Former President and Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, condemned on Tuesday the alleged takeover of a building in Aurora, Colorado, by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which was denied by local authorities.
Trump was referring to a surveillance video from an Aurora building released last week in which several people were seen carrying rifles and pistols while patrolling in front of the residences. These people, according to reports on social media, were members of the Tren de Aragua.
However, Aurora Police Department interim chief Heather Morris clarified Friday that investigations have determined that gang members have not “taken over” the complex.
Trump described the individuals as “young tough thugs,” The National Desk reported. “They’re taking over buildings, they’ve got their big rifles,” he said. “We’re not going to let this happen, we’re not going to let them destroy our country.”
Trump went on to note that if he were hypothetically in power in Venezuela, he would send prisoners to the United States.
“All of our criminals would be in the United States,” he added, according to the outlet. “They are all doing it and we cannot allow that to happen. They are emptying their prisons and their mental institutions in the United States of America. We cannot allow that to happen.”
This is not the first time that Trump has referred to the Aragua Train, whose presence in Colorado and other places in the United States has been confirmed by authorities.
“Have you seen what’s happening in Colorado? Venezuelan gangs have taken over parts of the city and taken over apartments,” Trump said at a rally last week, where he also promised to carry out a mass deportation of criminals and blamed the administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for the presence of the gang members.
The interim chief of the Aurora Police Department said Monday that “gang members have not taken over” The Edge of Lowry apartments, located between Aurora and Denver.
Morris did not deny the presence of gang members in the community, however, noting that the department “made an effort” to ensure that residents do not pay “rent” to gang members.
While some residents of the complex have reported that extortion has occurred and that an immigrant was threatened in her home, the Colorado Coalition for Immigrant Rights (CIRC) said it agrees with official versions that deny the takeover by the Aragua Train.
“Police, officials and residents of the apartment complex themselves have denied these false stories, and we believe it is irresponsible to promote them,” Gladis Ibarra, co-executive director of CIRC, said in a statement.
Likewise, on August 28, the Denver Police Department said it was “not aware” of any direct threats from Venezuelan gang members toward residents.
However, Colorado authorities, along with federal agencies, have formed a “task force” to identify and detain members of the Tren de Aragua who have operated in the Denver metropolitan area in recent months.
Continue reading:
• Why is the Tren de Aragua gang causing alarm in Colorado?
• Aragua Train: The hard blows that the Venezuelan gang received in less than a month
• Colorado creates specialized squad to arrest members of the Aragua Train