Former President Donald Trump is set to visit Aurora, Colorado, a city he helped propel to national headlines after making false statements about the widespread presence of a Venezuelan gang there.
Trump will hold a rally in Aurora on Friday as he continues to focus his campaign on anti-immigration rhetoric. He claimed during the presidential debate that apartment buildings in the city had been "taken over" by Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan-born gang, adding that it had "overrun" the city.
The claims were disputed by local officials, with Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain saying "we are not, by any means, overtaken by Venezuelan gangs." He also weighed in on the nature of the claims, saying the situation in the city is "not an immigration issue" but a "crime issue."
Local Republicans who brought the issue to the spotlight also sought to clarify the situation, wit. Mayor Mike Coffman and City Council member Danielle Jurinsky said in September that "overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true" and that "issues experienced at a select few properties do not apply to the city as a whole or large portions of it."
"Again, TdA's presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months," they added. Law enforcement gave more nuance to the statements, saying that even though there were gang members in the area, they had not taken over residential buildings. A special task force, comprising the Aurora Police Department, Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, has been created to crack down on the gang.
The gang, however, is in fact present in different parts of the United States, with both the federal government and the state of Texas taking measures to address it.
In July, the Biden administration sanctioned Tren de Aragua, placing it on a list of transnational criminal organizations alongside MS-13 and Italy's Camorra. The U.S. government has offered $12 million in rewards for information leading to the capture of three gang leaders.
And in September Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared it a "foreign terrorist organization," a decision that allows his administration to increase resources dedicated to dealing with the group, including the creation of a dedicated task force.
Abbott also announced rewards for information that can lead to the identification and arrest of suspected members of the gang. Concretely, the Governor's Public Safety Office is offering up to $5,000 for the information. Those submitting tips can do so through the Texas Crime Stoppers hotline or online through the Texas Department of Public Safety. All of them are anonymous regardless of the submission method.
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