Colorado’s Democratic governor, Jared Polis, has denied that immigrant gangs have taken over apartment buildings in Aurora, despite video evidence and an outcry from a local leader.
The heavily armed mob is seen in one video storming an apartment complex while brandishing at least one semi-automatic weapon. One hooded man carries the high-powered rifle and pounds on an apartment door, while others brandish handguns.
“A GANG HAS TAKEN OVER several apartment complexes in Aurora!” wrote local councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky on X.
But Polis said the immigrant takeover was just a figment of his “imagination.”
“The governor has already let the mayor know that the state stands ready to support the local police department with the assistance of state troopers and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation,” said Shelby Wieman, a spokeswoman for the governor. he told the New York Post.
Colorado’s Democratic governor, Jared Polis, has denied that immigrants have taken over apartment buildings, despite video evidence
“But according to police information, this alleged invasion is largely a figment of Danielle Jurinsky’s imagination.”
The spokesperson went on to say that “it is illegal to take possession of buildings in Colorado” and that if Jurinsky has “knowledge of such activity,” the governor’s office is “ready to assist law enforcement in repossessing them.”
Asked again by the Post whether Polis wants to retract his statement, given the video evidence from the inauguration, Wieman said the governor “really hopes the city council members in charge will stop destroying their own city when they’re supposed to be keeping it safe.”
“Over the past month, Governor Polis has been in regular contact with the City of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department and has offered all state assistance to support their efforts if requested,” he said, adding that the governor’s office expects violent crime to continue to decline in the city, as it did in 2022 and 2023.
Harrowing footage appears to capture an armed Venezuelan gang taking control of an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado
The gang members run up the stairs, carrying weapons. In the background, the men can be heard speaking Spanish to each other.
But residents and city officials alike say they have been suffering since the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua came to town. The gang is now believed to be behind the apartment takeovers.
In July, the immigrant gang was also blamed for a shooting in a Target parking lot.
“Those Venezuelans are taking over the country,” a man is heard saying in a video posted to TikTok by user 100packsavvy.
Images from July 29 show chaos in a Target parking lot in Aurora, where Venezuelans had gathered for a weekend rally over elections in their homeland.
Though mostly peaceful, the migrants invaded the mall and took it over completely, their cars packed together bumper to bumper.
This forced Target and other retailers in the area to close early, for fear that their customers could be caught up in the protests, according to Telemundo Denver.
As night fell, the trash-strewn parking lot went from disgusting to dangerous.
In July, the immigrant gang was also blamed for a shooting in a Target parking lot.
Police responded to several incidents, including gunfire, the Spanish-language outlet reported.
TikTok users who recorded the video said he and his companions were almost run over.
“We almost got run over,” says a man.
The Aurora couple who filmed the apartment takeover on Wednesday, Cindy and Edward Romero, also said Fox 31 which was recorded shortly before a shooting occurred at the complex, leaving one person seriously injured and several vehicles damaged.
“It’s been a nightmare and I can’t wait to get out of here,” said Cindy Romero as she packed her belongings to flee the crime-ravaged city.
The couple had installed an elaborate system of locks running from the top of the door to the bottom before the shooting.
“Every day when we come home, we have to do this every time we go out to take out the trash,” Cindy said, demonstrating how the locks worked.
“Every time we go to sleep at night, we have to stay like this so that no one can break down the door,” he added.
Venezuela’s most violent gang, Tren de Aragua, has moved its headquarters across the U.S. border to the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez.
The Tren de Aragua gang tattoos (pictured above) were part of a Department of Homeland Security bulletin recently shared with federal agents.
Police have refused to confirm whether the gunmen in the apartment complex video belong to the infamous Tren de Aragua cartel, but council member Jurinksy said Fox 31 that the building had been invaded by a Venezuelan gang.
“It’s not just about Americans. This gang is also extorting other Venezuelans,” Jurinsky said.
The Aurora Police Department released a statement Wednesday confirming that they are investigating the chilling footage of the apartment takeover.
Authorities said they had launched a special task force “in collaboration with other local, state and federal partners to specifically address concerns about the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and other criminal activities.”
Police confirmed they were “aware that TdA components are operating in Aurora.”
They added that they have been “gathering more and more evidence to prove that the gang is connected to crimes in the area.”
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said there are “several buildings” that have “fallen into the hands of these Venezuelan gangs” in the city.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman also told FOX News On Thursday, “several buildings” in the city “have fallen into the hands of these Venezuelan gangs.”
He said he believed the buildings were used as taxpayer-funded housing for immigrants, giving gangs a foothold.
“This is an organized criminal enterprise,” the Republican mayor said. “Whether this is a trend or a war on drugs remains to be seen.”
“They have actually driven the property management out through intimidation and then collected the rents.”
Coffman said the city is a “victim” of federal policy and Denver’s sanctuary city policy.
“I think we are victims of a failed policy on the southern border,” he said, adding that “Venezuela does not cooperate with the United States on criminal charges.”
‘They’ve had these massive waves of immigrants crossing the border, many of them crossed the border illegally, they arrested us, they asked us for political asylum, they didn’t vet us properly, they released us into the country, into the city of Aurora.
“We did everything we could to, frankly, keep them out of town because it’s not our problem. It’s a federal problem.”
Under the Biden administration, which named Vice President Kamala Harris as its “border czar,” illegal immigration into the United States has soared to eight million crossings. It is now expected to rise to ten million by the end of September.
The migration crisis has since moved to the city: more than 40,000 people are reported to have arrived in the Denver area since December 2022.
The problem in Colorado has been exacerbated by Polis’ policies that make it easier for immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, attend school and access taxpayer-funded resources.
“There are people behind this who are just playing politics,” Jurinsky said after Polis’ rebuttal on Thursday.
“That’s very sad to me because these are real human beings like the Romeros, who are suffering on the other side of those doors, who live behind four security locks and a security gate and who live in fear every day in these compounds,” he said. he told Fox News.
But she said: “It’s very promising that people in general are really looking at what’s happening.”
“The video evidence is undeniable only to our governor in Colorado,” Jurinsky said.
“Everyone across the country is seeing this with their own eyes.”
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