Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance appeared shocked Sunday on ABC News when co-host Martha Raddatz interrupted him mid-statement and attempted to downplay Venezuelan gangs’ takeover of Colorado apartment complexes.
The Tren de Aragua gang made U.S. headlines in September after officials confirmed ten members were involved in an investigation into a string of alleged criminal incidents at an Aurora, Colorado apartment complex, according to FOX 31. On ABC’s “This Week,” Raddatz pressed Vance on former President Donald Trump’s response, noting Trump claimed the city had been “invaded and conquered” by migrants, while the mayor called the statement “grossly exaggerated.”
“Well, Martha, you just said the mayor said they were exaggerated. That means that there’s gotta be some element of truth here,” Vance began. “Of course, President Trump was actually in Aurora, Colorado talking to people on the ground, and what we’re hearing is people are terrified by what has happened with some of these Venezuelan gangs — ”
“Senator Vance, I’m going to stop you because I know exactly what happened. I’m going to stop you. The incidents were limited to a handful of apartment complexes and the mayor said, ‘Our dedicated police officers have acted on those concerns.’ A handful of problems,” Raddatz said.
Vance pushed back on Raddatz, questioning her issue with Trump and her refusal to acknowledge that U.S. apartment complexes are “being taken over by violent gangs.”
“Only, Martha? Do you hear yourself? Only a handful of apartment complexes were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and Donald Trump is the problem, not Kamala Harris’ open border? Americans are so fed up with what’s going on, and they have every right to be,” Vance responded. “I really find this exchange, Martha, sort of interesting because you seem to be more focused with nitpicking everything that Donald Trump has said, rather than acknowledging that apartment complexes in the United States of America are being taken over by violent gangs.”
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“I worry so much more about that problem than anything else here. We’ve got to get American communities in a safe space again, and unfortunately, when you let people in by the millions — most of whom are unvetted, most of whom you don’t know who they really are — you’re going to have problems like this,” Vance added. “Kamala Harris — 94 executive orders that undid Donald Trump’s successful border policies, we knew this stuff would happen. They bragged about opening the border, and now we have the consequences and we’re living with it. We can do so much better, but frankly we’re not going to do better, Martha, unless Donald Trump calls this stuff out.”
The Venezuelan gang, which reportedly began as a prison gang in 2014 in the northern Venezuelan state of Aragua, has rapidly grown into one of the country’s largest criminal organizations. In mid-September, the Aurora Police Department confirmed that ten gang members in the area had been living in the city “and committing acts of violence against members of the migrant community,” according to FOX 31.
In response, property management company CBZ Management allegedly shut down three locations in the city — Edge at Lowry, Fitzsimons Place, and Whispering Pines — due to being “taken over” by the gang, according to the Denver Post. Charges against the arrested group include felony menacing, assault, motor vehicle theft and numerous shootings.
While speaking at a rally in Aurora on Friday, Trump addressed the ongoing migrant issue with supporters, reflecting on how the gang has been “taki_ng over” the city.
“I will rescue Aurora and every town that has been invaded and conquered,” Trump stated.
However, Republican Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman released a statement a day earlier, claiming the “reality” is that concerns over gang activity in the city and state have been “grossly exaggerated and have unfairly hurt the city’s identity and sense of safety.”
Featured Image Credit: United States Naval Forces Central Command
