The US Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Wednesday aimed at members it claimed are affiliated with the Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), over alleged involvement in money laundering and other criminal activities.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the measures include the designation of Venezuelan entertainer Jimena Romina Araya Navarro, widely known as "Rosita", as part of a network of five individuals connected to the entertainment industry who have provided material support to TdA. 

According to a statement published by the Treasury Department, Navarro is believed to be romantically connected to Nino Guerrero, the leader of the Tren de Aragua, whom she allegedly helped escape from the Tocoron Prison in Venezuela.

In addition, OFAC is sanctioning Kenffersso Jhosue Sevilla Arteaga, also known as “El Flipper", who allegedly served as the right-hand man to TdA leader “Niño Guerrero” until his arrest in Cucuta, Colombia, in November 2025.

The sanctions also target multiple individuals across Venezuela who are alleged cell leaders or lieutenants of TdA, including Richard Jose Espinal Quintero, Noe Manases Aponte Cordova, and Asdrubal Rafael Escobar Cabrera. Furthermore, Cheison Royer Guerrero Palma, a half-brother of Niño Guerrero, allegedly involved in the organization’s expansion efforts in Chile, has been sanctioned.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized the threat posed by the gang, stating, “Under President Trump, barbaric terrorist cartels can no longer operate with impunity across our borders. The Tren de Aragua network’s narcotrafficking and human smuggling operations have long posed a grave threat to our nation.”

Bessent added that the US will continue to use “every tool to cut off these terrorists” from the American and global financial systems, underscoring the administration’s commitment to keeping citizens safe.

Previous US actions against Tren de Aragua

For years, US authorities kept a close eye on Tren de Aragua, but a major shift came on July 11, 2024, when the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) officially designated the gang as a “significant transnational criminal organization.”

All its property and interests in the United States, and those of entities controlled by the gang, were frozen. The designation cited its alleged engagement in drug trafficking, human smuggling, money laundering, kidnapping, illicit mining, and other serious crimes.

In 2025, the US went even further. In June and July, top leaders of Tren de Aragua, including Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, the first member of the gang to be added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, were sanctioned. The government accused them of orchestrating international narcotics trafficking and providing material support to terrorism.

The US also used immigration law as a tool to limit Tren de Aragua’s influence. Under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, the Trump Administration ordered expedited deportations of alleged gang members from US soil to El Salvador, a rare use of a wartime law against a criminal network.

The United States has repeatedly alleged connections between Tren de Aragua and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, framing the gang’s rise as part of a broader state-enabled criminal ecosystem. US officials claim that Maduro’s government has allowed Tren de Aragua to flourish within Venezuela’s deteriorating prison system, which the Venezuelans categorically denied.

Pretexts for strikes

Still, the US used the alleged narcotics trade to justify its strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific. 

However, Colombian President Gustavo Petro set the record straight.

Affirming that only a small fraction of the global drug trade flows through Venezuela and that the country is not considered a major drug producer, Petro affirmed that the US is driven by its thirst for Venezuela's oil reserves, which are central to US policy, and not concerns about alleged drug trafficking in Colombia or the region. 

The Colombian president also accused the US of imposing its will on neighboring countries, comparing its actions to imperialism. “The United States cannot be considered an empire, but one of the nations among others,” he said.

Read more: Intel reports put to question US claims on Venezuela, drug-trafficking