Mayor Mike Coffman of Aurora, Colorado joined America Reports on Thursday after surveillance footage showing armed Venezuelan gang members in an apartment complex went viral online.

Coffman confirmed that at least two apartment buildings within the city limits have been overtaken by Venezuelan gangs.

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The mayor also admitted on-air that "Cookie Monster," a Tren de Aragua gang leader, "has been apprehended."

"This is an organized criminal effort. Whether it's trend, a drug war, that remains to be to be seen," said Coffman. 

The mayor's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digitals' request for comment concerning the organized crime efforts of Tren de Aragua in the Aurora area.

"So there are several buildings actually under the same ownership, out of state ownership, that have, fallen to, these Venezuelan gangs. I'm trying to walk it back and do the, and do the investigation as to how there's a concentration of Venezuelans, in these, these three buildings," said Coffman.

"Somebody put them there and somebody funded it, whether it's federal government or not, we're trying to find out who, these gangs apparently, or attracted to where there's a concentration of, of, Venezuelan migrants. And so, they've, in fact, have kind of pushed out the property management through intimidation and then, collected the rents," he added.

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An anonymous former resident of one of the apartment buildings confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that members of Tren de Aragua have collected rent from residents in at least one overrun complex.

Mayor Coffman claims the city of Aurora is "a victim" of federal policy and nearby Denver's sanctuary city policy.

"[This is] not our problem, federal problem or issue. They need to resolve it. Not us. But somehow we got sucked into this," said Coffman.

"I think we're a victim of a failed policy at the southern border because, what you have, I, Venezuelan, does not according to to my law enforcement, Venezuela does not cooperate with the United States in sharing criminal histories. You had a third of the country leave," said Coffman.

"You've had these massive waves of migrants coming across the border that many of them crossed the border illegally, were arrested, asked for a political asylum, were not adequately vetted, were released into the country, the city of Aurora. We did everything we could to, quite frankly, keep them out of out of the city because it's not our problem. This is a federal problem," the mayor asserted.

One Aurora mom has gone viral for her video claiming that she doesn't feel safe taking her children to public parks in the area anymore given the presence of Venezuelan gangs.

"This is terrifying. And I understand they're coming here for a better life, but at the same time, is this life getting any better when you're bringing what was there here?" she asked.

Aurora PD has not released any new statements since their social media post via X on Wednesday on the situation, calling it "isolated."

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Coffman formerly served as congressman for Colorado's 6th District as a Republican from 2009 through 2019.

The Harris campaign on Thursday confirmed to Fox News that Vice President Kamala Harris has changed her positions on a number of immigration and border-security policies, including decriminalizing illegal crossings and closing immigration detention centers.

"While Donald Trump is wedded to the extreme ideas in his Project 2025 agenda, Vice President Harris believes real leadership means bringing all sides together to build consensus," spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said in a statement. "It is that approach that made it possible for the Biden-Harris administration to achieve bipartisan breakthroughs on everything from infrastructure to gun violence prevention. As President, she will take that same pragmatic approach, focusing on common-sense solutions for the sake of progress."

Harris has faced scrutiny for her past positions on border security as a California senator and a 2020 Democratic presidential primary candidate. A Harris campaign advisor told Fox that her positions have been "shaped by three years of effective governance as part of the Biden-Harris administration."

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Harris previously expressed support for decriminalizing illegal crossings at the border during the 2020 presidential primaries, arguing they should be a civil offense instead. 

"An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal," she said in 2017.

This week a campaign spokesman told Fox that "the Vice President's position is the same as the administration's -- unauthorized border crossings are illegal." 

On Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, she had previously promised as a presidential candidate in 2019 to shut down immigration detention centers on "day one."

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On Thursday, the campaign said her position is the same as the administration’s, which is "continuing to ensure sufficient resources to enforce our laws and prioritize detention and removal for individuals who pose threats to public safety and national security, as well as ensure compliance with immigration proceedings and decisions, including removal."

More broadly, Harris has repeatedly backed the bipartisan Senate package that emerged from negotiations in the chamber earlier this year, which increases funding for the border, including ICE bed space, and a mechanism to limit asylum entries into the U.S.

In June, President Biden signed an executive order that limited asylum at the border, and has led to a sharp decrease in crossings after three years of a historic crisis. The administration has said the low numbers come directly because of that order, and has renewed calls for the package to be passed by the Senate -- blaming former President Trump for its failure to pass.

"The only ‘plan’ Donald Trump has to secure our border is ripping mothers from their children and a few xenophobic placards at the Republican National Convention. He tanked the bipartisan border security deal because for Donald Trump, this has never been about solutions just running on a problem," spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

"Like everything with Donald Trump, it’s never been about helping the country, it's only about helping himself. There’s only one candidate in this race who will fight for bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security, and that’s Vice President Harris," he said.

The Trump campaign has pushed back against narratives in the media suggesting that Harris has turned into a moderate on the issue, attacking her positions this week. In response to Fox’s reporting, the Trump campaign said that Harris is "ON TAPE spanning a decade spewing her dangerously liberal positions on every one of these issues."

"She’s not changing, she’s just lying," the campaign said.