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.
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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 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.
