For several weeks now, media and social media have been filled with horrifying reports of housing developments in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, being besieged by members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

With the presidential election looming over immigration and the security of the southern US border with Mexico, these stories have quickly become hotly debated topics, especially in right-wing media.

But the facts in this case paint a much more complicated picture, one that was at least in part created by the person some estate residents see as the real villain: the building’s landlord.

Residents of Aurora, Colorado, say stories about Venezuelan gangs are a cover for the slumlord’s reluctance to clean up housing projects.

On Labor Day, residents of apartment complexes that have allegedly been taken over by a Venezuelan gang held a press conference to give their perspective on what’s going on there. The stories they told are very different from those being spread by the media, especially right-wing media.

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To be clear, both Denver and Aurora police say Tren de Aragua has a presence in both cities, and the Department of Homeland Security has issued warnings about the problem. DHS also confirmed that the gunmen who appeared in doorbell footage attacking the apartment of resident Cindy Romero were, in fact, gang members.

Still, local police say the gang’s presence in the Denver area is small and incidents involving it are isolated. So why are there constant horror stories about Venezuelan gangs pouring across the border and terrorizing Aurora?

Some residents say they are simply a manipulation by slumlords to cover up the neglect of Aurora housing complexes, which are home to many immigrants, including those from Venezuela.

Videos and photos from the press conference shared by local politician and activist Auon’tai M. Anderson show filthy apartments with broken windows, broken furniture and appliances, and residents holding glue traps covered in live mice.

“These are the living conditions they are forced to endure while paying between $1,700 and $2,000 a month,” Anderson wrote.

Slum owner Zev Baumgarten, who is facing charges over the condition of his buildings, hired a PR firm to blame Venezuelan gangs for their condition.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman has repeatedly alleged that Tren de Aragua members are forcing residents to pay their rent. But residents say that’s nonsense, and Mayor Coffman called them off after residents told him the real reason their rent was disappearing: they simply stopped paying to force their landlord, Zev Baumgarten, and his company, CBZ Management, to do something about the appalling conditions in their apartment complexes.

It appears that the conflict may be what lies at the heart of the wildly embellished story of the Aurora-based Venezuelan gang. Baumgarten was set to face a grand jury in August on 81 charges related to conditions at his Aurora-area apartment complexes, including rat infestations and sewage backups.

Weeks before the trial, a Florida-based PR firm hired by Baumgarten released a statement to the media blaming members of the Tren de Aragua group for taking control of the complexes and scaring off the property managers who were supposed to take care of them.

That, in turn, has served as justification for mass evictions from some CBZ complexes, and an Aurora Municipal Court judge granted a motion to have Baumgarten’s trial thrown out and moved to February 2025. He and his lawyers will now face Aurora prosecutors rather than a jury.

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Even the Aurora Police Department says the story about the Venezuelan gang is false and apparently politically motivated.

It’s not just residents who say the riots are being exaggerated. The Aurora Police Department, which has been under a consent decree since 2023 because of a long-standing pattern of racist policing, agrees. Interim Police Chief Heather Morris flatly told local media on Labor Day that “gang members did NOT take over” the Aurora complexes at the center of the story.

However, residents claim that it is the other way around. Is is happening. One resident, who is from Venezuela himself, said the viral stories have actually led to American Gangs break into the complex and disturb its peace, allegedly in revenge for the activities of Venezuelan gangs.

Residents also say the disinformation has led to xenophobic threats of violence and outright political persecution related to immigration issues by those associated with far-right political movements.

At a news conference, residents shared a chilling message sent to a tenant who shared his phone number on the apartment complex’s forum to offer help to his neighbors.

The message, purportedly from a local right-wing militia, referred to the complex’s many Latino residents as “animals” and included threats stating that “Colorado veterans are building a militia with more firepower than you could ever imagine… now anyone who hates illegals knows where you live… Be prepared for the Americans.”

@AuontaiAnderson / X

Armed militia groups have been exploding in the U.S. for more than a decade, with their activity intensifying since the attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Many of them are clearly linked to former President Donald Trump, and immigration and border security, along with racism and xenophobia, are key issues that animate many of them.

It is no surprise, then, that the story of the Venezuelan Aurora gang has been seized upon by right-wing media and politicians seeking to sow fear about border security and criticize Democratic politicians’ approach to immigration.

Local Aurora Republicans, including Mayor Coffman and City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky, have also repeatedly spread embellished and, in some cases, completely unfounded horror stories about the situation in Aurora. Donald Trump has also fueled them.

Given the record low levels of media literacy and the toxic political climate in America, it’s not surprising that Baumgarten’s move to avoid trial by fueling propaganda portraying him as a helpless victim worked.

For propaganda to be successful, there needs to be enough people willing to believe the message and spread it, simply because it fits their prejudices.

Meanwhile, the residents of the Aurora estates, who are already struggling and defenseless, and who are at the same time the target of this viral lie, are suffering tragic consequences while being used as pawns in a game of political gain.

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John Sundholm is a news and entertainment journalist who covers popular culture, social justice and human interest topics.