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| US authorities have announced rewards totalling up to $50 million for information leading to the arrests or convictions of three alleged Tren de Aragua leaders. |
The United States has announced reward offers totalling up to $50 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of three men it identifies as the most senior leaders of Tren de Aragua.
The package increases two existing rewards and introduces a third. It covers information that helps authorities apprehend or secure convictions against the fugitives in any country.
The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs announced the offers on Thursday, 5 November, in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Justice. The funding falls under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program.
Yohan José Romero, known as "Yohan Petrica," carries the largest individual reward. Authorities have increased the maximum payment for information concerning him from $4 million to $20 million.
US officials identify Romero as TdA’s current leader. Citing court documents, they allege that he directs operations involving drug trafficking, illegal gold mining in Venezuela and killings.
The offer concerning Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, known as "Giovanni" and "El Viejo", has risen from $5 million to $15 million. Authorities describe him as one of Romero’s two principal deputies, with responsibility for operations in the United States, Colombia and Central America.
Juan Gabriel Rivas Núñez, known as "Juancho," is the subject of a new reward offer of up to $15 million. Officials identify him as another deputy to Romero and allege that he oversees the organisation’s activities in Venezuela.
The three men face prosecution in the Southern District of Texas. According to the Justice Department’s announcement, prosecutors previously charged them in a six-count second superseding indictment in 2025.
A nine-count third superseding indictment followed in July 2026 and was unsealed this week. The charges include conspiring to provide material support to TdA and providing or attempting to provide such support. Mosquera Serrano also faces international cocaine distribution and related conspiracy charges.
Mosquera Serrano remains on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The bureau’s records identify the material-support and cocaine allegations among the grounds for his arrest warrant.
The latest indictment, filed on 29 July, describes TdA as an organisation that developed from a Venezuelan prison gang in the mid-2000s before establishing networks elsewhere in the Americas.
Prosecutors allege that its members finance operations through drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, robbery and other offences. The document also records the US government’s designation of TdA as a foreign terrorist organisation on 20 February 2025.
The organisation previously operated under Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as "Niño Guerrero". President Donald Trump announced on 12 June that US forces had killed him in a strike coordinated with Venezuelan authorities.
Venezuela’s government confirmed his death during a joint operation in Bolívar state. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strike occurred earlier that week.
The FBI and DEA are jointly investigating the current case, with assistance from US and Colombian law enforcement agencies. The Justice Department stressed that the charges remain allegations and that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Authorities have directed people with information to the FBI’s online tip service, a local FBI office or the nearest US embassy or consulate. The FBI also accepts information through WhatsApp or Telegram on +1 281 787 9939.
The State Department said it would keep informants’ identities confidential. Government officials and employees cannot receive rewards for information obtained in the course of their official duties.