New York — An alleged leader of the Tren de Aragua gang, which the United States designates as a terrorist organization, has been charged in federal court in New York with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, including providing support to terrorists, among crimes spanning more than a decade, authorities announced Thursday.
Hector Rostenford Guerrero Flores, a 42-year-old Venezuelan man, masterminded the group’s evolution from a Venezuelan prison gang into a transnational terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement when he unveiled the indictment.
The statement said that Guerrero Flores remains at large and that the State Department is offering rewards of up to $5 million for his capture.
Clayton said the gang is responsible for countless acts of violence, extortion and drug trafficking in North America, South America and Europe. He said the charges against Guerrero Flores are in addition to charges already filed in New York against more than 30 members or associates of Tren de Aragua.
Luis D’Ambrosio, head of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, said Guerrero Flores laundered money through cryptocurrencies, trafficked drugs by the ton, and sold weapons of war while operating the Tren de Aragua like a multinational crime syndicate from prison.
“This case embodies the threat we face today: criminal organizations that operate like terrorists and terrorize like insurgents,” he said. “DEA and our partners are dismantling them piece by piece – targeting their leadership, money, weapons, and networks.”
Douglas Williams, head of the FBI’s Houston office, said Guerrero Flores brought “violence, murder and misery to communities and countries throughout the Western Hemisphere,” including murders, violent robberies, sex trafficking and gun and drug trafficking into the United States.