Top Venezuelan gang member detained in Spain
Police in Spain have arrested a top member of a powerful Venezuelan criminal gang called 'Tren de Aragua' that has expanded rapidly across Latin America in recent years.
The Venezuelan man, who was detained Wednesday in Spain's second-largest city Barcelona, is the brother of the alleged leader of Tren de Aragua, police said in a statement.
He is wanted by Venezuela for the crimes of terrorism, human trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion, money laundering and criminal association, the statement said.
🚩Detenido un miembro destacado de la organización criminal internacional “Tren de Aragua” en #Barcelona
👉Tenía una ODI emitida por #Venezuela
👉Estaba buscado por #delitos de terrorismo, tráfico de seres humanos y de armas, extorsión, blanqueo y asociación para delinquir pic.twitter.com/W8RKgELmN0
— Policía Nacional (@policia) March 14, 2024
Police said they were investigating the possibility he had moved to Spain to expand the gang's activities to the country.
He was presented to a court and jailed while he awaits extradition.
The Tren de Aragua gang, which reportedly has around 5,000 members, emerged in 2014, specialising in classic mafia activities such as kidnapping, robberies, drugs, prostitution and extortion.
It has extended its influence to other activities, some of them legal, but also to illegal gold mining.
It has taken advantage of Venezuela's unprecedented economic and emigration crisis to establish footholds in several other Latin American countries including Chile, Colombia and Peru.
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The Venezuelan man, who was detained Wednesday in Spain's second-largest city Barcelona, is the brother of the alleged leader of Tren de Aragua, police said in a statement.
He is wanted by Venezuela for the crimes of terrorism, human trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion, money laundering and criminal association, the statement said.
🚩Detenido un miembro destacado de la organización criminal internacional “Tren de Aragua” en #Barcelona
— Policía Nacional (@policia) March 14, 2024
👉Tenía una ODI emitida por #Venezuela
👉Estaba buscado por #delitos de terrorismo, tráfico de seres humanos y de armas, extorsión, blanqueo y asociación para delinquir pic.twitter.com/W8RKgELmN0
Police said they were investigating the possibility he had moved to Spain to expand the gang's activities to the country.
He was presented to a court and jailed while he awaits extradition.
The Tren de Aragua gang, which reportedly has around 5,000 members, emerged in 2014, specialising in classic mafia activities such as kidnapping, robberies, drugs, prostitution and extortion.
It has extended its influence to other activities, some of them legal, but also to illegal gold mining.
It has taken advantage of Venezuela's unprecedented economic and emigration crisis to establish footholds in several other Latin American countries including Chile, Colombia and Peru.
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