Venezuela says Tren de Aragua was run by FBI and exiled political leader Leopoldo Lopez
Trafficked sex slaves through “illegal mines”
La Jornada
Pictured : “Political” opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who is exiled in Spain
Caracas. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Wednesday that opposition leader Leopoldo López was running the Tren de Aragua gang from Spain, where he is in exile.
The Maduro government already linked Tren de Aragua to the opposition after the protests against Maduro's landslide reelection on July 28. Before that, the authorities claimed that the gang had been dismantled and that its arrival in other countries was a "media fiction."
"I know that the United States, the intelligence agencies, are well aware that Leopoldo López (...) was running Tren de Aragua from Spain, from the United States, to Venezuela," Maduro said at an official event. He added that his adversaries "intended to use the Tren de Aragua for post-election violence." "The FBI knows what I'm saying," he insisted.
López has been in exile in Spain since 2020 after years in prison. Linked to the most radical wing of the rightist opposition, he is regularly accused of plotting against Maduro's government.
Maduro said in September that Hector Rusthenford Guerrero, alias "El Niño" Guerrero, the leader of the gang, was a U.S. agent and "personally directed part of the riots and criminal violence of July 29, 30 and 31," referring to the demonstrations that left 28 dead, almost 200 wounded and more than 2,400 arrested. Many of those arrested ended up in the maximum security prison of Tocorón (Aragua, north-east), where Tren de Aragua operated for years until security forces raided the prison and removed the gang.
The gang began to make a strong impact about 10 years ago. With some 5,000 members, it is dedicated to extortion, contract killing, drug trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking and even illegal mining, although it also operates some legal businesses.
It has extended its tentacles to other countries such as Colombia, Peru and Chile, and also to the United States, where authorities have offered million-dollar rewards for information leading to the capture of its leaders.
Thank you, Obama, Biden, and Harris for importing these folks into our country with open borders and free flights. Oh and an invitation..
Strange. I saw video clips of the Mayors of Denver and Aurora, CO saying the gang wasn’t in Aurora taking over apartment buildings and terrorizing the residents. Then I read Aurora police arrested 4 gang members from one of the apartment buildings. Funny the ‘not happening’ things you read about. 🤷♀️