What is Going on with Venezuelan Gangs and American Policy Toward Maduro?

Why is there all of a sudden so much talk about Venezuela in the news, from the disputed election to Venezuelan gangs taking over apartment complexes? Is all of this to stir up resentment against the Nicolas Maduro regime so that there is public justification for American intervention in the South American country, or is Maduro attempting to invade or destabilize the United States by sending a wave of migrants to our doorsteps? Is the deep state in the American government helping to create chaos in order to use it for the purpose of consolidating power or bringing the United States to its knees, or are these just random political events that mean nothing and will soon fade away into history as minor occurrences?

As of late, there have been reports that the Tren de Aragua (TdA) Venezuelan gang has completely taken over two or three apartment buildings in Aurora, Colorado and that the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is sending bikers to confront the situation and halt criminal activities. Of course, the Aurora Police Department (APD) has denied both of these claims and suggested that active investigations are ongoing. What is interesting, though, is that video footage from a doorbell camera at The Edge at Lowry does show Venezuelan gang members, armed with pistols and a rifle, breaking into one of the units; and the police have admitted that TdA gang violence has been on the rise in the area and around the apartment complex, even declaring The Edge to be cleared due to being a “criminal nuisance.” If residents are complaining about being afraid to live in their homes and the police are increasing patrols because of crime sprees, is it really much of an exaggeration to say that these gangs have taken over? Maybe TdA has not captured the buildings in the literal sense, but if the police have been unable to contain the situation, perhaps there is some truth to the claims that the complex is under gang occupation (what are the people of Aurora seeing on the ground?).

Although, liberal commentators will resort to saying that the buildings are being emptied because of a slum lord not providing contracted services to his tenants and that Venezuelan gangs have nothing to do with these court vacate orders, the fact of the matter is that the police and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are indeed launching investigations and additional patrols over concerns that TdA, which is involved in human trafficking of woman and girls, is operating heavily in the area. If the idea that Venezuelan gangs have become a problem in Aurora were really fiction, as these liberals claim (saying that gangs have always existed in the area and that this is not an abnormal situation), the police would not be responding like this. Yet, they are.

In Chicago, a similar rumor has been circulating. A confirmed audio from a 911 dispatch call suggested that thirty-two armed Venezuelan gang members were “trespassing the building, showing guns in the courtyard, and they have motorcycles in the courtyard as well.” Although it cannot be confirmed that these gang members have actually taken over the apartment building, as is claimed by some, the police were dispatched to the scene. However, the police will not confirm anything or release any of the details to the public, saying simply that there has not been an official occupation by TdA (similar to Aurora). This just makes people more suspicious and eager to spread theories. Is it really unreasonable to suspect that Venezuelan gangs, which have been linked to more than one hundred active criminal investigations across multiple American cities, would be attempting to seize assets and intimidating residents? Liberal commentators want to dismiss these stories out of hand in order to combat the idea that their preferred politicians have failed to get this migration crisis under control and have been encouraging illegal immigrants to set up shop and commit crimes (maybe even cause political instability across the country).    

Because of the political and economic uncertainty in Venezuela, President Joe Biden has granted 472,000 Venezuelans special status in the Temporary Protected Status program, which has allowed asylum seekers to apply for work permits and become de facto residents (TPS has also expanded under the Biden administration to include a surge in migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal). New York City and New York State have been the recipients of many of the Venezuelan migrants (including a statewide work program at my job), and this has caused taxpayers to have to split the bill for $4.88 billion ($1.98 billion of this figure through May 31^st is for housing alone). Much of this New York City housing has cost $160 per night (sometimes as much as $300 per resident per night, and often around $352 per household per night); and hotels and motels are being converted to migrant shelters in order to deal with the crisis, which has surged exponentially under the Biden administration (some of this increase in immigration is due to the reversal of Title 42, which was used to expel asylum seekers during the COVID-19 pandemic).

Because hotels are being converted to migrant shelters and owners of these buildings are being forced to limit their ability to collect revenue due to these policies, business and profits have decreased. This has led to 140 hotels and 16,000 rooms (just in New York City alone) being removed from the market, which has hurt the city’s economy (New York City is and was already burdened by high taxes, regulations, and 2020 restrictions from COVID-19). New York City has become overwhelmed with immigrants and has limited the free market by forcing hotels to become shelters, and now, some of those migrants are being shipped to Upstate New York to redistribute the problems there (against the will of the people of those counties). In one case, the Town of Colonie (suburb of Albany) had to sue New York City in the Albany County Supreme Court to keep immigrants from being bused to the town’s hotels, and although Town Supervisor Peter Crummey was successful in his lawsuit, Upstate New York is now being forced to pay the costs and handle the housing demands that the City is not able to deal with (a direct result of the Biden administration pushing detrimental policies onto localities).

Do you remember when a woman was arrested in Queens when she changed the locks on squatters who had trespassed on her property and were living there? Well, in New York, you are allowed to claim residency in a vacant building if you live there for thirty days, so landlords can quickly have their houses repossessed without much recourse (of course, you can spend more resources and time to sue the new tenants through the bogged-down and corrupt court system). One Venezuelan social media influencer even encouraged other migrants to take advantage of squatting laws to steal homes from under Americans’ noses. Then, of course, New York City will be handing out prepaid debit cards to illegal immigrants to purchase food and baby supplies in an effort to “save money” and supplement other methods for getting food to these people who have broken the law to get into this country. Why are illegal immigrants entitled to taxpayer money to begin with?  

If that were not bad enough, 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris has promised to create a “meaningful pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants, which is really code for increasing a permanent voting block for Democrats and pushing welfare and other financial burdens onto American citizens. Although in order to gain the votes of moderates, she is going to pretend that she would be tough on border security and blame Republicans (and particularly Donald Trump) for Congress failing to pass a bill to address the immigration crisis. This is a good talking point that liberal commentators latch onto, however, the border crisis could have been addressed at any time previous to this new bill and was ignored. When it became politically convenient and apparent that Americans were upset about the border, only then did Democrats attempt to address the issue, and when they did, it was tied to more military spending to Ukraine (another place that our tax dollars should not be going to, and yes, Republicans have played political games with the border too).

In the wake of Harris’ campaign promise of granting $25,000 in downpayment assistance to first-time homebuyers (what about those who have already bought their first house and did not get this “free” money?), the Californian legislature has passed a bill to permit illegal immigrants the “right” to opt into the state’s program to unlock home purchasing assistance of up to $150,000 (or 20% of the purchase price) from the taxpayers. So, yes, at a time when American citizens can barely afford to even buy a house, California is giving out money to illegal immigrants to buy a home (in some cases, these immigrants may not even have to pay back the loan). I guess, according to progressives, migrants are entitled to the fruits of Americans’ labor (have to share and redistribute that wealth and let the state decide how much of your money that you are allowed to keep for yourself). It is astonishing that the Biden administration and liberal state governments force these policies on us, and we do not get a say in the matter (some democracy, huh?).

The madness from the Biden administration does not end there, however. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced that he has “serious concerns” about the recent Venezuelan presidential election where incumbent dictator Nicolas Maduro is said to have rigged the election in his favor. Instead of being concerned about the integrity of our own presidential election, he wants the world to know that he does not approve of the processes involved in a foreign country’s elections, and according to the federal government, the burden of proof is on Maduro to demonstrate to the world that his election was free and fair (that is not how it should work). Furthermore, Blinken also talked to opposition leaders Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and María Corina Machado about how the United States would assist in ensuring that the election is challenged and that “democratic norms” return to Venezuela. Basically, this is an admittance that the United States has been involved in the election and effort to rid the country of Maduro (though it is unclear at this time what that role was).   

President Trump’s economic sanctions and attempted coup (to install Juan Guaido) against the Venezuelan leader (these policies have continued under the Biden administration) were not the only American intervention in the South American country, and the United States was involved in the 2002 coup attempt against democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez, as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) documents have been acquired and released to the public showing that the George W. Bush administration knew about the coup and chose not to share this important information with Chavez (meaning that sinister intentions to overthrow that government were there). The administration even funneled $1 million of American taxpayer funds to Venezuelan opposition groups through the National Endowment for Democracy (a non-governmental organization, or NGO, that is still partially funded and controlled by the federal government).

Moreover, in recent days, the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice (under Attorney General Merrick Garland) decided to seize a Dassault 900 airplane in the Dominican Republic that belonged to Maduro (equivalent of Air Force One in Venezuela) under the enforcement of American sanctions. Not only was this a violation of the sovereignty of the Dominican Republic, but this shows that the United States government is willing to force every noncompliant country on earth to adhere to its imperialistic dictates (economic sanctions). Obey the American Empire’s policies or face the consequences.

This is not to say that Maduro is a good and just leader, as he has moved to arrest Gonzalez Urrutia under trumped-up charges (similar to the sham trials against American opposition leader Donald Trump). However, this is not something that Americans should be forced to support with their tax dollars. Let Venezuelans work out their own problems and stop trying to steal their oil on behalf of Western business interests. The policies of the United States government (currently under the Biden administration) have led to both foreign policy blunders and an immigration debacle, where illegal immigrants are given as many privileges as American citizens and are considered entitled to their money.

We need to be good citizens and let these detrimental policies continue, and we would not want to be like those racist Brits who are protesting the fact that immigration strategies have led to an increase in crime in the United Kingdom. No, you need to be anti-racist and just let the criminals do their thing. But, illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes proportionally than the average American citizen (especially because they may worry about deportation), you say. Well, that may be true, but regardless, if those people are not supposed to be in the country to begin with, what does that matter? There are still more crimes being committed than otherwise would be the case. You can appeal to the families of the victims with those cherry-picked statistics and explain to them why it is wrong and racist for them to mourn or be outraged. Still, most immigrants turn out to be good and hard-working members of society, and we should not let the acts of criminals and gang members punish those who are not at all inclined to committing crimes. There needs to be balanced thinking when it comes to these issues.

Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.