The surveillance footage is chilling: Six Spanish-speaking men ascend an apartment staircase in Aurora, knock on a door and step inside. One carries a rifle; at least three others wield handguns.

The video, obtained by FOX31 from a neighbor, captures the growing Venezuelan gang menace terrorizing residents.

The neighbors, Cindy and Edward Romero, set up cameras after being repeatedly harassed by gang members. They fled their apartment Wednesday with help from Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky, former ICE field director John Fabbricatore and Aurora Police Department officers.

By the time they returned for a forgotten camera, squatters had already taken the space.

“It’s gotten so bad that we’re now catching on-camera foreign-born criminals breaking into apartments belonging to migrants and US citizens with rifles, scopes and handguns, threatening and harassing them,” said Fabbricatore, Republican candidate for the 6th Congressional District. “This is America. That should not be happening on our soil.”

The Colorado Information Analysis Center recently warned that members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) had the “green light” to attack law enforcement.

Alerts from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Border Patrol confirmed TdA’s expanding presence. Homeland Security Undersecretary Brian Nelson called TdA an “escalating threat.”

On June 29, an attorney reported to APD that Venezuelan gang members had forcibly taken over three properties. The property manager was advised to stay away for safety, and a housekeeper was coerced into working for the gang.

“As of now, the (properties) are in the complete control of the Gangs, who have refused to relinquish that control,” he wrote — that is, until they agreed to joint operation of the properties.

Armed with rifles, guns and knives, the gangs have caused property owners to fear for their employees’ and residents’ safety and lives.

These properties are a mile from the Havana Gardens shopping center, which recently became a flashpoint when over 4,000 Venezuelans converged — bringing chaos and heaps of trash, with shots fired into the air and at a police car.

The attorney’s letter referenced an incident on Nov. 12, 2023, at one of those apartments (1568 Nome St). Police found a man with his head cracked open and soaked in blood, drifting in and out of consciousness as a woman screamed for help.

The affidavit revealed the suspects were gang members claiming “they run” the complex. The primary suspect was identified as an illegal immigrant from Venezuela known as “Galleta” (Spanish for “Cookie”).

The New York Post reported that Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirino crossed the Texas border illegally in 2022. He arrived in Colorado in June 2023 and was released after receiving a court date.

On July 28, officers arrested Pacheco-Chirino and three others for engaging in a shooting at the same apartment, leaving three victims injured. The Post reported he was finally turned over to ICE. A judge ordered him deported last week, but Venezuela doesn’t accept deportations.

Aurora and APD have established a special task force with state and federal partners to address TdA and other criminal activity harming migrant communities.

“We are aware that components of TdA are operating in Aurora. APD has been increasingly collecting evidence to show the gang is connected to crimes in the area,” APD said in a statement. They wouldn’t make “conclusory statements about specific incidents” or detail strategies and operations.

While this is a long-overdue step forward, APD still downplays the gravity of the situation. The statement characterizes reports of TdA influence as “isolated.”

Yet, in a letter to City Manager Jason Batchelor, an attorney for the property owners references a meeting with the FBI, HSI and APD officers attended by a rep for the properties. “(I)t was disclosed that our situation is not an isolated event, but numerous other multi-family projects…are subject to the same gang control.”

Let’s be real: When property owners report gangs seizing control of several complexes, dismissing it as “isolated” is dangerously misleading.

“Because this has been downplayed as grossly as it has, it’s hard to know for sure just how bad this is,” Jurinsky lamented.

Fabbricatore blames the series of interim police chiefs, particularly Art Acevedo and outgoing Chief Heather Morris, for failing to act decisively. “They’ve let it fester,” he said.

Jurinsky echoed his sentiment, saying, “I’ve criticized all police leadership going back to Wilson for a reason.”

“Our federal partners need to come in and help us take our city back!” she urged, accusing the Biden-Harris administration of “open(ing) the southern border without vetting anyone” and adding that Gov. Jared Polis has “remained silent and offered no help.”

Colorado and local authorities must bolster cooperation with ICE. Under state law, they can’t report non-criminal illegal immigrants but are still supposed to work with the feds on criminal investigations.

“Even when ICE is teaming up with DEA or ATF, these local departments don’t even want to do anything just because ICE is involved. The Biden-Harris administration makes it very hard to do their jobs,” Fabbricatore said.

Fortunately, there’s hope that APD Chief Todd Chamberlain will bring officers the support they need once he takes office next week.

“I am very optimistic about the new incoming chief,” Jurinsky said, offering reassurance from a vocal critic of police leadership.

Public participation is critical. Reporting incidents — repeatedly if necessary — helps build the evidence necessary for decisive action.

Enough is enough. Our leaders must be open, honest and proactive. An all-hands-on-deck approach from Aurora, Denver, the state and the Biden-Harris administration is essential — yesterday.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.