Mayor of town where Venezuelan armed gangs took over homes speaks out

Aurora, Colorado Mayor Mike Coffman joined America Reports on Thursday after surveillance footage showing armed Venezuelan gang members at an apartment complex went viral online.

Coffman confirmed that at least two apartment buildings within the city limits have been taken over by Venezuelan gangs.

VIDEO SHOWS ARMED GANG IN A COLORADO APARTMENT BUILDING BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN OVER BY MIGRANTS

The mayor also admitted on air that “Cookie Monster,” leader of the Tren de Aragua gang, “has been arrested.”

“This is an initiative of organized crime. Whether it’s a trend or a war on drugs, that remains to be seen,” Coffman said.

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the Tren de Aragua organized crime efforts in the Aurora area.

“There are actually several buildings that belong to the same owner, that are not state property, and that have fallen into the hands of Venezuelan gangs. I am trying to investigate how Venezuelans are concentrated in these three buildings,” Coffman said.

“Someone put them there and someone financed them, whether it was the federal government or not. We are trying to find out who these gangs are that are apparently attracted to the place where there is a concentration of Venezuelan immigrants. In fact, they have managed to expel the property managers through intimidation and then collect the rents,” he added.

Venezuelan gang TREN DE ARAGUA gives members the ‘green light’ to attack police officers: officials

An anonymous former resident of one of the apartment buildings confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that members of Tren de Aragua have been collecting rent from residents in at least one invaded complex.

Mayor Coffman says the city of Aurora is “a victim” of federal policy and nearby Denver’s sanctuary city policy.

“This is not our problem, it’s not a federal problem or an issue. They have to solve it, not us. But somehow we got caught up in this,” Coffman said.

“I think we are victims of a failed policy on the southern border because, what you have, I, as a Venezuelan, do not have, according to my law enforcement, Venezuela does not cooperate with the United States in sharing criminal records. You had to abandon a third of the country,” said Coffman.

“There have been massive waves of immigrants who have crossed the border, many of them illegally, who were arrested, who asked for political asylum, who were not properly vetted and who were released into the country, into the city of Aurora. We did everything we could to, frankly, keep them out of the city because it’s not our problem. It’s a federal problem,” the mayor said.

An Aurora mother has gone viral for her video in which she claims she no longer feels safe taking her children to public parks in the area given the presence of Venezuelan gangs.

“This is terrifying. And I understand that they come here for a better life, but at the same time, does this life get any better when they bring back what was there?” she asked.

The Aurora Police Department has not released any new statements since its social media post via X on Wednesday about the situation, calling it “isolated.”

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Coffman previously served as a congressman for Colorado’s 6th District as a Republican from 2009 to 2019.