I live in Aurora, Colorado, where Venezuelan gangs are ravaging my city: Here’s why I’m voting for Trump
Migrant gang activity in Aurora, Colorado, is making residents feel threatened and some are avoiding the town all together because of it, locals told DailyMail.com.
Speaking to a crowd of thousands on Friday in Aurora, Colorado, Donald Trump hammered Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s immigration policies, blaming them for local migrant gang activity.
Reports of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TDA) operating in Aurora went viral in August after a video showed men with rifles and handguns threatening apartment residents before a 25-year-old man was shot and killed.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, however, has said TDA’s presence in the area does not surmount to a takeover or the ‘war zone’ Trump has described.
But the MAGA faithful who showed up to Trump’s rally Friday were adamant that safety in Aurora is worse off because of the gang activity.
Residents from Aurora and neighboring towns revealed to DailyMail.com that they are concerned over the migrant gangs in town
Recon, a Marine Corps veteran and Aurora resident, told DailyMail.com that the media has not been following the TDA gang activity close enough.
‘I’m from Aurora Colorado, born and raised Denver Aurora. I went to the Marine Corps for eight years, and I came back home. As far as the migrant situation is concerned, I’m gonna be honest with you, the news and the media and Democrats are covering it up, because it’s bad for politics.’
He said the TDA gang activity is real and ‘it’s just spreading across the communities that they’re picking,’ noting how the gang activity is not happening in nicer areas.
‘They’re not sending them to Highlands Ranch. They’re not sending them to Cherry Hills village. They’re not sending them to Boulder they’re not sending them to Fort Collins,’ Recon continued.
‘So the facts of the matter is, they’re sending them to the black communities, which which is a conflict of interest considering that since the cost of inflation has went up, everything has gotten more expensive, and people can’t even pay for childcare.’
Supporters cheer as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. Rally goers opened up to DailyMail.com about the TDA activity in the area
Cortney, another Aurora resident who lives 20 minutes from the apartment where the migrant gang activity was filmed, admitted ‘all of Aurora has just gone downhill.’
She said the national spotlight on the local issue has been a positive development as the gang activity has been occurring for a while
But said the problem is not specific just in her town.
‘The majority of Colorado has been overrun between the homeless and the drugs and the illegal aliens,’ she added.
When pressed on whether she has seen anything suspicious, Cortney said she had not seen anything firsthand but has been reading a lot about it on social media.
Another Colorado resident, Jen, told DailyMail.com: ‘Well, I have heard that they are taking over parts of Aurora. Oh, they’re also down in Denver, but I hear that they’re financing themselves through breaking into the gun stores and the jewelry stores.’
The Aurora Police Department has confirmed in recent weeks a sporting goods store was robbed by ‘four teen-aged Latino males,’ though the announcement did not specify whether or not they were migrants or involved with TDA.
Further, several Venezuelan migrants, one a suspected TDA member, robbed a Denver jewelry store at gun-point over the summer, according to the Justice Department.
‘During the robbery, suspects pointed weapons at employees, struck several employees with their weapons, and took a large amount of gold and jewelry. The suspects were later located in the El Paso, Texas area,’ the DOJ memo said.
Trump spoke next to mugshots of migrants taken by the Aurora Police Department
A boy guides his bicycle past apartment buildings as a rally is held in the courtyard to address chronic problems in the apartment buildings occupied by people displaced from their home countries in central and South America in Aurora
‘They are definitely taking over the apartment buildings,’ one lifelong Colorado resident, Mark, told DailyMail.com, citing the now-viral video as evidence.
He lives in Bennett, Colorado, and he revealed that people in his town have been afraid to go Aurora because of the reports.
‘Everybody talks about it. They won’t go in that area, you know? I mean, they’re afraid to go there.’
‘The less I have to come into town, better off I am,’ he said.
Footage from a resident in an Aurora apartment complex appeared to show armed men knocking on a door, intensifying fears the Tren de Aragua gang was in control of the complex
People line up to hear Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speak
Frederick of Windsor, Colorado said the claims have been largely confirmed.
‘There were migrants, there were people from Venezuelans in the apartments, we all saw the video,’ he told DailyMail.com ‘Whether they are gang members or not who knows, but they are guys with long guns walking around intimidating residents.’
‘The gang members were asking for keys to be copied and for [residents] to pay them instead of paying it to the landlords,’ he continued.
He was not sure how many TDA members were involved but, he was convinced at least a few were a part of the group.
‘It’s not really a mystery. And so whether their apartments are taken over, I don’t know what it is, but that there’s people that are scared that they shouldn’t be.’
