrorist proxy executing a global agenda.

Retired ICE Special Agent Victor Avila Jr. calls it a “highly sophisticated network,” not a mere gang, with operatives trained to defy authority and loyal to Venezuela’s communist agenda — evident in their red-attire nod to Maduro’s party.

They’ve killed Americans, such as Laken Riley, attacked police officers, and earned a “green light” to target U.S. law enforcement, including a suspected hit on a federal agent in Texas. Colorado, with its soft policies, has become their staging ground to export terror nationwide. Indeed, the rest of the country has Colorado to blame for coddling these monsters.

Our leaders’ response? A mix of inaction and excuses. Johnston’s sanctuary stance has shielded TdA from federal deportation efforts, letting predators roam free. Polis has ignored Aurora’s pleas as the gang extorts residents and traffics children. Some of the heinous crimes of TdA are laid bare in a report by Perkins Coie, a top-50 law firm.

Policies, like reduced bail pushed by Rep. Yadira Caraveo and other far-left legislators, have compounded the problem, cycling arrested gangsters back onto Denver streets.

Aurora police knew of TdA’s presence eight months before admitting it publicly, yet most ranking city officials have dodged accountability, claiming the gang’s role “isn’t relevant.” Tell that to those who are displaced, victimized and grieving.

This isn’t about politics or immigrant rights — it’s about survival. Colorado’s lax approach has fueled a burgeoning crime empire, with TdA’s tentacles spreading to San Antonio, Chattanooga, Tenn., and beyond. The cost is measured in lives lost, communities shattered and a state teetering on the edge of lawlessness.

Johnston, Polis, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and other ranking officials must abandon their ideological blinders and confront this threat head-on. Law enforcement needs unfettered support to root out TdA, not handcuffs forged by misguided compassion. President Donald Trump’s deportation push offers hope, but it’s Colorado’s leaders who must act decisively here and now.

The time for platitudes has passed. TdA isn’t a migrant sob story; it’s a calculated assault on our security, enabled by leaders too timid or too cynical to face reality. Colorado deserves better than a government that shrugs as gangsters turn our cities into battlegrounds.

Demand action that dismantles TdA’s base, holds its enablers accountable and restores safety before this scourge directly affects us all. Anything less is a betrayal of the public trust, and the stakes are too high for half-measures.

The Gazette Editorial Board