Denver law firm confirms Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang has taken over Aurora, CO apartment building: report

According to an extensive report from a Denver law firm, a Venezuelan gang has simply occupied an entire apartment building and use it as their headquarters to commit a host of crimes including violent assaults, murder threats, extortion and prostitution while terrorizing the local population.

The Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang’s strong presence in Colorado is another consequence of the Biden-Harris administration’s open border policy that has seen tens of millions enter the US and be transported to their destination of choice. This Venezuelan gang reportedly began taking over an Aurora apartment building called the Whispering Pines Apartments in late 2023, according to a letter sent to Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, Aurora City Manager Jason Batchelor, and the interim police chief that was obtained by CBS News Colorado.

Each page of the nine-page report was labeled "CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED." The Perkins Coie law firm revealed its shocking discovery on Aug. 9.

"The evidence we have reviewed indicates that gang members are engaging in flagrant trespass violations, assaults and battery, human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors, unlawful firearms possession, extortion, and other criminal activities, often targeting vulnerable Venezuelan and other immigrant populations," wrote T. Markus Funk, a former U.S. Attorney.

The firm says it represents the ownership and management of the Whispering Pines Apartments, 1357 Helena Street. It is just one of several Aurora apartment buildings reportedly under the control of the Tren de Aragua gang. The law firm says it has based its conclusions on interviews of witnesses and video of activities occurring at the apartment block.

"Tren de Aragua has threatened to kill (and, in certain instances, has apparently actively attempted to kill) members of Whispering Pines management..." according to the report. Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman has confirmed in an interview that Venezuelan gangs have infiltrated many apartment blocks in the city. 

Venezuelan gangs are seemingly operating without constraint in the Denver area. Gangs are reportedly extorting money from homeless people in the city and its surroundings. They are also committing crimes in New York City and police are concerned that they could join forces with MS-13 thugs.

Investigators talked to the property manager, who told the law firm that "[h]e had never seen anything remotely like the Tren de Aragua takeover of Whispering Pines in his entire career." Whispering Pines doesn’t offer luxury accommodations but rents for the 54 units are priced from $1450 to $2000 per month. The report notes that many of the tenants are Hispanic, who could understand the Spanish spoken by the Venezuelan bandits.

The property manager told the law firm that when he started working at the apartment building, the gang was already very much in evidence. In November 2023, a consultant who came to the complex to report on the condition of the property was "so severely beaten and stomped by gang members that he had to go to the hospital." The report says the assault did not result from any threats by the consultant, CBS News noted.

"The gang activity at Whispering Pines escalated in 2024," according to the document obtained by CBS News Colorado. In April 2024, a housekeeper recorded how “two individuals at the property went into an apartment, came out with large firearms, and were coming to kill him [the property manager]." The report identifies the men as gang members.

The gang has also been extorting money from tenants, which they call “rent.” Video footage apparently exists showing the gang members going door to door to collect their “rent.” The thieves are also demanding protection money from the property manager in true organized crime fashion.

The gang is even moving people into vacant apartment units and forcing the occupants to pay rent to the gang, not the apartment management.

"This conduct's brazen and public nature further exhibits the suspected gang members' sense of comfort and control consistent with their taking over the property and not fearing the law enforcement of the property management,” the law firm concluded.