Saturday, October 12, 2024

The NY Times explores the source of the rumor that Venezuelan gangmembers had taken over a Colorado apartment complex

NYT (a few weeks ago):

As far back as May 2023, Aurora officials had been trying to force an out-of-state landlord to fix up three blighted apartment complexes in the downtrodden East Colfax Corridor, which connects the cities of Denver and Aurora.

...

On Aug, 5, a public relations agent ... hired by [the landlord], pitched a “tip” to the local Fox television network affiliate in Denver.

“An apartment building and its owners in Aurora, Colorado have become the most recent victims of the Venezuelan Gang Tren de Aragua’s violence, which has taken over several communities in the Denver area,” she wrote on Fox 31’s tip line, according to an email obtained by The Times. 

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[The "conservative Republican mayor"]... quickly repeated [the landlord]’s unverified claim in interviews.

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the mayor has started a crusade to try to undo the damage Mr. Trump is inflicting.

“I mean, I agree with him on a lot of policies as it pertains to immigration,” [the mayor] said in City Hall on Thursday. “But I’m also the mayor of the City of Aurora, and my job is not only to make sure that the city is safe, but also to protect the image of the city. This narrative out there is exaggerated, and it’s our responsibility to correct it.”