Key facts
- Colombian security forces captured Luis Saúl Pérez Nieto, a suspected senior leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
- The arrest was announced by the U.S. Southern Command, highlighting increased military cooperation between the U.S. and Colombia.
- Pérez Nieto is accused of coordinating the gang's regional drug and weapons trafficking networks and leading its expansion in Peru.
- The operation involved the DEA and Colombian police, with the U.S. having requested Pérez Nieto's arrest and extradition.
- Chile also celebrated the extradition of two alleged Tren de Aragua leaders from the U.S. and Colombia to face charges in the abduction and killing of Ronald Ojeda.
Colombian security forces have captured Luis Saúl Pérez Nieto, a suspected high-ranking leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, the U.S. Southern Command announced Friday. This arrest is seen as an early indicator of intensified joint security efforts between the U.S. and Colombia under President Abelardo de la Espriella, who has pledged to combat drug traffickers with Washington's assistance.
Pérez Nieto, also known by aliases "Páez" and "Nairobi," was apprehended in an operation involving the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Colombian police. Authorities accuse him of orchestrating the gang's expansion in Peru and coordinating drug and arms trafficking across the continent, transforming it from a prison gang into a transnational criminal syndicate. He had previously escaped from prison in 2023 along with the gang's leader, Héctor "Niño Guerrero" Guerrero Flores, who was later killed in a U.S. military strike.
The U.S. Southern Command stated that "narco-terrorists have no safe haven in our hemisphere" and affirmed unity with partners to dismantle criminal networks. Colombian and Peruvian authorities indicated that the U.S. had requested Pérez Nieto's arrest and extradition on charges including terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking, and criminal conspiracy.
This development occurs amid a broader trend of South American nations electing conservative leaders focused on security crackdowns. In Chile, officials celebrated the extradition of two alleged Tren de Aragua leaders from the U.S. and Colombia to face charges related to the abduction and killing of former Venezuelan army Lt. Ronald Ojeda in 2024. Chilean authorities have charged Rafael Enrique Gámez Salas, the alleged leader of the gang's Chilean branch, and extradited Alfredo Camilo Carrillo Ortiz from Colombia, who is accused of involvement in planning Ojeda's killing.