A Colorado administration firm has shared brutal surveillance footage and a photograph of a bloodied worker as an example its ongoing downside with a violent Venezuelan migrant gang.
Brooklyn-based CBZ Administration, which operates 11 complexes in Colorado, has mentioned that members of Tren de Aragua commandered whole house buildings in Aurora by threatening its workers and tried to extort the corporate for a lower of lease cash in change for his or her continued operation of the properties.
One of many firm’s buildings made nationwide headlines earlier this 12 months after surveillance footage confirmed a heavily-armed group of males, allegedly members of the Venezuelan jail gang, making their manner via The Edge at Lowry flats and talking in Spanish.
The newest footage exhibits one in all CBZ’s representatives being assaulted after he refused to simply accept a bribe on the Whispering Pines Advanced on the finish of 2023, the corporate advised Fox 31.
CBZ Administration shared this photograph on X, allegedly picturing one in all their workers after he refused to take a bribe from gang members in one of many firm’s Aurora, Colorado, complexes. (@Cbzmanagement on X)
The corporate wrote on X that the worker discovered a bunch of male squatters in a lately vacated house and wouldn’t settle for $500 to “overlook the situation.”
The person was crushed so severely that he needed to be handled at a hospital, the corporate mentioned.
“I think they were trying to kill me. I don’t know how I got out, but I got out,” that consultant, whose bloodied {photograph} was proven by the administration firm on X, advised Fox 31.
After the assault, the corporate mentioned, the worker started to obtain threats by way of textual content message that included his dwelling deal with and partner’s identify.
A police report from the incident obtained from the 18th Judicial District Court docket by Denver 7 exhibits that one of the corporate’s property managers was assaulted by documented Tren de Aragua member Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose in November 2023. It was not instantly clear if that was the identical incident.
VENEZUELAN TREN DE ARAGUA GANG RECRUITING KIDS FROM TEXAS MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang allegedly overtook an house constructing in Aurora, Colorado, charging lease in change for “protection.” (Edward Romero)
After the incident, the corporate mentioned its representatives met with members of the FBI. The company allegedly confirmed that members of Tren de Aragua had been behind the textual content messages and the constructing takeovers however that the difficulty was a “blip on the radar” because of the Venezuelan gang’s rising nationwide presence.
The FBI couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
CBZ additionally mentioned that the gangs took over a tenant’s house whereas on trip, forcing the tenant to discover a new place to dwell when he returned dwelling.
“Gangs have taken control of several of our properties in Aurora, Colorado,” the corporate wrote in a thread on X final week. “In an attempt to discredit this fact for political purposes and avoid governmental accountability, some have spread false information about our situation.”
The agency mentioned that it has needed to pull its employees again from its house complexes in Aurora.
TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBER, ILLEGAL VENEZUELAN MIGRANT, ARREST IN HOUSTON
“Despite clear evidence, many still deny the reality of the situation, sometimes using us as scapegoats. That’s why we are no longer staying silent,” the corporate wrote. “We will continue to counter falsehoods with simple facts and evidence. Yes, gangs did take control of our apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado, and the government did nothing. That is the real story.”
The Aurora Police Division advised Denver 7 that it has “not yet obtained evidence of a gang takeover at any CBZ properties.”
“We’ve acknowledged it’s likely gang members have and/or are residing at CBZ properties, but as you know from experience you could say the same about a lot of different gangs and a lot of different properties throughout the metro area,” a consultant advised the outlet.
Likewise, a spokesperson for Aurora advised the New York Put up that the corporate’s claims had been “exaggerations.”
YOUNG MIGRANTS TIED TO ‘SHOCKING’ INCREASE IN GANG-LED CRIME IN NYC’S TIME SQUARE, SAYS NYPD
“These delinquent property owners, managers and/or ‘investors’ conveniently fail to acknowledge that their own bank lenders took them to court in the last few weeks where a judge ordered some of their problematic properties into receivership,” the spokesperson mentioned. “That means a judge has given the legal authority to a third-party receiver to actually manage the properties, and who the property owners will be forced to compensate.”
Final Friday, former President Donald Trump visited Aurora and linked the alleged gang issues within the metropolis to the Biden-Harris administration’s border insurance policies.
Based on Denver 7, CBZ Administration has a historical past of citations relationship again to 2020, with violations starting from mice infestations to dozens of illegally parked vehicles to ceiling injury. Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman characterised the administration firm as “slumlords,” KDVR reported.
“It’s a little late to play the Venezuelan gang card,” Coffman mentioned. “Certainly, there are other parts of the city that we’re looking at, that we’re concerned about that. But the problems in this building certainly precede any problems with Venezuelan gangs.”
CBZ Administration mentioned that the town “drummed up ‘code violations'” to cowl up the presence of the overseas gang, in accordance with its posts on X. The corporate mentioned it “received a perfect inspection in 2022 and 2023,” and that any violations have been “dealt with.”
“The only violations that weren’t dealt with were when the gangs took over and we didn’t want our 6 on-site staff working there — for their safety,” the corporate mentioned.
Media and authorities officers are downplaying the impression of Venezuelan gangs in Aurora, one lady who moved out of her house earlier this 12 months resulting from rising violence advised Fox Information Digital.
“I feel like it’s a slap in the face,” Cindy Romero mentioned. “How many gangs is OK to have in Aurora? How many properties is OK to take over? How many people, who are citizens paying their bills, is it OK to displace?”
