Apartment building where viral videos fueled Trump claims city could close next year

US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the House GOP conference on November 13 in Washington. (AP)

AURORA, Colo., Dec. 8 (AP): An apartment building that was the scene of a viral video that prompted former President Donald Trump to claim a Denver suburb was taken over by a Venezuelan gang will likely close early this year future, an official said Friday. The city of Aurora is trying to close all but one building in a six-building complex where gunmen were seen entering an apartment in August shortly before a fatal shooting outside, claiming the property was registered of too many violent crimes in addition to poor living conditions. , said Aurora City Attorney Pete Schulte.

While the property’s owners, CBZ Management, said they were unable to provide maintenance because a notorious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, had taken over the buildings, the city says the company essentially abandoned their maintenance and management, creating a vacuum that allowed crime flourishes. “They created an environment where the criminal element could move in and not be controlled,” said Schulte, who said gangs were responsible for some of the crime but that much of it was not gang-related.

Schulte declined to say how much of the killing was specifically due to Tren de Aragua. He said the gang was known to “travel light and move often” and believed its members had probably moved on. Phone messages seeking comment left for CBZ Management and its attorney in the case were not immediately returned. During a court hearing on the city’s criminal nuisance lawsuit Thursday, the owners said they agreed the buildings should be closed, Schulte said.

With that in mind, he expects a judge to issue an order to close the buildings at the next court hearing in the case on January 13. After a final decision, the city will give residents 30 days notice that they must move, he said. During the hearing, the owners did not respond to allegations that the property has become a crime center, Schulte said. With that in mind, there is a possibility that they could file a lawsuit, delaying any closure. Three of the six men shown in the video have since been arrested, according to Aurora police.