My Colorado home became a Tren de Aragua war zone — yours could be next

By Cindy Romero

Published Oct. 16, 2024, 7:33 p.m. ET

from The New York Post

I never thought that I would fear for my life in my own home until it happened this year.

In 2023, I began to notice significant changes in my apartment complex in Aurora, Colo., less than 20 miles from the sanctuary city of Denver.

Local media have since reported that officials began busing illegal Venezuelan migrants into the area in December 2022 — but no one told us.

Members of Tren de Aragua — a vicious Venezuelan prison gang that has brought sex trafficking and violent crime into communities across our country — began patrolling my apartment building with guns, beating down doors and demanding keys from my neighbors.

They made life as uncomfortable for us as possible — blasting music at all hours, exerting armed intimidation while loitering outside our doors, banging on the walls, riding motorcycles into the buildings, and revving engines to fill the air with exhaust while we slept.

Then they took over units in my building floor by floor.

They started changing the locks on our buildings; in some cases, they even changed the doors.

They would pull people over at gunpoint in the parking lot.

I tried to get law enforcement to intervene, but they told me their hands were tied.

I soon became the last leaseholder in my building.

I installed six cameras inside and outside my home in hopes that if danger came to my doorstep, I would have proof, and police would finally act on my many calls for help.

On Aug. 18, all hell broke loose.

Six masked gang members armed with semi-automatic rifles and handguns attempted to break into my neighbor’s home as I sat just feet away from the door, terrified.

I got down on the floor and wasn’t harmed.

But minutes later, a gunfight broke out along the length of my block.

More than 25 shots rang out, injuring my friend, who later succumbed to his injuries.

Bullets left holes in nearby windows and in both my and my husband’s cars.

It was all caught on video — and while local police and Democratic Party leaders like Gov. Jared Polis and Rep. Jason Crow had long tried to deny the reality of what was occurring in Aurora, we finally had proof.

It didn’t matter. Police leadership was too focused on optics to pursue the criminals beating down doors and threatening my life, and they refused to do anything or even admit there was a problem.

Ten days later, I moved from the property, and my video went viral, finally exposing what is happening not only in Aurora, but in communities big and small across America.

Democrats talk on and on about elevating lived experiences, but what about my experiences and those of my neighbors?

I have been a lifelong Democrat.

But my party doesn’t want anyone to expose the truth: Vice President Kamala Harris’ policies have unleashed a wave of terror, violence and death in small communities across the country.

The Democrats turned their backs on me.

In October alone, illegal immigrants have been accused of stabbing a man in Wisconsin, dealing meth near schools in Georgia and raping a child in Massachusetts.

Harris has never spoken to the families of Rachel Morin or Jocelyn Nungaray — two women who were brutally murdered at the hands of illegal immigrants.

Since Harris took office, at least 1.5 million unvetted illegal immigrants have evaded Border Patrol and escaped into the United States, in addition to 8.3 million known border crossers, and Harris and President Biden’s mass amnesty is shielding half a million illegal immigrants already in our country from deportation.

In 2023 alone, more than 900,000 unvetted illegal immigrants were released into our communities to await court dates.

How many of them committed crimes in their home countries that we will never know about?

How many of them will go on to terrorize, rape or murder our citizens here?

In Kamala Harris’ America, every state is a border state, and every community is under threat.

Watching media outlets reduce my experience to one that involved just a “handful” of apartments is unacceptable.

How many guns outside your door are okay?

How many gang members do you want living down the hall?

The answer is zero, because no American should have to endure threats and fear at the hands of an illegal immigrant; no family should be victims of a foreign gang on American soil.

Our elected officials need to prioritize the safety of American citizens — not foreign criminals.

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Kamala Harris can lie about her record and pretend to care about my safety all she wants, but the reality is that four more years of Harris would only mean more violence, more chaos and more destruction at the hands of gangs and other foreign criminals who want to destroy our country from within.

Deny it at your own risk.

You could be next.

Cindy Romero is a former resident of Aurora whose viral video exposed the violent tactics of Tren de Aragua in her building.