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The tale of Venezuelan murder, mayhem. chaos, and madness in suburban Colorado.
<><>Biden signs the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) into law,
<><>he handed over $3.8 billion tax dollars to Colorado.
<><>“the welcoming city of Denver,” launched its “Emergency Migrant Response” program,
<><>Denver’s goal was to provide housing and services to a massive flow of migrants.
<><>Denver signed multimillion-dollar contracts with local NGOs, ViVe Wellness and Papagayo,
<><>housing and services went to more than 8,000 predominantly Venezuelan migrants.
<><>The NGOs are run by foreigners w/ no previous experience in large-scale migrant resettlement.
<><>flooded with cash between 2023-2024, ViVe Wellness and Papagayo got $4.8M and $774,000
<><>funding came mostly from the Migrant Support Grant, funded by Biden’s ARPA.
<><>Then, in 2024, ViVe secured an extra $10.4 million across three migrant contracts,
<><>Papagayo received $2.9 million more from a single contract;
<><>monies ran “Denver Asylum Seekers Program,” six months rental to some 1,000 migrants
<><>Papagayo worked w/ CBZ Management,
<><>CBZ is a property company that operates three apt bldngs known as Aspen Grove.
<><>Papagayo placed Venezuelan migrants in the company’s Aurora apt complexes.
<><>When Venezuelans needed housing, regional property manager matched them w/ available apts.
<><>It was a booming business
<><>Papagayo arranged 100’s of contracts for two months of rental assistance,
<><>many migrants did not have, or were unable to open, bank accounts.
<><>in six months, approximately 80% of the residents were Venezuelan migrants.
<><>the buildings saw rising gang activity and violence.
<><>Papagayo made assurances to hesitant landlords that migrants had stable jobs and income.
<><>but limited English, 6-month wait for work permits, made migrants ineligible for jobs,
<><>migrants struggled to find stable jobs, and ultimately fell behind on rent.
<><>As the Venezuelan migrants settled in, they caused lots of trouble.
<><>the apartments saw a string of crimes,
<><>trespassing, assault, extortion, drug use, illegal firearm possession,
<><>human trafficking, and sexual abuse of minors abounded.
<><>Each of the three complexes has since shown a localized spike in crime.
<><>there’s shock at tax dollars blanketing an NGO not equipped to handle it.

The City of Denver, for its part, appears to be charging ahead. It recently voted to provide additional funding for migrant programs and, according to the right-leaning Common Sense Institute, the total cost to Denver could be up to $340 million, factoring in new burdens on schools and the health-care system. And the city also appears to have no qualms about exporting the crisis to the surrounding suburbs, including Aurora, which, in 2017, had declared itself a non-sanctuary city.

The truth is that there is no sanctuary for a city, a county, or a country that welcomes—and, in fact, attracts—violent gang members from Venezuela. This is cruelty, not compassion. Unfortunately, it might take more than the seizure of an apartment building, a dramatic rise in crime, and a grisly murder for cities like Denver to change course.