Our own Amy Curtis wrote a VIP post in August about Venezuelan gang members taking over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. Despite video evidence, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis dismissed the idea as "imagination," even as the mayor and police reports were confirming it was happening. There was video:
Armed gangs of Venezualan illegals are taking over apartment buildings in Aurora, Colorado. Violent crime has skyrocketed.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 28, 2024
The police chief recently said he “doesn’t think Venezuelan gangs are a big safety concern in the city of Aurora.” pic.twitter.com/fHonvQKnSg
BREAKING: Footage of a 2nd building in Aurora taken over by Venezuelan gangs
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 10, 2024
The media said this wasn't happening
pic.twitter.com/ihFDfYj7M4
A day later, Polis said he was taking the situation "seriously."
A day after that, the City of Aurora said that there had been a lot of misleading information going around, but that the city was concerned that there was a small Tren de Aragua presence in Aurora, but they had been taking it seriously and had made arrests. But, in short, the city blamed the landlords: "We will continue to address the problems that the absentee, out-of-state owners of these properties have allowed to fester unchecked."
Christopher Rufo and Christina Buttons have been following the money, and it led the back to the Biden-Harris administration.
EXCLUSIVE: @Buttonslives and I have discovered that the Biden-Harris Administration subsidized the Venezuelan migrants who took over the apartments in Aurora, Colorado, through a funnel of government agencies and left-wing NGOs.
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 10, 2024
It's time to follow the money. 🧵
The story begins in 2021, when the Biden–Harris administration signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law, allocating $3.8 billion to Colorado. The City of Denver drew on this reservoir of funds to launch its migrant resettlement and housing program. pic.twitter.com/wC4NvnBfBX
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 10, 2024
Denver, where the mayor recently announced cuts at the DMV and Parks and Recreation to allocate more resources to illegals. Layoffs, too.
The city, in turn, funneled more than $5 million to two left-wing NGOs, ViVe Wellness and Papagayo, to secure housing for thousands of Venezuelan migrants.
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 10, 2024
These organizations are run by Yoli Casas and Marielena Suarez, two Venezuelan immigrants who do not appear to have… pic.twitter.com/2xwuE59r4o
… two Venezuelan immigrants who do not appear to have previous experience in large-scale migrant resettlement. Much of this funding was directly tied to ARPA, through the Migrant Support Grant program.
Yoli Casas, who runs ViVe Wellness, said that the flow of government funds was so abundant, she was writing thousands of checks to pay for migrants. She claimed to have written $350,000 in checks in a single week—all heavily subsidized by taxpayers. pic.twitter.com/YMLQAkA54E
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 10, 2024
These NGOs, in turn, worked with landlords to place the migrants in housing, including a large number of contracts with CBZ Management, which operated the three apartment complexes in Aurora at the center of the Venezuelan takeover scandal. pic.twitter.com/lUVwhYUu7N
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 10, 2024
We spoke with a former CBZ employee, who, on condition of anonymity, explained how the scheme worked. Representatives from Papagayo arranged hundreds of contracts with CBZ to place migrants in the Aurora apartments. Soon, they were up to 80% full of Venezuelans. pic.twitter.com/38QqlZwmTT
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 10, 2024
The result was chaos. We have obtained a confidential report, which alleges, according to witness interviews, that the apartments saw a string of crimes, including trespassing, assault, extortion, drug use, illegal firearm possession, human trafficking, and sexual abuse. pic.twitter.com/GTZ4yOnyIQ
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 10, 2024
Buttons and Rufo write for City Journal:
An obvious question: How did members of Venezuelan gangs suddenly find themselves in suburban Colorado? To answer this, we have conducted an exclusive investigation, which leads to a troubling conclusion: the Biden administration, in partnership with Denver authorities and publicly subsidized NGOs, provided the funding and logistics to place a large number of Venezuelan migrants in Aurora, creating a magnet for crime and gangs. And, worse, some of the nonprofits involved appear to be profiting handsomely from the situation.
…
… According to public records, between 2023 and 2024, ViVe Wellness and Papagayo received $4.8 million and $774,000, respectively; much of this funding came from the Migrant Support Grant, which was funded by ARPA. Then, in 2024, ViVe secured an extra $10.4 million across three contracts, while Papagayo received $2.9 million from a single contract to serve migrants; two of those five contracts were awarded to implement the Denver Asylum Seekers Program, which promised six months of rental assistance to nearly 1,000 migrants.
With this funding in hand, the two NGOs began working with landlords to place migrants in housing units and to subsidize their rent. One of these organizations, Papagayo, worked with a landlord called CBZ Management, a property company that operates the three apartment buildings at the center of the current controversy: Edge of Lowry, Whispering Pines, and Fitzsimons Place, also known as Aspen Grove.
…
It was a booming business. According to the employee, Papagayo arranged hundreds of contracts with the property manager. The NGO provided up to two months of rental assistance, as many migrants did not have, or were unable to open, bank accounts. Within six months, according to the employee, approximately 80 percent of the residents of these buildings were Venezuelan migrants. The employee also noted that the buildings saw gang activity and violence.
The employee, however, alleges that these agreements were made on false pretenses. To convince the hesitant employee to accept the migrants, Papagayo made assurances that the tenants had stable jobs and income. With limited English and facing a minimum six-month wait for work permits, though, many migrants were ineligible for legal employment, struggled to find stable jobs, and ultimately fell behind on rent.
This was only the beginning. As the Venezuelan migrants settled in the apartments, they caused lots of trouble. According to a confidential legal report we have obtained, based on witness reports, the apartments saw a string of crimes, including trespassing, assault, extortion, drug use, illegal firearm possession, human trafficking, and sexual abuse of minors. Each of the three apartment complexes has since shown a localized spike in crime.
So who knew gang members from Venezuela would be among the millions of illegal immigrants flooding the border? Rep. Dan Goldman said there would be doctors and scientists among the vegetable pickers, whom the U.S. badly needed. Here are two scientists right here:
Two suspected Tren de Aragua members released from custody after Colorado shooting https://t.co/zNI5L0ahg4 pic.twitter.com/0B1qfz6DHj
— New York Post (@nypost) September 6, 2024
It's the NGOs. It's always the NGOs.
ALWAYS follow the money.
— The Flag Guy (@TheFlagGuy_) September 10, 2024
Great work unraveling this.
— Shaun Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) September 10, 2024
Thank you. It's not easy to trace the funds, but it's clear that this is happening everywhere. Thousands of NGOs. Millions of migrants. Billions of dollars in taxpayer funds.
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) September 10, 2024
Always follow the money.
— Liberacrat™️ (@Liberacrat) September 10, 2024
That is how you’ll uncover everything. 🔥
This is infuriating. People have no idea how much money this administration has been funneling to these organizations. What about our own veterans? What about all the US citizens who can barely afford rent?
— Nerdynurse (@Bwookie60) September 10, 2024
As someone who lives here, this is not surprising. I'm sure there's similar plots in every state. Please, Colorado! Wake up! Our roads are awful, cops are getting shot, and the schools and hospitals can't keep up. We have plenty of vets and homeless citizens in need.
— Misty Dawn (@MiztDawnCO) September 10, 2024
This is happening all over the country btw.
— Brandon P (@theapriorist) September 10, 2024
Every place you see immigrants pop up, look for a 501c3.
Usually Catholic charities funded by 3 letter agencies.
Yep.
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