Dramatic video released on Thursday appears to show a violent group of Venezuelan migrants taking control over a rural apartment building in a troubled Colorado town, a sign that the state’s worsening immigration crisis shows no sign of slowing down.
Doorbell video obtained by Fox News shows a parade of young men, some brandishing handguns and long guns, bursting through the doors of private apartments in a building located in Aurora City, a suburb just a half-hour drive from the heart of Denver. In the clip, the young men, all wearing hooded sweatshirts or caps, break into one room as part of activity that police and petrified residents say is part of a widespread criminal enterprise. “This is organized. They patrol the property with guns visibly, like they’re not trying to hide them. There’s no repercussion. These are ghosts,” said one resident too scared to provide their name.
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Local authorities believe the migrants to be affiliated with Tren de Aragua, or TdA, a sprawling gang headquartered in Venezuela that counts more than 5,000 members across North and South America. Their motto is “real until death,” or “real hasta la muerte,” a reminder that they feel “no accountability” to the police, one furious resident told Fox. The New York Post has previously linked TdA to at least 100 crimes across the nation. Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky told the network she is convinced “without a doubt that there is sex trafficking now going on” in the building.
WATCH:
A group of armed gang members of illegal immigrants has taken full control of an apartment complex and parts of a town in Aurora Colorado.
A Denver resident shares her concerns on the immigrant crisis in Colorado. Sharing concerns of apartment building being taken over, gun… pic.twitter.com/4sgLvLP2JW
— JON (@jon_nyamenda) August 28, 2024
The state of gang activity in the Aurora City apartment complex became so bad in recent days that Jurinsky and other members of the city council convened emergency measures to relocate residents to other homes for their own safety. John Fabbricatore, a Republican congressional candidate who assisted in the effort, told Fox, “I literally had to borrow from everybody I know to get into a new place. And it’s every bit of money I had.” Jurinsky said it would have been impossible to get residents the resources they need without the spotlight shined on the problem. “Through the help of Fox News actually, they connected us with the councilwoman who, Danielle Jurinsky, pulled together all the resources to get us some help and get us out of there,” she told Fox.
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The Aurora City Police Department released a statement online stating “We believe reports of TdA influence in Aurora are isolated.” Denver police told a Fox affiliate the department is “not aware” of similar gang activity within its borders. That comes as little comfort to one resident who described the pervasive fear they and their neighbors felt every single night when TdA gang members were allowed to freely roam the halls toting powerful guns. “There’s no safety net for you because the police are not coming. They say, ‘Stay inside and lock your doors.’ I have to work! I was paying rent, these people haven’t been paying rent at all. I’ve been paying rent every month for years,” one anonymous resident said.
UPDATE: The city and Aurora Police Department, as previously stated, established a special task force in collaboration with other local, state and federal partners to specifically address concerns about Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and other criminal activity affecting… pic.twitter.com/ytAhIcBxy0
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) August 28, 2024
“In the entire Denver metro area, it has been like pulling teeth to get anyone, the media, other elected officials, to get anyone to acknowledge the presence of this trend and to acknowledge that there is even a problem,” Councilor Jurinsky added to Fox. That same resident recalled an unsettling discussion with police who threw their hands up at the problem. “I hope [the police] do something because they could have helped me get out. Literally. Their answer for me was, ‘You ever think about moving?’ That’s what they told me when I was like, and I started crying. There’s no help coming for any of us. The police have checked out. They’re not on our side.”
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