NYTimes Denies Trump's Claim of Venzuelan Gang Take-Over in Aurora; 3 Months Later Police Arrest 16 for Home Invasion

NYTimes Sept 15, 2024

How the False Story of a Gang ‘Takeover’ in Colorado Reached Trump

The claim that Aurora, Colo., has been overrun by gun-toting migrants stemmed from the city’s fight with a landlord. Now it is central to one of former President Donald J. Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign promises.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/15/us/politics/trump-aurora-colorado-immigration.html?searchResultPosition=1

16 suspected TdA members in ICE custody after home invasion, kidnapping

Aurora police detained 19 people over an armed home invasion and kidnapping likely related to Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua this week and 16 of them are in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  In a statement from ICE, a spokesperson said all of the detainees are Venezuelan nationals in the U.S. without authorization. 

The arrests were made after two Venezuelans were kidnapped Monday night from their Aurora apartment and then bound, pistol-whipped and tortured for hours before being released, Aurora police said Tuesday.

Patrol officers responded to a report of an armed home invasion just before 2:30 a.m. involving a stabbing and kidnapping at an apartment in the 1200 block of Dallas Street.  Several suspects entered an apartment occupied by two people, police said.  The suspects moved the victims to an adjacent apartment on the property, where they were threatened and bound. An adult male sustained a non-life-threatening stab wound during the incident.

Both were hospitalized on Tuesday morning, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said.  The apartments’ owners and property manager CBZ Management have blamed the poor living conditions in their buildings on the Tren de Aragua gang, which they claim has taken over the properties. City and police officials said Tuesday that poor management and a lack of oversight allowed crime to fester and gang activity to take root.

https://www.gazettextra.com/news/nation_world/16-suspected-tren-de-aragua-gang-members-in-ice-custody-after-kidnapping-torture-at-aurora/article_ff328b0b-fbd6-58ca-8038-2ee3dbcf7f50.html

Denver Gazette Dec 19, 2024