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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A group of armed men is accused of storming an apartment building in Aurora, Colorado, as Venezuelan gang members are reportedly among the migrant tenants.
The alleged incident happened earlier in August, shortly before a shooting that left one person severely injured at the complex, The Edge at Lowry, the New York Post reported Thursday.
Fox 31 Denver reporter Vicente Arenas shared video footage of several young men carrying firearms as they approach apartment 301. One of the men knocks on the door several times before someone inside opens it.
One man among the group then appears to enter the apartment:
“A separate clip taken at a different time shows two men bashing the lock of a unit with a tire iron inside the same housing complex, where migrants have moved in,” the Post article said, noting that residents are frightened by such activity, and the violent incidents apparently began happening when the migrants arrived.
Aurora City Council Member Danielle Jurinsky has been speaking out about the arrival of people who allegedly belong to the Venezuelan prison gang known as Tren de Aragua.
The so-called “sanctuary city” of Denver has been grappling with a growing migrant population, which has apparently spilled over into Aurora, with some of those individuals being gang members.
“Directly east of Denver, Aurora has seen a flood of migrants itself — and crimes attributed to Tren de Aragua, a prison gang originating in the Aragua region of Venezuela,” the outlet said.
On August 13, city officials in Aurora closed down a large apartment building due to claims regarding dilapidated conditions and code violations. A police report indicated crimes committed by arrested Tren de Aragua gang members had been committed in that building.
The outlet continued:
Since 2021, roughly 40,000 illegal migrants have flooded into Denver and its surroundings, including … Aurora, because the local Democratic mayor promised sanctuary, free housing, and economic aid. The inflow has been welcomed by the employers, landlords, and [grocers] who gain from the imported extra workers, renters, and consumers.
Biden’s surge has pushed up housing prices, making it even more difficult for migrants — and many Americans — to earn a living. The evicted migrants were paying $1,200 per month for one-room apartments, even though many could not work legally.
In February, the town council of Monument, Colorado, unanimously voted to remain a non-sanctuary city after the Denver mayor admitted that the flood of migrants was straining his city, according to Breitbart News.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.