The mayor of Aurora, Colorado, has accused the federal government of sending Venezuelan criminals to the city amid the migrant crisis.
Republican Mayor Mike Coffman made the comments following shocking footage that showed armed Venezuelan gangsters in an apartment complex in the city.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Coffman claimed that at least two apartment buildings in Aurora have been overtaken by the Tren de Aragua gang, a brutal criminal group that has made its way to the US.
Coffman said the buildings are under the same out of state ownership as he blamed the federal government and nearby Denver's sanctuary city policy for the situation.
The buildings were used as taxpayer-funded migrant housing, which is what gave the gangs a foothold.
'This is an organized criminal effort,' the Republican mayor said.
'They've pushed out the property management through intimidation and now the gang collects the rents.'
Coffman claimed the city is a 'victim' of federal policy and Denver's sanctuary city policy.
'We're a victim of a failed policy at the southern border,' he said: 'Venezuela does not cooperate with the United States in criminal histories.
'You've had these massive waves of migrants coming across the border, many of them crossed the border illegally, were arrested, asked for a political asylum, were not adequately vetted, were released into the country, the city of Aurora.
'We did everything we could to quite frankly, keep them out of the city because it's not our problem. This is a federal problem.'
'[This is] not our problem, it is a federal problem or issue. They need to resolve it. Not us. But somehow we got sucked into this,' the mayor said.
Republican Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman has accused the federal government for sending Venezuelan criminals to Colorado
'Somebody put them there and somebody funded it, whether it's federal government or not, we're trying to find out who, these gangs apparently are attracted to where there's a concentration of Venezuelan migrants,' the Aurora mayor said.
'And so, they've, in fact, have kind of pushed out the property management through intimidation and then, collected the rents.'
According to Fox News, an anonymous former resident of one of the complexes also claimed members of Tren de Aragua have collected rent from residents of at least one of the overrun buildings.
Meanwhile an Aurora mother has gone viral after she shared a video expressing fear for her children amid the situation.
'What's going on with this gang thing? Cause I'm seeing it everywhere,' she said.
'I'm a mom and It's gotten so bad to the point we don't even want to take our kids to the park unless we're in a group... and even then we have to have some type of protection...
I'm not gonna lie, this is terrifying.'
Harrowing footage showing an armed Venezuelan gang seizing control of an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado
Then other members of the gang rush up the stairwell, bearing weapons. In the background, the men can be heard speaking in Spanish to one another
Security video showed gang members who have taken over the apartment complex.
Gun-totting men can be seen storming through the building in the video.
A man in a hoodie lugs a high-powered rifle and pounds on a door in the building, while several others wield pistols.
A shootout at the complex left one person grievously wounded. In the exchange of gunfire, several vehicles were also damaged.
A GANG HAS TAKEN OVER several apartment complexes in Aurora!' local council member Danielle Jurinsky wrote on Twitter.
Council member Jurinsky told Fox 31 that the building had been overrun by a Venezuelan gang.
Nobody is helping the Americans that are trapped in these apartment complexes,' Jurinsky told Fox.
Aurora has found itself at the center of a constant cycle of violence ever since the brutal Tren de Aragua gang arrived.
On Thursday, Arapahoe County district attorney John Keller told Fox News his office is investigating several cases related to the apartment complexes that have been overtaken by the gang.
Meanwhile an Aurora mother has gone viral after she shared a video expressing fear for her children amid the situation
'I've heard criticism from some folks saying things like "This is imaginary,"' Kellner said.
'I can tell you the people in this apartment complex, the people of aura, it's not imaginary.
'This is a real example of how cities across the country that are extremely far away from our border are dealing with the impacts of a failed border policy.'
Footage of the Venezuelan gangsters seizing one of the Aurora buildings went viral earlier this week.
'A GANG HAS TAKEN OVER several apartment complexes in Aurora!' local council member Danielle Jurinsky wrote on Twitter.
'This isn’t just Americans. Other Venezuelans are being extorted by this gang,” Jurinsky said.
Members of the gang rush up the stairwell, bearing weapons. In the background, the men can be heard speaking to one another in Spanish.
At the end of the video, the door opens and the gang members all walk into the apartment. It wasn't clear whether anyone inside the home was injured.
The couple who filmed the footage told Fox 31 that it was recorded shortly before a shootout at the complex, which left one person grievously wounded.
Illegal immigration into the US has ballooned into 8 million crossings- a number which is expected to rise to 10 million by the end of September.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13797735/aurora-colorado-slams-feds-venezuelan-gangs-city.html
A trashed parking lot left behind after a gathering by Venezuelan migrants
A gathering of Venezuelan migrants spiraled out of control as gunshots rang out in the parking lot of a suburban Colorado town.
In yet another sign of trouble inside the Venezuelan community living in the US, chaos was unleashed by migrants living in Aurora, Colorado.
'Those Venezuelans is taking over,' a man was heard saying in an online video.
There was bedlam in a Target parking lot in Aurora where Venezuelans had gathered.
The South Americans swarmed the shopping center, completely taking it over, with cars sardined bumper-to-bumper.
This forced Target and other retailers in the area to close early.
As night fell, the trashed parking lot littered with garbage turned from disgusting to dangerous.
Police responded to several incidents, including gun shots being fired.
Venezuela's most violent gang Tren de Aragua has moved its headquarters to just across the US border in the Mexican town of Ciudad Juarez
Tren de Aragua gang tattoos (pictured above) were part of a Department of Homeland Security bulletin that was recently shared with federal agents
The migrant crisis under the Biden Administration has moved away from the US-Mexico border and into America's cities.
The migrant crisis under 'border czar' Kamala Harris has spiraled into chaos.
Under Biden and Harris' administration, illegal immigration into the US has ballooned into 8 million crossings- a number which is expected to rise to 10 million by the end of September.
The Venezuelan mob has established footholds across the country, including New York, Colorado and Texas.
The Dallas Police Department has exclusively confirmed the presence of the gang in North Texas to the DailyMail.com
In the Denver area, police from across the region have formed a task force to deal with the criminal organization in the Rockies.
As DailyMail.com exclusively reported, Tren de Aragua has set up a new headquarters at the doorstep of the US, in Juarez, Mexico.
The city is directly across from El Paso, Texas.
Officials in Texas's sixth largest city are working on a confidential plan to combat the gang's threat.
Last month, the US government designated Tren de Aragua a transnational criminal organization and announced a $5 million reward for the capture of its leader, Hector 'El Nino' Guerrero Flores
Cindy and Edward Romero moved out of the apartment on Wednesday due to safety concerns.
After a shootout at the apartment complex earlier this month, the Romeros' car was riddled with bullets.
'It's been a nightmare, and I can't wait to get out of here,' Cindy Romero told Fox as she packed up her possessions.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/texas/article-13793333/Gunshots-ring-Venezuelan-gathering-Target-parking-lot-Aurora-Colorado-cops-warn-ruthless-Tren-Aragua-gang-loose.html
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