‘We were left to fend for ourselves’: Aurora resident slams Colorado governor for rejecting Venezuelan gang takeover

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis dismissed residents’ concerns about gangs overrunning entire apartment complexes as a figment of their “imagination.”

An Aurora, Colorado, resident who escaped from an apartment complex overrun by Venezuelan criminal gangs criticized Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) for ignoring reports of the gang takeover.

Cindy Romero was a guest on Fox News on Friday to explain how Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky reached out to locals caught up in the Tren de Aragua takeover of apartment complexes.

“Councilwoman Jurinsky, who has been amazing, I had this conversation with her. She said, ‘Do you still live there?’ And I said yes and she said, ‘I’m going to get you out of there,’” Romero said.

“Police wouldn’t last five minutes on this property,” says an Aurora resident who escaped from an apartment complex overrun by a Venezuelan gang. The resident SLAMS the Colorado governor, whose office claimed the gang invasion was largely “a fabrication by local leaders… photo.twitter.com/0LDPioFRMX

— I meme therefore I am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) August 30, 2024

Governor Polis dismissed Jurinsky’s warnings about the gang takeover as a “figment of her imagination,” despite the emergence of several videos showing gangs storming the complexes.

“The governor has already informed the mayor that the state is prepared to support local law enforcement with assistance from state troopers and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation if needed,” Shelby Wieman, a spokesman for the Democratic governor, told the New York Post on thursday.

“But according to police information, this alleged invasion largely a feature of Danielle Jurinsky’s imagination.”

Romero pointed out that the videos circulating on social media and taken outside her home are compelling evidence of gang takeovers.

“You can’t make a fake video. And Polis wouldn’t last 5 minutes in that terrain,” Romero said.

NEW VIDEO armed group in troubled #Aurora #Colorado apartment complex where many migrants now live. Councillor @DaniJurinsky says gangs have taken over the complex @KDVR @AuroraPD photo.twitter.com/J1uie8Y2M6

— Vicente Arenas (@vicentearenastv) August 28, 2024

Jurinsky also responded to Polis’ comments, criticizing him for allowing Colorado to be turned into a breeding ground for gangs.

“I absolutely did not make this up. I think it’s great that our governor has been so quick to say this is the real problem,” she said. “But the real problem here is his weak policies that have turned this state into a breeding ground for this gang activity.”

Romero agreed, telling host John Roberts that Polis and other Democratic leaders “don’t want to admit they’re part of the problem.”

“It’s the government that we count on to make the rules for us, to make the guidelines that we follow. I call 911, and no help comes,” she said. “There’s no large numbers of police officers showing up to make sure we’re defended. No one showed up to help me. I didn’t have a bulletproof vest. I didn’t have five officers coming with me when there was a problem.”

“We were left to our own devices and left to fend for ourselves,” she added.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman also pushed back against Polis’ denial of these gang takeovers, saying he has launched an investigation into the exact origins of these gangs that paid for the operation.

“I’m trying to reverse it and investigate the way there is a concentration of Venezuelans in these three buildings,” he said.

NEW: Mayor of Aurora, Colorado suggests federal government may have freed up money to send Venezuelan gangs to Aurora.

The armed gangs took over apartment complexes and acted as landlords, collecting rent. They now control parts of the city and violent crime is skyrocketing. photo.twitter.com/UcfGI9Z2hB

— Libs from TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 30, 2024

“Somebody put them there and somebody funded it, whether it’s the federal government or not, we’re trying to find out whothese gangs apparently, or attracted to where there is a concentration of, of, Venezuelan migrants. And so they have, in effect, forced the property management out through intimidation and then collected the rent.”

Coffman also said the Biden administration may be directly responsible for the spread of Venezuelan gangs into the community.

“(This is) not our problem, federal problem or issue. They have to solve it. We don’t. But somehow we got sucked into this,” he said.

“I think we are the victims of a failed policy at the southern border because what you have, I, Venezuelan, do not do according to my law enforcement, Venezuela does not cooperate with the United States to share criminal histories. You have a third of the country leaving,” the mayor added.

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