Latest news with #MosqueraSerrano
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FBI offers $3 million reward for first alleged Tren de Aragua leader on its most wanted list
Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, an alleged senior leader of the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua has been added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Ten Most Wanted list. Known as 'El Viejo,' the old man, Mosquera Serrano is the first member from the gang on the FBI's top fugitives list, according to the agency. The FBI is offering a $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Mosquera Serrano, 37, who faces federal charges that include conspiring to provide and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, as well as conspiracy and distribution of cocaine in Colombia intended for distribution in the US, the agency announced on Tuesday. Tren de Aragua, also known as TdA, allegedly sends gang members to the US to engage in drug, human and weapons trafficking, as well as violent crime, the FBI said. TdA was designated as a foreign terrorist organization after an executive order was signed by President Donald Trump on January 20. The criminal organization originated in a Venezuela prison and has slowly spread both north and south in recent years. It now operates in the United States. Investigators believe Mosquera Serrano may be in Venezuela or Colombia, the agency said. Tren de Aragua has not only terrorized Venezuela for years but also countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Peru, CNN has reported. In Colombia, Tren de Aragua and a guerrilla group known as the National Liberation Army 'operate sex trafficking networks in the border town of Villa del Rosario' and Norte de Santander, according to a US State Department 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report about Colombia. The criminal groups exploit Venezuelan migrants and displaced Colombians in sex trafficking, taking advantage of economic vulnerabilities and subjecting them to 'debt bondage,' the report stated. Police in the region reported the organization has victimized thousands through extortion, drug and human trafficking, kidnapping and murder. Insight Crime, a think tank dedicated to organized crime, said in October that Tren de Aragua's 'reputation appears to have grown more quickly than its actual presence in the United States.' 'Additionally, there is no evidence, thus far, of cells in the United States cooperating with one another or with other criminal groups,' according to Insight Crime. Tren de Aragua adopted its name between 2013 and 2015 but its operations predate that, according to a report by Transparency Venezuela, an anti-corruption nonprofit. 'It has its origin in the unions of workers who worked on the construction of a railway project that would connect the center-west of the country and that was never completed' in both Aragua and Carabobo states, according to the report. The gang's leaders operated out of the notorious Tocorón prison, which they controlled, the report said. Venezuelan authorities say they have dismantled the leadership of Tren de Aragua and freed Tocorón prison, one of the largest in the country, from the control of its members.
UPI
25-06-2025
- UPI
TdA leader hit with sanctions, charges and added to FBI top 10 list
Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, 37, is accused in the United States of being a high-ranking member of the Tren de Aragua gang. Photo courtesy of State Department/ Release June 25 (UPI) -- The United States on Tuesday sanctioned, charged and added to the FBI's most wanted list a Venezuelan fugitive accused of being a leader of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang, one of several criminal organizations that the Trump administration has targeted in its crackdown on immigration. The alleged gang leader, 37-year-old Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, is accused of being involved in the TdA's drug trafficking and financial operations. According to a five-count superseding indictment announced Tuesday by the Justice Department, Mosquera Serrano, who also goes by the name "El Viejo," and 24-year-old Jose Enrique Martinez Flores, aka "Chuqui," are charged with conspiring to provide and providing support to a designated foreign terrorist organization as well as distributing cocaine in Colombia intended for the United States. The indictment calls Mosquera Serrano a senior TdA leader who oversees its criminal operations in Colombia, Central America and the United States, while Martinez Flores is an alleged high-ranking TdA leader in Bogota. The Justice Department accuses the pair of being involved in the delivery of some 5 kilos or more of cocaine for international distribution for the benefit of the TdA. According to the FBI, Mosquera Serrano is the 536th addition to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and the first alleged TdA member to be included. "Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano's leadership fuels an organization that thrives on brutal murders, forced prostitution, kidnappings and the destruction of lives across continents," Douglas Williams, special agent in charge of FBI Houston, said Tuesday in a statement. The FBI has named Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. Serrano is an alleged senior leader of the Tren de Aragua transnational gang and is wanted for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and international cocaine... FBI (@FBI) June 24, 2025 The State Department has been offering a reward of up to $3 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction since June 2024. "The United States is committed to keeping the American people safe by using all available means to eliminate TdA's threats of violent crime throughout our hemisphere," the State Department said in a statement. The U.S. government under President Donald Trump has been cracking down on immigration, focusing on alleged bad actors and international criminal organizations. On Feb. 20, Trump designated TdA and seven other criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists, exposing them and their members and proxy entities to punitive measures, including sanctions.
