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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 operative, Coffman said on “Fox and Friends.” “He’s been arrested, he’s off the street,” he said. 

The city of Aurora recently shut down the Fitzsimons Place apartments as “unfit for human habitation” citing code violations, according to KDVR. But the property management company claimed it could not perform maintenance because a “Venezuelan gang” had taken over.

One local reporter published a video showing heavily armed men roaming the halls of the troubled apartments. Violent crime has been plaguing the complex. Coffman said the video depicted “Venezuelan gang members” engaging in “intimidation” of tenants.

“I repeat… A GANG HAS TAKEN OVER several apartment complexes in Aurora,” Aurora Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky posted on X, in reference to the video.

On Aug. 6, John Fabbricatore, a Republican running for Congress, posted what appears to be a letter from the apartments’ management to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, claiming a Venezuelan gang had taken over three apartment complexes. “The above Aurora Multi-Family Projects have been forcibly taken control of by gang(s) that have immigrated here from Venezuela,” the letter reads. “The property manager has since taken refuge to a hopefully secure place, for he is concerned for his life.”

The Aurora Police Department (APD) was “aware of criminal activity at properties where there is a high concentration of residents who are Venezuelan migrants” earlier this month, APD representative Ryan Luby told The Denver Gazette. “Investigating these crimes is a priority for the APD due to concerns for the safety of the residents,” Luby told the publication. 

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security warned that TdA was operating in Denver and gave a “green light” to target police officers, according to The New York Post. KDVR reported a TdA member was linked to a violent Denver jewelry store robbery in June.

Aurora Police announced on Aug. 19 that it formed a task force with the Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Bureau of Investigation to counter TdA’s influence in the area, according to KDVR. 

The department posted an update yesterday, calling TdA incidents “isolated” and saying it would be “improper” to make “conclusory statements” or offer further details about investigations. “Components of TdA are operating in Aurora. APD has been increasingly collecting evidence to show the gang is connected to crimes,” the release reads. “We believe reports of TdA influence in Aurora are isolated. We urge all community members, including members of our migrant communities, to please report crimes committed against them to their local law enforcement agencies and not remain silent victims.”

The Denver Police Department also posted a release yesterday, claiming police are “not aware” of TdA taking over apartments in the city — though the apartments in question are in Aurora. “DPD is not aware of any apartment buildings being ‘taken over’ by this gang in Denver,” the release reads. “There are reasons to believe that members of this gang are tied to crimes in the area.”

[Victims should call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.]

Media Denial

Vic Lombardi, a Denver sports radio host, expressed frustration yesterday about the lack of local media coverage. “Are local Denver TV stations gonna cover this stuff happening in Aurora?” he asked.

Clark, the 9News anchor, twisted the Denver Police statement to claim it denied the gang had taken over apartment buildings. The statement only denied this in Denver, but not in Aurora — the location of the apartments in question. 

“Similar to the neighboring @AuroraPD, @DenverPolice confirm that the Tren de Aragua gang is present in the area but deny online reports that the gang has ‘taken over’ apartment buildings,” Clark posted on X yesterday. He has continually minimized the threat posed by TdA since the beginning of this month. “The City of Aurora says an apartment complex is being condemned over longtime code violations and squalor, pushing back on viral claims by anonymous far-right accounts blaming a takeover by a Venezuelan gang,” Clark posted on X Aug. 5.

Local station Denver 7 ABC News published a report Wednesday repeating a similar message. “Social media has been flooded with accusations that the Venezuelan gang has taken over an Aurora apartment complex. Both the city and Aurora Police Department have not confirmed those claims,” reads the article’s subhead. 

Buried in the middle of the piece, however, is a quote from the Drug Enforcement Administration, admitting TdA has been trafficking fentanyl to the Denver area. “Our agents — working in collaboration with federal, state, and local partners here in Colorado — have seized multi-kilogram quantities of fentanyl destined for the Denver-Metro area from individuals believed to be members and/or associates of the gang known as Tren de Aragua,” reads the DEA statement.

A National Threat

The Venezuelan cartel had taken over the notorious Tocorón Prison, using it as a base of criminal operations until the country’s government took it back last year. 

TdA takes advantage of immigrants through sex trafficking and debt bondage, publicly killing those who try to escape as an example to others in bondage, according to the Department of the Treasury, which sanctioned the group in July. The cartel also engages in kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking.

Mexican officials warned Monday that many TdA members were on their way to cross the American border in El Paso, according to Fox News. But cartel members have already engaged in violence across America.

Cartel members allegedly murdered a former Venezuelan police officer near Miami last year, according to the Miami Herald. They reportedly abducted him from a parking lot, and he turned up dead the next day.

In Louisiana, East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputies responded in April to a call from a Spanish-speaking woman who said she was being held captive and forced to have sex for money, according to The Advocate. The sex traffickers allegedly controlled 30 women, and their leader was a TdA member.

A 19-year-old cartel member also shot two New York Police Department officers in June, according to CNN. The suspect entered the country illegally last year. 

Libs of TikTok, the popular conservative X account, posted documents Wednesday apparently showing the extent of TdA’s influence across America. 

The account claimed the cartel is present in numerous states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New York, Texas, and Wyoming.

Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.