Last week, a video went viral showing a group of armed men at The Edge at Lowry apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. The video has made its rounds across the right-wing media and political commentators, capitalizing on the fear mongering around the reported influx of migrants entering the United States, especially from Venezuela. According to the apartment’s landlord, Brooklyn-based CBZ Management, members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua have taken control of the buildings, stolen rent money from residents, and chased out the property management. These claims have been disputed by Aurora police and other local authorities.
In response to the increased scrutiny on their building, residents have expressed that their primary concerns are not over what the management company has spun into an alleged “gang takeover” of the building, but rather the abysmal living conditions caused by the complex’s neglectful management. And some are far more concerned about the racist lies against migrants being spread in the media than possible criminal activity in the building. “They’re trying to put us all in one group, put us all in one bag,” said The Edge resident Moises Didenot at a resident-organized press conference held on Tuesday, September 3. “They’re trying to say that here there are delinquents, that here there are criminals. Here there are moms, there are families, there are fathers. To me… the only criminal here is the owner of the building.”
Indeed, multiple residents, most of whom are Venezuelan immigrants themselves, have received death threats from strangers, and even people coming to the building with signs saying, “We’re going to take Aurora back.”
Didenot and other residents have reported facing pests such as cockroaches, mice, and bedbugs, as well as mold and broken appliances.
“I have bedbugs in my apartment, I have cockroaches, I have rats. My kids are all covered in bites,” said Juan Carlos Alvarado Jimenez at the resident press conference. “I don’t see any criminals here. I think we all know who the real criminals here are.”
CBZ Management has become notorious in the city of Aurora for forcing residents to put up with inhumane living conditions. Even the mayor of Aurora has referred to them as “out of state slumlords.”
On August 13, after an intense struggle waged by residents, hundreds were evicted from their homes at the 1568 Nome St. apartment complex after it was condemned by the city of Aurora. The city had known about the deplorable housing conditions at the building for years, but gave tenants only six days notice to vacate their homes. Many of these residents were also immigrants from Latin America, highlighting the precarious conditions that migrants are forced into in the United States.
CBZ Management’s owner Zev Baumgarten, is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with the city of Aurora due to charges resulting from dozens of unresolved building code violations stemming from the building the city had to condemn earlier this month. The company’s PR firm claims that the conditions in the building result from the fact that the Tren de Aragua gang also allegedly scared away property managers. Aurora and Denver officials, including Colorado Governor Jared Polis, challenge these claims.
Baumgarten got lucky with Aurora courts, who was able to have his trial delayed by six months.
Immigration from Venezuela in recent years is a direct result of the persistent sanctions, also known as unilateral coercive measures, against the country by the United States. The right-wing in the US has used this recent influx of Venezuelans to drum up fear and hatred towards immigrants, including through racist narratives such as the debacle surrounding CBZ Management’s properties. Oftentimes, the right-wing politicians spewing the most racist anti-immigrant rhetoric are ironically the ones promoting the harshest economic sanctions against Venezuela. According to Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil, “if tomorrow the sanctions were to be removed, we will have massive returns to the country.” Venezuelan officials have denounced the racist attacks against Venezuelan migrants in the US, with Gil stating that “migrating is a human right and that people should be able to do so with the guarantees that their human rights are respected.”
