The United States Treasury Department announced Thursday that it sanctioned the main leaders of the Venezuelan criminal gang Aragua train For their participation in criminal activities, such as illicit drug trafficking, human trafficking and money laundering, and “threatening public safety throughout the western hemisphere.”
The sanctions are addressed to the train leader of Aragua, Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Floresalso known as Niño Guerrero, and five other leaders and key members of the gang, the Treasury Foreign Assets Control Office reported.
The US government accuses the Guerrero child of transforming the Aragua train from a prison gang focused on extortion and bribery in a Continental Criminal Organization which represents a threat to public security throughout America.
The announced sanctions imply the Blocking all goods and interests in goods located in the United States of the designated persons, as well as the prohibition of American citizens and entities to make transactions with them.
The State Department has appointed the Aragua Train as a foreign terrorist organization.
The government of the US president, Donald Trump“It will not allow the Aragua train to continue terrorizing our communities and damaging innocent Americans (…) the treasure remains committed to the dismantling of the Aragua train and the interruption of the group’s violence campaign,” said Treasure Secretary, Scott Besentin a statement.
Trump has affirmed that the Aragua train coordinates its activities in the United States with the Venezuelan dictator regime Nicolás Maduro, and has used this alleged connection to justify the deportations of alleged members to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
At least a senior American official has recognized that Maduro’s regime may not specifically lead the gang.
The State Department has reported that it will offer a reward of up to five million dollars for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of Guerrero, responsible for converting “a prison gang dedicated to extortion and bribery” in a transnational organization “Dedicated to terrorism.”
The sanctions also affect one of the co -founders of the Aragua train, Yohan José Romero, Alias ‘Johan Petrica’ who is responsible for the illegal mining activities of the group in Venezuela and for which a reward of up to four million dollars is offered for information that leads to their arrest.
The Trump administration has indicated that they are included in the ‘Black List’ Josué Ángel Santana Penaaka ‘Santanita’ -which was imprisoned with Guerrero in the Tocorón prison- as well as Wilmer José Pérez Castillo, ALias ‘Wilmer Guayabal’, leader of a cell of the organization involved in drug trafficking and the collection of bribes in Venezuela.
In the sanctions there is also Guerrero’s wife, Wendy Marbelys Ríos Gómez, for being linked to “criminal activities such as money laundering, terrorism and terrorism financing.” According to Washington, “it enriched itself with the profits of the criminal activities of the Aragua train.”
(With information from Reuters, EFE and EP)
