Aurora mayor slams feds for sending Venezuelan gangs to Colorado

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.

'[This is] not our problem, 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 so 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 appears to capture the moment an armed Venezuelan gang seized 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

The Aurora police department, however, has said the situation in the two buildings is isolated. 

Democratic governor Jared Polis, on his part, accused Aurora officials of spreading misinformation and stoking fear.

Polis’ spokesperson Shelby Wieman told the Sentinel  that 'Governor Polis] really hopes that the city council members in charge stop trashing their own city when they are supposed to keep it safe.'

Wieman added: 'We know violent crime in Aurora went down between 2022-2023. Fully expect the data will show further declines for 2024. And the recent misinformation campaign threatens actual criminal investigations and could hurt the climate for small businesses in Aurora.

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.