Venezuela Gang Tren de Aragua Sanctioned by US; Millions of Dollars Offered as Reward for Leaders

The United States Department of State has announced that it has imposed sanctions against a gang from Venezuela known as Tren de Aragua. The gang has reportedly infiltrated American communities, attacked police officers, and engaged in human trafficking.

Tren de Aragua has now been officially designated as a transnational criminal organization, which means it is now banned from doing business in the United States. It joins the El Salvador street gang, MS-13, and the Mafia-style gang from Italy known as Camorra in that already-infamous list.

"Tren de Aragua poses a deadly criminal threat across the region," said the US Department of Treasury in a statement. "When victims seek to escape this exploitation, Tren de Aragua members often kill them and publicize their deaths as a threat to others," it added, talking about the gang's tendency to prey on vulnerable populations such as migrant women and girls for sex trafficking.

According to the Associated Press, the gang started out a decade ago, inside an infamously lawless prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua. It has since expanded out of the state and then out of the country as millions of desperate Venezuelans fled President Nicolas Maduro's dictatorial and repressive rule that has plunged the country's economy into a crisis.

The gang has since expanded its operations in Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, which all have large populations of Venezuelan migrants. These countries have blamed the group for being behind a spree of violent crimes. However, the group now seems to have infiltrated the US.

It has also been warned that Tren de Aragua has also teamed up with Primeiro Comando da Capital, a notorious organized crime group from Brazil that was also sanctioned by the US government.

US Offering a Total of $12 Million for the Arrest of Venezuela Gang Tren de Aragua's Leaders

A total of $12 million has been set as a reward for information on the capture of three of the gang's leaders with a $5 million reward for the gang's leader, Hector Guerrero Flores, also known as Nino Guerrero. Another $4 million has been offered on the capture of leader Johan Jose Romero, and $3 million for the capture of Giovanny San Vicente.

According to KTSM, the gang is responsible for posing as legitimate asylum-seekers and has already committed various criminal acts in the United States, including murder. It is also suspected to be behind the killing of a former police officer in South Florida and attacks against police in New York.

What Is the Venezuela Gang Known as Tren de Aragua?

The gang was founded by Hector "Niño" Guerrero inside the Tocoron prison in Aragua. When he and other gang leaders escaped, the gang immediately spread, going after nearby countries such as Chile first before going to other countries, including in Europe.

Reuters noted that Venezuelan authorities have tried to arrest Guerrero during a raid in Tocoron. However, he and the other leaders managed to escape via a vast tunnel network.

The gang usually extorts migrants and often helps in human trafficking operations. Females who cannot afford to pay them are often forced into prostitution. They have also been tied to drug trafficking and other smuggling of contraband.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: NYPD confronting Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in NYC- FOX 5 New York