[REVISION HISTORY]

Tren de Aragua criminal organization activities

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2026-10-01 22:34 UTC → 2026-10-02 01:30 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Legal and law enforcement actions against the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua have intensified across multiple countries. In Chile, the investigation into the February 2024 kidnapping and murder of Venezuelan lieutenant Ronald Ojeda has reached a significant milestone. Maickel David Villegas Rodríguez, a member of the organization’s ‘Los Piratas’ cell who was extradited from Costa Rica, has been convicted by a Chilean court. Prosecutors established that Villegas Rodríguez acted as a material author of the crime, having conducted four hours of surveillance outside Ojeda’s residence and recording parts of the abduction. While the prosecution initially argued that the motive was linked to Ojeda’s political profile as a dissident against the Venezuelan government, the court noted that a political motive was not proven during this specific trial. The case, which involved strict security protocols at the Second Oral Criminal Court in Santiago, has identified 32 individuals, with 26 currently detained in Chile. Following his conviction, the final sentence for Villegas Rodríguez is expected on October 15. In Colombia, ‘Operation Titan’ (Operación Titán) resulted in the capture of high-ranking leaders Richard José Espinal Quintero, known as ‘El Coti’, and Henderzon Adrián Villarroel Luque, known as ‘El Patón’. The operation, conducted by the Colombian National Police in coordination with the DEA, targeted individuals involved in transnational trafficking. Both individuals are subject to U.S. Treasury Department OFAC sanctions. Simultaneously, international law enforcement has targeted the group’s members in the United States, where the U.S. Marshals Service arrested six Venezuelan citizens in Chicago for suspected involvement in narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses.

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