According to local reports, an international gang from Venezuela first “seized” an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, late last year.
Tren de Aragua gang members took over the Whispering Pines Apartments in 2023 and engaged in violent assaults, death threats, extortion, child prostitution and heavy-handed tactics, Denver law firm Perkins Coy said in a nine-page report to city leaders. CBS News Colorado.
The media outlet said the firm was hired to investigate the alleged gang takeover of the apartment, and interviewed witnesses and reviewed video footage from the apartment before releasing its report.
“The evidence we have reviewed indicates that gang members have engaged in trespass, assault, human trafficking, sexual abuse of minors, illegal firearms possession, extortion, and other criminal activity, often targeting vulnerable Venezuelan and other migrant populations,” former U.S. Attorney T. Marcus Funk wrote in the letter.
Police say members of the Tren de Aragua gang have been arrested in Aurora, Colorado, in connection with an apartment takeover.
Alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang are accused of taking over an apartment in Aurora, Colorado, and demanding rent in exchange for security. (Edward Romero)
The company interviewed the apartment complex's manager, who said he had “never seen anything like Tren de Aragua's acquisition of Whispering Pines in his career.”
The property manager, who has 15 years of experience, told the company that he was arrested when two gang members “came to kill him” because he was late with his rent payment.
One resident said one apartment had been completely taken over by suspected gang members, including the locks being changed. (Councillor Daniel Jurinski)
He also detailed how the gang had been collecting “rent” from residents, and allegedly stabbed one resident who refused to pay. In June, gang members approached the property manager, offering to cooperate if he paid 50 percent of the rent collected to the gang, according to the report.
“This is our business plan,” one of the gang members allegedly told the housekeeper who contacted the company. “If he [the property manager] If I don't like it, I'll shoot you to death.”
Spare apartments were used as “party” locations and the gang offered “drugs and child prostitution,” the property management company told investigators, adding that “minors are a good way to make money.”
Aurora Police Respond to Allegations of Venezuelan Gang in Apartment Complex: “We're Not Occupying It”
Allegations of gang activity at at least two apartment complexes in Aurora have sparked intense scrutiny in recent days after surveillance video went viral showing heavily armed men kicking down apartment doors.
Tren de Aragua is based primarily in Venezuela, with approximately 5,000 members in South America and the United States.
Last week, the Aurora Police Department denied allegations that members of the Tren de Aragua gang had taken over the Edge complex in Raleigh, but said authorities were aware of the gang's alleged criminal activity in the area.
The ministry said it appointed a special task force in August to counter Tren de Aragua's presence.
Police on Wednesday released the names and photos of two documented members of the Tren de Aragua gang and two suspects arrested in July on attempted murder charges.
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“I'm pleased that @AuroraPD is finally telling the truth and starting to make arrests!,” Aurora City Councilman Daniel Jurinski wrote to X. “Aurora citizens should feel safe!”
Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baer contributed to this report.
