Colombian security forces apprehended a suspected senior leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, the U.S. Southern Command announced Friday, highlighting the arrest as a product of enhanced military cooperation between the two nations.
Luis Saúl Pérez Nieto, identified by Colombian authorities as a coordinator of the gang's regional weapons and drug-trafficking networks, was captured on Thursday. This operation signals a rapid intensification of joint efforts against organized crime, particularly under Colombia's new conservative president, Abelardo de la Espriella, who assumed office earlier this month.
De la Espriella, an admirer of former President Donald Trump, campaigned on a promise to combat powerful drug traffickers with U.S. assistance. His administration has designated Medellín as the hub for a new regional anti-cartel alliance and has welcomed joint operations with the U.S. military on Colombian territory, a departure from his progressive predecessor's approach.
The U.S. Southern Command stated, “Narco-terrorists have no safe haven in our hemisphere. We stand united with our partners to dismantle these criminal networks and protect our homeland.”
Pérez Nieto, also known by aliases “Páez” and “Nairobi,” was apprehended in an operation that included the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), according to Colombian police.
Colombian police have accused Pérez Nieto of spearheading Tren de Aragua's expansion in Peru while overseeing drug and arms trafficking across the continent, contributing to the transformation of what began as a prison gang in Venezuela's Tocorón penitentiary into a transnational criminal syndicate.
According to Colombian police, Pérez Nieto escaped from the Tocorón penitentiary in 2023 along with the gang's leader, Héctor “Niño Guerrero” Guerrero Flores. Guerrero Flores was killed earlier this year in a U.S. military strike conducted in rare collaboration with Venezuela.
The Trump administration designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization in 2023, framing Latin American cartels as national security threats. Previous reporting indicated that Trump had at times overstated the gang's connections to justify deportations of Venezuelans.
DEA Administrator Terry Cole congratulated Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella and the Colombian National Police on the capture of Pérez Nieto.
Colombian and Peruvian authorities stated that the U.S. requested Pérez Nieto’s arrest and extradition on charges including terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking, and criminal conspiracy. The Trump administration has not publicly detailed the case against him.
Earlier this week, U.S. Southern Command chief Gen. Francis Donovan met with Colombia’s defense minister and military leaders in Tumaco. Donovan stated that U.S., Ecuadorian, and Colombian officials had agreed on a strategy to “hunt cartel leadership, shatter their logistics and permanently deny them safe haven.” He noted that the border between Colombia and Ecuador has been exploited by cartels and that their approach is intended to "chang[e] the game."
Colombia and Ecuador are among the few regional governments that permit joint operations with U.S. forces against criminal groups on their territory. This aligns with efforts to extend the U.S. campaign against suspected drug smuggling to land operations.
These developments occur as South American voters increasingly elect conservative leaders who advocate for stringent security measures. In Chile, President José Antonio Kast's government has faced challenges in implementing promises to curb crime and carry out mass deportations.
On Friday, Chilean officials announced the extradition of two alleged Tren de Aragua leaders from the U.S. and Colombia to face charges in Chile related to the 2024 abduction and killing of former Venezuelan army Lt. Ronald Ojeda, whose body was found buried in Santiago. Chilean authorities have charged Rafael Enrique Gámez Salas, allegedly the leader of Tren de Aragua's Los Piratas branch in Chile, with kidnapping, extortion, and criminal association. Alfredo Camilo Carrillo Ortiz, alias “El Gocho,” was extradited from Colombia and is accused by Chilean prosecutors of helping plan and execute Ojeda’s killing.
Chile's undersecretary for public security, María del Pilar Giannini, described the extraditions as a "concrete demonstration" of the Kast government's campaign against organized crime. U.S. officials praised Gámez’s extradition from California, where he was serving a federal prison sentence, calling it evidence of strong cooperation with Chilean partners to combat transnational crime and hold members of foreign terrorist organizations accountable.