AURORA, Colo. — Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman in a Friday news conference deflected blame to neighboring Denver for an immigration crisis that has included the rise of a Venezuelan gang within the city, and admitted the complex where victims were kidnapped and beaten this week is in “free fall” ahead of a possible closure.
Coffman was asked how the situation reached the point it did this week, when two victims were kidnapped, robbed and tortured for hours by suspected members and associates of Tren de Aragua at the Edge of Lowry complex. Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a Venezuelan prison gang that has infiltrated and wreaked havoc on multiple properties in Aurora in recent months.
Coffman said he is still “trying to get to the bottom of what happened,” pushing blame onto Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and nonprofits that housed immigrants in Aurora over the last year.
Aurora
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Late last year, Denver entered a contract with a hotel in Aurora to house immigrants – with Coffman’s blessing. But he says Johnston sending immigrants into Denver’s eastern suburb didn’t stop after that blessing was rescinded, even going so far as labeling it as "a form of human dumping."
“[Johnston] devised a way to do it, saying it was a nonprofit that did it,” Coffman said. “Well, he funded it. Denver funded it. [...] And I've confronted the mayor about it. He won't tell me how many people he sent over here. He won't tell me what benefits he gave them, what promises he made.”
“We're going through open records requests to get that information right now,” he continued. “And it's amazing that one mayor can't get an answer from another mayor — that he has to use a legal mechanism to get the truth — but that's where we are right now.”
Denver7 reached out to Johnston's office for comment on Coffman's remarks and received the following statement in response:
“We’re proud that Denver responded to the newcomer crisis with compassion. After more than tens of thousands of newcomers were bused to Denver by Texas Governor Greg Abbott without advanced notice, we were the only city in the metro area who stood up any type of long-term plan to manage the crisis efficiently and effectively. It was appropriate for Aurora to respond with swift action to address these heinous crimes and we agree that any person who commits a crime should be punished to the full extent of the law. But once again, Denver did not place or "dump" people in Aurora or any city for that matter. In fact, Denver has repeatedly coordinated with Aurora, and instead of placing blame we continue to stand ready to work with them to ensure we protect public safety and quickly address any criminal activity."
Denver7’s Kristian Lopez asked the mayor how Monday night’s violence unfolded at the Edge of Lowry, months after a viral video of armed men roaming its halls ahead of a fatal shooting there and after city officials had visited the property and downplayed TdA activity there.
In his response, Coffman said the dilapidated property is in “a free fall” as the city tries legally to close the apartments.
“I think it has to be closed at two levels,” Coffman said. “One because of the criminality, but two, also because I think that — having been in the property management business — the conditions are so bad in the property, you really need to kind of start over in terms of rehabilitating the property.”
Earlier this month, attorneys for the city and for the owner of the complex agreed to close it.
Offering assistance to the kidnapping victims
Coffman, and Aurora police chief Todd Chamberlain in a news briefing later Friday afternoon, said the city was providing resources to the victims of this week’s kidnapping.
Aurora PD’s victim services unit has been in contact with those victims, Chamberlain said.
“We are doing everything that we can do to ensure that they get that help and support that they need, not just during this event, but for the long term,” he said.
The victims sat down exclusively with Denver7 in the wake of the incident to share their story. Hear parts of that interview in the video player below: