Suspected Tren de Aragua Leader Arrested in Colombia as Gang Solidifies Regional Presence

One of Latin America's most prominent criminal organizations has suffered a big blow to its structure as authorities in Colombia secured the arrest of Carlos Francisco Gómez Moreno, commonly known as "Bobby," a regional leader for the Tren de Aragua gang in Chile.

Law enforcement had been looking for "Bobby" for eight months ever since he fled Chile amid an investigation accusing him of murder, kidnapping and drug trafficking. According to Elver Alfonso Sanabria, colonel of Colombia's GAULA elite forces that specialize in combating kidnapping and extortion, "Bobby" had with three passports that allowed him to easily travel with between Venezuela, Colombia and Chile.

"He came to Colombia because he was wanted in Chile," Sanabria said. "He is believed to be responsible of at least 100 cases of homicide in Chile," Sanabria said.

Apart from being one of Tren de Aragua's most important members in Chile, "Bobby" was also the right-hand man of Héctor Guerrero Flores, a.k.a. "Niño Guerrero," the alleged leader of the Venezuelan gang.

According to reports from local media outlets "Bobby" was arrested on Dec. 7 in Colombia's state of Santander. Law enforcement from Colombia, Chile and members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) worked together to secure his arrest, with an extradition to Chile on the cards.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro took on his X social media account to announce the capture of Gómez Moreno, saying that the arrest was a "great success" for law enforcement agencies in both countries.

Chilean police also released a statement in which they said the arrest "represents a step forward in our fight against transnational crime groups and reaffirms our commitment to guarantee the safety of our communities."

The arrest of "Bobby" is the second high-profile blow delivered by Colombian authorities to the Venezuelan-born gang.

Colombian police arrested in late November Jeison Alexander Lorca Salazar, a.k.a "Jeison Comunio," the gang's leader in Colombia and wanted for acts of terrorism, weapons trafficking and extortion.

At the time of his arrest, Lorca Salazar was hiding at one of his luxury homes in the municipality of Los Santos, located in the state of Santander. Authorities were able to find him thanks to his own digital footprint, as he uploaded pictures of him with firearms that law enforcement later used to track his location.

Tren de Aragua's growing influence

In a matter of months, Tren de Aragua has gone gone from a regional criminal group in Venezuela and turned into a transnational criminal organization with presence in at least 16 states in the U.S.

The gang has quickly spread is influence to California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin and most recently Washington D.C., Virginia, Montana and Wyoming, according to a Homeland Security memo.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials (ICE), U.S. officials have arrested more than 100 people suspected of having Tren de Aragua links since October 2022.

The gang has taken advantage of large-scale Venezuelan migration to extend its reach across the Americas and, in recent months, they have been linked to a number of high-profile crimes all over the United States, such as the murders of nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia and 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Texas.