Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman acknowledged on Thursday that Venezuelan gangs have taken control of several apartment complexes in the northern part of the city in what he called “a nightmare situation.”
He also admitted that the city "lost control" of the gang infiltration "and we're working aggressively to get it back."
But he pushed back on the national media’s recent portrayal of an entire city being overrun by gangs.
“The misrepresentation that all of Aurora has this problem is simply not true and it gives this city a black eye unjustifiably,” Coffman said in a phone interview. "Arrests have been made. More arrests will be made."
This week, video surfaced of men with assault rifles dressed in hoodies and ball caps busting down doors of an apartment unit in Aurora.
Coffman did not specifically cite the Venezuelan prison gang known as TDA when he spoke of the criminal infiltration, but he remarked that the city is "working on getting the bad people out."
The Venezuela-based transnational criminal organization known for targeting desperate immigrants and sanctioned by the U.S. government has tentacles along the Front Range.
Last month, the Biden Administration sanctioned the Venezuelan gang believed to be behind a spree of kidnappings, extortion and other crimes tied to immigrants from South and Central America. The U.S. government also offered a $12 million reward for three leaders of Tren de Aragua, which joins other transnational criminal organizations such as the MS-13 gang from El Salvador and The Camorra from Italy that are banned from doing business in the U.S.
Ryan Luby, a city spokesperson, said that Aurora is in the possession of the long gun and authorities have seized evidence seen in the video. He also said that the city is working with the DEA to "combat this issue."
On Wednesday, officials noted that the city and the Aurora Police Department have established a "special task force" in collaboration with other local, state and federal partners to "specifically address concerns about Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and other criminal activity affecting migrant communities."
"We are grateful that the Drug Enforcement Administration, a valuable federal partner, has acknowledged its ongoing work into TDA across the metro and appreciate the additional resources it provides to combat this issue," the city said.
The city said authorities are aware that "components" of the gang are operating in Aurora and that the police have been "increasingly collecting evidence to show the gang is connected to crimes in the area."
Coffman said it’s no coincidence that three Aurora apartment complexes that have had major problems are owned by the same company, CBZ Management.
The management that ran the buildings disappeared when violence started happening there, according to residents who spoke with The Denver Gazette.
All of the residents who spoke were Venezuelan immigrants, although nationals from Columbia, Guatamala and some African nations also inhabitedThe Edge at Lowry at 12th and Dallas, Aspen Grove at Colfax and Nome, and Whispering Pines at 1357 Galena .
The three apartment buildings have been in the news recently for allegations that range from criminal activity to being uninhabitable due to squatters, drugs, plumbing leaks, mountains of trash and the rodents which follow.
On Aug. 18, a dangerous shooting at The Edge brought attention to a spiraling situation. One man was critically injured and residents said that they were fearful of getting caught in the crossfire.
They wanted out, but had nowhere to go, the residents said.
On Wednesday, surveillance video surfaced, showing what happened within the walls of The Edge during the Aug. 18 incident. On the footage, young men with automatic rifles broke doors in and barged their way into units. Children and women with babies in their arms followed the armed men into the apartments.
On another video, gunshots rang out as people called to loved ones.
The footage was supplied by former ICE field director John Fabbricatore, who said that he knew this was happening but did not have physical evidence to prove it until now.
“The gangs are making people turn over their keys to them. They want access to their units because they need places to hop into and hide their guns and dope when police show up,” he said.
Fabbricatoresaid that he received the video footage from a woman who was afraid of the criminal activity, which was happening across the hall. She convinced her son to install cameras, which eventually recorded the alleged altercation. The woman, who remains unidentified, has been moved to a safe location, Fabbricatore said.
Aurora Public Safety Strategic Communications spokesperson Matt Brown said that the city has, indeed, "experienced increasing calls for service at the 12th and Dallas buildings."
"In addition to the city recently removing huge piles of trash and tending to landscaping issues at the properties last week (Aug. 22), the city is beginning to pursue additional legal steps to account for the increased criminal activity and concerns about the safety of residents at the buildings and in the neighborhood," Brown said.
Fabbricatore visited The Edge apartment complex on Wednesday with a gun at his hip. He said that when gang-involved lookouts see someone who looks out of place or may be law enforcement, other gang members hide their guns and drugs.
“They have lookouts all over the place. You’ll start hearing whistles because someone they don’t recognize is coming close to the apartment. You’ll hear cat calls and whistles,” he said.
Fabbricatoresaid he believes that the Venezuelan prison gang TDA is operating in Aurora, but added that there are other dangerous immigrant gangs in the Denver metro area, as well, including Peruvian and Romanian theft rings.
And he predicts, he said, this problem is all coming to the suburbs.
“It’s only going to take an amount of time before we start seeing a criminal element from these countries in Lakewood, Westminster and Thornton. We need to change things in Colorado to make it better and not make this a magnet for illegal immigration,” said Fabbricatore, who is the Republican candidate running against U.S. Rep. Jason Crow in the 6th Congressional District.
A call to Crow’s office for a comment from went unanswered.
The Denver Gazette also got no answer from CBZ Management about the video.
Meanwhile, Attorney Benjamin Degolia is working with 50 residents of the Aspen Grove Apartments at Colfax and Nome who are suing CBZ Management, alleging that residents filed a “litany of complaints” with Aurora’s code enforcement division, pointing to a lack of heat, lack of hot water, black mold, vermin, bed bugs, co*ckroaches, unsanitary conditions and leaks and flooding inside apartment units.
Degolia said that court proceedings have started with CBZ Management being ordered to prove comparable housing to tenants who are suing the company.
Degolia said that he is not representing any residents of either The Edge or Whispering Pines.
CBZ Management — which owns 11 properties in Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs and Pueblo — had claimed that growing violence and a "gang presence" at its Aspen Grove Apartments on Nome Street and Colfax Avenue has precluded the company from caring for it.
"We would like to be able to resume normal operations at our buildings, but we cannot do so under the threat of present and immediate danger against residents, staff, and management," CBZ Management earlier said through a spokesperson.
Fabbricatore has been percolating the idea that Venezuelan gangs were infiltrating the Denver Metro area for weeks, but few people took his warnings seriously, he said.
Now that the video of men carrying assault rifles and allegedly intimidating people has surfaced, he feels vindicated but sad.
"This is my United States. I don’t want to see this in my country. As long as we let this fester, we could be wasting a lot of time and innocent people are gonna get hurt," he said.
