Letters obtained by The Denver Gazette from the law firm representing CBZ Management — whose apartment complex in Aurora was shut down over what the city described as safety issues last month — show officials were fully aware weeks ago of accusations that a Venezuelan gang had “forcibly taken control” of the property.

In a June 28 letter to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the law firm wrote that CBZ Management had been informed that “Aurora Multi-Family Projects have been forcibly taken control of by gang(s) that have immigrated here from Venezuela.”

Based in Brooklyn, CBZ Management operates rental apartments in New York and Colorado with 11 properties in Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

Aurora officials initially dismissed the company’s claims publicly, calling them “diversionary tactics” and “alternative narratives.” The issue, the city insisted, was the numerous violations of the local government’s code.

Officials have since walked back those claims back.

The Aurora complexes affected by gangs — based on reports — included The Aspen Grove, Whispering Pines and The Edge at Lowry.

Last week, the city acknowledged that authorities earlier arrested a “documented” Tren de Aragua gang member — twice — over a shooting incident and a separate case in which a man was badly beaten at another apartment complex. After the first arrest, that gang member, court documents revealed, was released on a bond. It was the first time that the city acknowledged authorities held in their custody a potential ringleader of the Venezuelan prison gang called Tren de Aragua, which local and federal officials earlier said is operating in metro Denver.

“The property manager for all three Aurora Multi-Family Projects was notified of the takeover and one of our clients’ housekeepers informed the property manager not to return to the Aurora Multi-Family Projects due to the danger to his well-being,” the attorney for CBZ Management wrote.

In the letter to Weiser, the attorney said the company was informed that the Aurora Police Department was unable to take “effective action due” to a consent decree with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.

“Our clients have, for several months, complained to the Aurora Police Department and the Aurora Code Enforcement Division about the lawlessness surrounding the Aurora Multi-Family Projects,” the letter stated. “For the most part, the response has been very little and totally ineffective.”

The police department is emerging from years of scrutiny over its handling of the 2019 death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain, who died after an encounter with officers and paramedics as he walked home from a convenience store. McClain’s death prompted Weiser’s office to investigate, which ultimately led to a consent decree to enforce changes to Aurora’s policing practices.

The gang takeover occurred on June 27, according to the law firm.

The law firm did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment.

Lawrence Pacheco, a Weiser spokesperson, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Denver Gazette Tuesday.

“The Attorney General’s Office advised the attorneys to contact local law enforcement with concerns about criminal activity on the property,” Pacheco said in an email.

Having already done that, the owners of CBZ Management, through its law firm, then reached out to Aurora City Manager Jason Batchelor.

On July 3, the landlords’ attorney wrote a similarly worded letter to Batchelor, describing a dire situation, and stated that the owners “no longer have control” of the properties, with residents being subjected “to threats of physical violence and tyranny from the gangs.”

The city said it’s unable to immediately authenticate the letter, because Batchelor is out this week.

In a meeting with Aurora police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the landlords were told that the gang infiltration in these Aurora properties were “not an isolated event, but numerous other multi-family projects in the city of Aurora and throughout the state of Colorado are subject to the same gang control,” the letter said.

Roughly a month after Weiser and Batchelor received their letters, news outlets across the country — including The Denver Gazette — reported that Tren de Aragua (TDA) gang members had given the “green light” to its rank-and-file to attack law enforcement.

Both Aurora and Denver police have acknowledged the warning, but have disclosed little else.

It’s unclear whether Batchelor replied to the letter.

Batchelor could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

‘A tough problem to admit to’

Last Friday, Aurora officials released a video insisting that gang members have “not taken” over one apartment complex, part of an aggressive campaign by the city to push back against some reports by national media outlets reporting an organized Venezuelan crime group has “overrun” the Colorado municipality.

A July 2 email obtained by The Denver Gazette indicated that the Aurora Police Department was aware of the violence at the apartment complex and was working to address it.

“We are doing what we can to address the spike in violence in the community and will continue to do so,” Lt. Sean Mitchell said in a July 2 email authenticated by the city.

Mitchell is in charge of the police department’s violent crimes section.

“We are implementing a more proactive approach to the areas in our community that have seen an increase in violent crime,” Mitchell wrote.

Mitchell also encouraged the landlords to have residents report information to the police, which, he said, could be done off site.

“I am hopeful that we will begin to see a decrease in the criminal activity in these areas which include your properties,” Mitchell wrote two months ago.

In the ensuing weeks, The Denver Gazette has learned that authorities had twice arrested a “documented” TDA gang member in connection with a shooting incident at one complex. And at least one gang member has been arrested in a Denver jewelry heist.

TDA is a Venezuelan prison gang with a diverse portfolio of criminal activities that includes human trafficking, particularly of immigrant women and girls, drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion and money laundering.

Victims who have sought to escape the exploitation are often killed by gang members, with their deaths publicized as a way to intimidate others from coming forward, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Since President Nicolás Maduro assumed office in 2013, Venezuela has descended into economic and political chaos with more than seven million Venezuelans having fled the country, seeking refuge in countries around the globe, including the United States.

Nearly 43,000 immigrants, many from Venezuela, have sought refuge in Denver. Plane, bus and train tickets purchased by Denver officials suggest about half have stayed in the region.

Last month, Aurora city officials shuttered Aspen Grove — a 98-unit complex near the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus — and evicted 300 people, mostly immigrants.

City officials cited a laundry-list of issues at the complex that included rodent infestations, sewage backups and trash pileups, water leaks, shattered or missing windows and a lack of electricity.

Ryan Luby, a city of Aurora spokesperson, initially said that the “building owners and managers made the decision to effectively abandon their paying tenants.”

“Instead of expending the resources to address the documented issues, CBZ and its stakeholders have hired a team of attorneys and, as we learned today, a Florida-based public relations firm to engage in diversionary tactics, fight the city in its city charter-mandated duties to enforce city code, and alternative narratives with many of you,” Luby said in an email on Aug. 5.

Luby at the time was responding to a press release from CBZ Management, which hired a PR firm that sent out a press release, defending the landlords’ actions.

“Because we care for the safety of our tenants, and other members of the community, what we will say is that the issue of Tren de Aragua taking over properties and communities in Aurora means that we are not able to be present on this property, or any of our other properties in similar situations, also being impacted by gang presence,” the company said.

After more information started trickling out, Aurora officials acknowledged the gang’s activities.

“This is a tough problem to admit to,” Aurora City Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky said. “I don’t think any city wants to admit to having a problem like this. It’s was kind of to save face.”

Jurinsky was among those who had publicly raised the issue of gang activity at the Aurora apartments.

Last week, a video surfaced of men with assault rifles dressed in hoodies and ball caps busting down doors of an apartment unit in the city.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, who did not response to a phone call and email Tuesday seeking comment, has acknowledged that Venezuelan gangs have taken control of several apartment complexes in the northern part of the city, calling it “a nightmare situation.”

Coffman also admitted that the city “lost control” of and are “working aggressively to get it back.”

Reporter Carol McKinley contributed to this article.