Venezuelan cartel members have taken over apartment complexes in a Denver suburb. But many local media outlets have been dismissing the problem, incorrectly, for weeks.
“Conservative leaders in Aurora insist a Venezuelan gang has taken over parts of the city, despite what the mayor and Aurora Police say,” 9News Anchor Kyle Clark posted on X on Aug. 8.
But Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman confirmed Thursday on “Fox and Friends” that three apartment complexes had “fallen to these Venezuelan gangs.” He said it “remains to be seen” whether they are specifically affiliated with the brutal cartel Tren de Aragua (TdA). “They in fact have … pushed out the property management through intimidation and then collected the rents,” Coffman said. “Arrests have been made, but these operations are … still ongoing.”
He suggested the federal government could be responsible for creating the dangerous situation. “We’re a victim of a failed policy at the southern border,” Coffman said. “What I believe occurred was that federal agencies worked with some of our local nonprofits and put them there.” Coffman said he thinks the cartel members moved into the area with the Venezuelan immigrants, working to “exploit them within their own migrant community.”
Bringing Violence
The New York Post reported that TdA “shot caller” Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirino beat a man at an Aurora apartment complex the cartel “took over and occupied.” Police later arrested Pacheco-Chirino — who goes by “Galleta,” or “Cookie” — for a shooting at the same location.
Police have since “apprehended” the TdA
