Aurora apartment owner confirms Venezuelan gang takeovers — releases shocking evidence of bloody assault

CBZ Management, a company that owns a number of apartment complexes in Colorado, broke its silence on Friday, confirming that the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has taken over several properties.

The company started an account on X to share its side of the story after many local officials and the media reported that the claims of TDA's takeover were overblown.

'Yes, gangs did take control of our apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado, and the government did nothing. That is the real story.'

Rumors of the transnational gang's expanded presence in the area became seemingly undeniable in late August when Cindy Romero, a former tenant at the Edge at Lowry, a property owned by CBZ, released a video showing a group of armed men storming through the complex, Blaze News previously reported. Another video the then-tenant captured showed a man using a hammer to destroy the deadbolt lock on the same apartment unit.

Cindy Romero and her husband, Edward, were desperate to leave the complex, saying it had become "a nightmare" since the gang had moved in. Aurora City Council member Danielle Jurinsky ultimately helped find the Romeros another place to live.

At the time, Jurinksy told Fox News Digital that it was "like pulling teeth to get anyone, the media, other elected officials ... to acknowledge the presence of this trend and to acknowledge that there is even a problem."

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) called the TDA invasion "largely a feature of Danielle Jurinsky's imagination."

CBZ explained that it had begun managing the Colorado properties in 2019, and, at that time, the apartments "were in poor condition." The company aimed to renovate the complexes and increase their value, noting that the project was "ambitious" and would "take years" to complete.

"Everything was progressing smoothly: property values were rising, and vacancy rates were dropping. It was a win-win for both the owners and the city of Aurora," CBZ wrote in a lengthy thread on X. "Then, the gangs arrived."

In 2023, one of CBZ's representatives was viciously attacked when he attempted to perform an inspection at one of the properties, the company stated. When he arrived, he found "a group of men" inside a three-bedroom apartment that should have been vacated.

"When he refused their $500 bribe to overlook the situation, they brutally attacked him," CBZ wrote.

The company released a short surveillance video of the attack and a photograph taken shortly afterward showing the victim's injuries. In the picture, the representative's face and shirt were covered in blood, and he appeared to have bruising around his eye.

Unfortunately, it did not end there for the CBZ representative, the company said.

"After the attack on our CBZ representative, he began getting threatening text messages," the company continued. "These criminals revealed his home address and his spouse's name."

According to CBZ, law enforcement officials confirmed that those sending the messages and occupying the complexes were TDA members.

"They also mentioned that our situation was just 'a blip on the radar,' as this gang is causing significant problems nationwide," CBZ said.

After effectively taking over three complexes, gang members allegedly presented CBZ with an ultimatum to split the rental income in half or "lose the buildings permanently."

CBZ said it made the decision to withdraw its management team from the properties due to safety concerns.

"Despite the obvious crisis, several city officials refused to acknowledge the reality. Instead, they blamed us, citing 'code violations' as the reason for shutting down our property—violations we couldn't resolve for tenants who weren't even ours," CBZ wrote.

The company claimed that the only violations it did not resolve were those made after the gang took over.

Even after local reports surfaced of authorities arresting 10 confirmed TDA gang members with ties to the apartment takeovers, the media and local officials continued to call others' concerns overblown.

On Sunday, Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), humiliated ABC News anchor Martha Raddatz for trying to downplay the severity of the situation in Aurora. According to Raddatz, former President Donald Trump's claims that TDA has taken over parts of the city have been debunked.

"Do you support Donald Trump making those claims that the Republican mayor says were grossly exaggerated and have hurt the city's identity and sense of safety?" Raddatz asked Vance.

"Martha, you just said the mayor said they were exaggerated. That means there's got to be some element of truth here," Vance responded.

Raddatz interrupted Vance's reply and stated that the TDA takeovers "were limited to a handful of apartment complexes."

"Martha, do you hear yourself?!" Vance fired back. "Only a handful of apartment complexes in America were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and Donald Trump is the problem and not Kamala Harris' open border?!"

In a post on X, CBZ wrote, "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. 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," it added.

Cindy Romero told Fox News on Monday that the media's attempts to minimize the situation feel like "a slap in the face."

"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?" Romero asked.

An Aurora representative told the New York Post that CBZ's claims were "exaggerations."

"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 stated. "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."

The FBI declined to comment, the Post reported.

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