Present in several countries in South America, Trem de Aragua, the largest criminal group in Venezuela, involved in drug and human trafficking, has expanded its activities beyond the region, most recently arriving in southern Florida, in the United States.
In recent months, members of the gang have been identified in reports of irregular entry into the country and committing crimes, replicating common criminal practices in Colombia and Venezuela, such as robbery, a method in which criminals rob and kill their victims. The most recent case occurred in Miami with retired Venezuelan immigrant José Luis Sánchez Valera, who was found dead in November inside his truck with signs of torture, mechanical asphyxiation and tied hands and feet.
After almost a month of investigations, local police managed to capture one of the attackers, who confessed to his involvement with four other criminals. also Venezuelans. He identified himself as a member of Trem de Aragua.
Florida authorities discovered the practice of a crime known in South America as “millionaire hitchhiking”, where members of the faction seduce their victims to obtain money and valuable objects. In Sánchez's case, he was deceived by two women, who took him to a hotel on the night of the crime. Once there, the victim was approached by three other criminals, who kidnapped him inside the vehicle, took information about his life, and physically attacked him.
With the victim in their possession, the gang members beat him, took him from the driver's seat and took him to the back seat of the vehicle, tying his hands and feet and tortured him to give information about where he kept valuables. and money.
The victim succumbed to the beating he received and revealed the address of his home, as well as the location of a safe where he kept dozens of pieces of gold that he bought with his savings. At the indicated residence, the criminals threatened to kill Sánchez's niece so that she would give them the safe and everything of value in the house. Minutes after the members of Trem de Aragua left the property, the second victim notified US authorities about the incident.
Miami Police located José Luis Sánchez Valera's truck and his body. Since then, an exhaustive investigation began and a reward of US$5,000 (R$24,500) was offered for information that would help find the Trem de Aragua killers.
The criminal group is led by Hector Guerrero Flores, known as “El Nino Guerrero”, a 40-year-old fugitive who controlled drug and human trafficking from one of Venezuela's maximum security prisons for more than a decade. He escaped from prison in September and his whereabouts are still unknown. Guerrero has arrest warrants in several Latin American countries.
It is estimated that the Venezuelan faction, suspected of money laundering and human trafficking, has more than 4,000 members around the world.
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