You’ve probably been hearing nonstop from conservative media and MAGA Republicans, including Donald Trump, that Aurora has been “taken over” by Venezuelan gangs. You might be confused why this information continues to spread even though it has repeatedly1 been2 proven3 false. You might also be wondering what the truth is – the actual ground truth stripped of the politics.
I wouldn’t blame you. This whole thing has been a confusing mess with plenty of misinformation. So let’s look at the facts without the games.
How did we get here?
The short answer is because many Republicans would rather play politics with the border crisis than actually solve it.
Here’s the longer answer on how we got here, with my sources on each claim cited in the footnotes so you know exactly where I’m getting my information. No games, just the facts.
The story actually starts last year in 2023 when the city of Aurora was trying to push an out-of-state landlord to fix up three apartment buildings that had become derelict.4
This past July, that absentee landlord, CBZ management, claimed it couldn’t fix the apartments because Venezuelan gangs had taken over.5 According to an email obtained by the New York Times, a spokesperson for the management company then started calling news stations with this claim under the guise of a “news tip.”6
The only problem is that the people actually living in those apartments said they didn’t know anything about a gang takeover. They had plenty to say, however, about the terrible living conditions and the totally absent landlord, CBZ management.7
But that didn’t stop the story from spreading quickly on social media and conservative “news” sources. A viral video showing men with guns in one of the buildings also added fuel to the fire.
But Aurora law enforcement has been clear. Not only are they aware of this gang, Tren de Aragua, but of the 10 gang members they’ve identified, 6 are in custody and have been since before all this went viral.8 They also say they’ve seen no evidence that any gang has “taken over” any building.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, himself a Republican, has also issued a statement to set the record straight on the situation, outright refuting claims of a “takeover” and asking for people to stop spreading false information.9
Caught up in all of this are Venezuelan immigrants themselves. People fleeing a terrible situation in Venezuela, many fleeing gang violence themselves. Now many are reporting a rise in hate directed at them by people who are reading false claims about the gang activity that is being spread for political reasons.10
232 days ago one of the most conservative senators in the country, Senator James Lankford, negotiated with Democrats and Republicans to write a bill that would address the crisis at our southern border. We didn’t agree with everything in it, but it was a true compromise that would’ve helped fix the problem.
Importantly, it also had work authorizations for new arrivals. Exactly what cities like Denver have been asking the federal government to do to ease the burden.11
Republicans embraced the bill, and for a moment it looked like Congress was actually going to act. But Donald Trump decided he’d rather campaign on the crisis than have it solved. So he demanded Republicans oppose it. Don’t take my word for it, he’s bragged about killing the bill himself.12
And just like that, the bill failed.13
But guess what? That hasn’t stopped Trump or MAGA Republicans14 from making up stories about Aurora to campaign on immigration.
Which brings us right back to the short answer for how we got here. They’re making up stories about Aurora, our communities, and our state because the truth is that they decided politics is more important than solutions.