Raddatz attempted to defend the invasion at the southern border on Sunday, which has allowed violent gangs to take control of entire apartment complexes.
At a rally in Aurora, Colorado, former President Donald Trump announced “Operation Aurora,” aimed at removing members of the Tren de Aragua gang, which has taken over some apartment complexes in the area. Following Trump’s rally, Republican Mayor Mike Coffman issued a statement asserting that the city has not been “taken over” by “migrant gangs,” but did recognize “incidents” at “a handful of specific apartment complexes.”
During Sunday’s episode of ABC’s “This Week,” Raddatz defended the situation after Vance pointed out that Coffman’s statement acknowledged the issue to some extent.
“Sen. Vance, I’m going to stop you because I know exactly what happened,” Raddatz said. “I’m going to stop you. The incidents were limited to a handful of apartment complexes — apartment complexes — and the mayor said ‘our dedicated police officers have acted on those concerns.’ A handful of problems.”
“Only? Martha, do you hear yourself?” Vance fired back. “Only a handful of apartment complexes in America were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and Donald Trump is the problem and not Kamala Harris’ open border? Americans are so fed up with what’s going on and they have every right to be, and I really find this exchange, Martha, sort of interesting because you seem to be more focused with nitpicking everything that Donald Trump has said rather than acknowledging that apartment complexes in the United States of America are being taken over by violent gangs.”
“I worry so much more about that problem than anything else here,” Vance continued. “We’ve got to get American communities in a safe space again. And unfortunately, when you let people in by the millions, most of whom are unvetted, most of whom you don’t know who they really are, you’re going to have problems like this. Kamala Harris, 94 executive orders that undid Donald Trump’s successful border policies, we knew this stuff would happen.”
RADDATZ: Only a handful of apartment complexes were overtaken by Venezuelan gangs
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) October 13, 2024
VANCE: Do you hear yourself? Only a handful of apartment complexes were taken over by Venezuelan gangs and Donald Trump is the problem and not Kamala Harris' open border?pic.twitter.com/h6XpbHyovQ
“That’s —” Raddatz tried to interject.
“They bragged about opening the border and now we have the consequences and we’re living with it,” Vance continued. “We can do so much better, but frankly, we’re not going to do better, Martha, unless Donald Trump calls this stuff out. I’m glad that he did.”
“Okay. Let’s, let’s just, let’s just end that with they did not invade or take over the city as Donald Trump said. I want to move on to just —” Raddatz said.
“A few apartment complexes, no big deal,” Vance sarcastically shot back.
Despite Coffman and Raddatz downplaying the issue by saying it’s just a few apartment complexes, the city has formed a task force to address Tren de Aragua.
According to the New York Post, members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua are using several rundown apartment complexes in Aurora as their base, with the city identifying at least ten suspected members. Cbz Management, which oversees several complexes in Colorado, including The Edge at Lowry where illegal migrants have reportedly taken over, took to X to clarify misinformation being spread for political reasons and to deflect accountability.
Cbz Management stated it started managing these buildings in 2019, and during renovations, illegal immigrants began to exploit squatter laws, leading to a rise in crime.
After Vance challenged Raddatz, ABC News reacted strongly, with reporter Hannah Demissie publishing an article titled: “Vance stands by Trump’s false claims about Venezuelan gangs in Aurora, Colorado.”
In September, three men were arrested after a video of armed individuals breaking into an apartment went viral. While local police insisted that none of the men were linked to the gang—contrary to Coffman and Raddatz’s claims—federal sources confirmed that at least one admitted to being a member of the violent Venezuelan gang.
The other two suspects reportedly crossed the border illegally last year and were released into the U.S., although the Post noted that there is “no confirmed evidence” linking them to Tren de Aragua.
It doesn’t really matter if these two men are connected to Tren de Aragua. The key issue is that the Biden-Harris administration has allowed violent criminals into the country, putting Americans at risk and forcing taxpayers to spend more to protect themselves from individuals who shouldn’t be here in the first place.
