Update: A September 15 New York Times story reports that stories of gun-toting Venezuelan migrants taking over an apartment building in Aurora, CO, are false. However, the story also reports:
- Regarding a viral video showing armed men storming an Aurora apartment building, the Times says, “The incident was reported as a connection to gang violence, particularly the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, though documentation was scarce.”
- The company that owns the apartments, CBZ, through its public relations agent, told the media that, “An apartment building and its owners in Aurora, Colorado have become the most recent victims of the Venezuelan Gang Tren de Aragua’s violence, which has taken over several communities in the Denver area. The residents and building owners of these properties have been left in a state of fear and chaos.”
- The Times story claims this is “a false story, fueled by real problems,” namely that the CBZ apartments have descended into squalor and the city has been fighting to get them cleaned up. The story quotes a resident as saying many there are squatters. The article also says Aurora officials have indicated there are “criminal elements” in the apartment buildings, but not widespread gang activity.
- Recently Aurora police arrested 10 Tren de Aragua gang members on an array of charges including felony menacing, attempted first-degree murder, assault, child abuse, and domestic abuse. In the Times story, there was no mention as to whether these gang members were residents of the Aurora apartments that received so much media attention; however, according to a police report, some of the crimes were committed at CBZ-owned Fitzsimons Place apartments, which the city of Aurora recently closed due to code violations.
Separately, the Aurora mayor and a council member issued a statement that included this comment about Tren de Aragua (TdA):
“As for the perception and reality of public safety in Aurora, please understand that issues experienced at a select few properties do not apply to the city as a whole or large portions of it. TdA has not “taken over” the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true. Again, TdA’s presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months.”
Original story continues below.
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Officials are finally starting to address the growing presence of the dangerous Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, in the Denver metro area.
On Tuesday, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department arrested four Venezuelan migrants that they say are members of the gang for perpetrating threatening activities at the Ivy Crossing Apartments near South Quebec Street and High Line Smith Way. The four were charged with drug offenses, stolen vehicles, and other offenses, according to KDVR-TV.
The apartment complex is in south eastern Denver only miles away from the apartment complexes in nearby Aurora, Colorado, where video showed armed men storming through apartment building hallways.
Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown said that they are now trying to go more proactive on gang activity and added, “We’re looking for any violation that we can stop and make contact with somebody and addressing the issues that they might have.”
Brown would not elaborate on the investigation that led them to the six who were arrested, nor would he say how they knew that four of them were members of the Tren de Aragua.
The arrests come only days after viral video went national and gave America a glimpse of the criminal activity coursing through the Denver area as a result of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s failed border policies.
Aurora City Council Member Danielle Jurinsky, who brought national attention to the migrant gangs that are being welcomed by the Biden-Harris administration and their Denver Democrat allies, also placed the blame directly on Denver and Biden.
“This is a problem that is not just a Denver Metro area problem … [it] stems from a failed southern border,” Jurinsky exclusively told Breitbart News late last month.
Since the video went viral, the Aurora Police Department announced that it is working with the Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Bureau of Investigation on a special task force to address the city’s concerns about the gang.
While the police have finally started to step up to address this issue, attorneys for the apartment complexes in Aurora have been desperately trying to get the attention of officials for weeks ahead of the viral video.
Attorneys for CBZ Management in Aurora had sent letters to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office alerting the state to the infestations of the dangerous gangs, the Denver Gazette reported.
Meanwhile, Colorado’s Democrat Gov. Jared Polis not only dismissed the story of migrant gangs in Aurora, but even called the story a figment of council member Jurinsky’s imagination and chided city officials for raising false alarms.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.
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