An investigation names Joe Biden and Denver authorities as responsible for the presence of Venezuelan criminals in Aurora

Aurora, Colorado, a city with very little press until a few weeks ago, took on national relevance after a group of Venezuelan criminals took over two apartment complexes. Since then, security forces and the mayor have managed to evict them, but with the latent threat of more criminals committing crimes in the city. As for the causes of the arrival of criminal gangs in Aurora, an investigation is clear who is responsible.

Journalist Christopher Rufo and his colleague Christina Buttons published an extensive write-up in which they conclude the following: "The Biden Administration, in partnership with Denver authorities and publicly subsidized NGOs, provided the funding and logistics to place a large number of Venezuelan immigrants in Aurora," thus generating "a magnet for crime and gangs."

According to Rufo and Buttons, it all started in 2021, when Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), earmarking $3.8 billion in federal funds to Colorado.

Denver, which had declared itself a "welcoming city" for migrants, is coming into play, claiming some of the money to implement a resettlement program dubbed "Emergency Migrant Response."

"Denver, in turn, signed multimillion-dollar contracts with two local NGOs, ViVe Wellness and Papagayo, to provide housing and services to more than 8,000 predominantly Venezuelan migrants. These NGOs are run, respectively, by Yoli Casas and Marielena Suarez, who, according to professional biographies, do not appear to have previous experience in large-scale migrant resettlement," Rufo and Buttons continued.

As part of the ARPA funding, and according to public records, ViVe Wellness and Papagayo received $4.8 million and $774,000, respectively. In 2024, ViVe obtained an additional $10.4 million from three contracts, while Papagayo received $2.9 million from a single contract to serve migrants. As for the latter, two of those five contracts were awarded to implement the Denver Asylum Seeker Program, which consisted of six months of rental assistance to nearly 1,000 migrants.

With this in mind, both organizations began working to place immigrants in housing units and subsidize their rent. Papagayo worked side by side with CBZ Management, which operates the three apartment buildings currently in the eye of the storm in Aurora.

A former company employee spoke to the reporters on condition of anonymity, explaining the process of locating them. According to their testimony, when a person needed a place to stay, the NGO itself would contact CBZ Management, which would find them an available apartment.

According to this testimony, it took six months for 80% of the residents of these buildings to be Venezuelan immigrants, who were accepted in part on false premises. The employee claimed that Papagayo certified that these tenants had stable jobs and income, although many were not eligible for legal employment, so they sometimes struggled for financial stability and fell behind on rent.

"This was only the beginning. As the Venezuelan migrants settled in the apartments, they caused lots of trouble. According to a confidential legal report we have obtained, based on witness reports, the apartments saw a string of crimes, including trespassing, assault, extortion, drug use, illegal firearm possession, human trafficking, and sexual abuse of minors. Each of the three apartment complexes has since shown a localized spike in crime," they ruled.