A woman who was forcibly evicted from an Aurora, Colorado apartment complex occupied by members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Torren de Aragua is horrified after Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance clashes with an ABC reporter. He accused the media of downplaying the situation. About gang takeover.
“It feels like a slap in the face,” Cindy Romero told Fox News on Monday. “How many gangsters can we have in Aurora? How many properties can we take over? How many citizens who pay their living expenses can we evacuate?”
Romero’s comments came just days after Sen. J.D. Vance criticized ABC News host Martha Raddatz after she tried to fact-check the Ohio lawmaker about reports that Venezuelan prison gangs were operating in the city. It was announced on.
Raddatz denied former President Donald Trump’s claim that gangs had “taken over” the city, and told Vance that Aurora’s mayor said the incidents police responded to were “limited to a small number of apartment complexes.” spoke.
An exasperated Vance retorted: “Martha, can you hear me?” Only a handful of apartment complexes in America have been taken over by Venezuelan gangs, but is Donald Trump the problem, not Kamala Harris’ open borders? ”
“Martha, I find this exchange very interesting because you would rather point out everything Donald Trump has said than acknowledge that apartment complexes in the United States are occupied by violent gangs. “You seem to be concentrating,” he added.
Romero and her husband told Fox that they fled their home in August after several gunfights that included shots hitting their car. In another incident, captured on a doorbell camera, a group of armed men broke into a neighbor’s home, according to video.
She said her calls to 911 were often unanswered.
“I feel like the mayor, governor, (police) are all making light of the situation,” Romero said. “I was chased out of my apartment by gang activity of people carrying guns in the hallways and patrolling the premises with guns.”
A Brooklyn-based company that owns real estate outside Denver last week posted photos of an employee allegedly beaten and bloody by Torren de Aragua members for refusing to stay in a vacant apartment they occupied. Published.
Elon Musk even highlighted the Post’s coverage of the beatdown at X on Tuesday morning.
The company claimed that the gang threatened employees and tried to force CBZ Management to reduce rent in exchange for allowing the property to continue operating. As a result, they removed their employees from the building.
“Despite clear evidence, many still deny the reality of the situation and sometimes use us as scapegoats. That’s why we can no longer remain silent.” said the company, which has been cited numerous times for its assets.
Local police announced last month that they had arrested 10 members of the Torren de Aragua gang in connection with criminal activities around the apartment complex.
President Trump visited Aurora last week and sought to link the gang problem to the Harris-Biden administration’s border policies. He proposed a plan to mobilize ICE, Border Patrol, and federal law enforcement to “hunt down, arrest, and deport every last illegal alien gang member until there is none left in this country.”
Local and national news outlets criticized President Trump’s depiction of the situation as misleading.
City officials accused the media of “grossly exaggerating incidents that were isolated to a small number of problem properties.”
“The situation is real, but we also need to take into account the situation,” Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman (R) said.
He told Fox that the city is a “victim” of border policies and Denver’s status as a sanctuary city.
