Tren de Aragua Leaders Face Up to $50 Million in Rewards; New Indictment Adds Three Defendants and Says Venezuelan Military Helped Move Gang's Gold

The State Department is now offering up to $50 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of three Tren de Aragua leaders, after a federal grand jury in Houston returned a new nine-count indictment that the Justice Department unsealed this week.

The Justice Department announced the rewards on Thursday. The Digital Free Press reviewed the 15-page third superseding indictment, which names six defendants, three more than the department's announcement highlights.

The Rewards and the Three Leaders

The department said the State Department raised its reward for Yohan José Romero, known as "Yohan Petrica," 48, from up to $4 million to up to $20 million, and for Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, known as "El Viejo," 37, from up to $5 million to up to $15 million. It announced a new reward of up to $15 million for Juan Gabriel Rivas Núñez, known as "Juancho," 44.

All three were charged in 2025 with conspiring to provide material support to Tren de Aragua, which the State Department designated a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025. The department said Mosquera Serrano is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and that the other two are also fugitives.

"Since President Trump returned to office, the Department of Justice has charged more than 350 members and associates of Tren de Aragua," Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the release.

What the Tren de Aragua Indictment Adds

The indictment, returned on July 29 in the Southern District of Texas, adds three more defendants: Elvis Enrique Perdigón Dávila, known as "Fresa"; Humberto Alexander Guevara Alzolay, known as "Toto"; and Junior Eduardo García Maestre, known as "Babalao," whom it describes as a cocaine supplier who controls labs in Venezuela and Colombia.

The document alleges that Romero ran the gang for a substantial period from Venezuela's Tocorón Prison, where it says "the Venezuelan government allowed him to control the day-to-day operations of that prison." It also alleges that Romero, through subordinates, controls gold mines in the Las Claritas area of Venezuela, known as Kilómetro 88, and that "there was no distribution of gold" from that area without his approval.

According to the indictment, Romero's subordinates "used the Venezuelan military to assist with the transport of gold" from the mines to ports, and it says the proceeds supported the gang's activities, including smuggling gold into the United States, among other places the Southern District of Texas. It says Rivas Núñez, Perdigón Dávila and Guevara Alzolay were involved in illegally importing gold into the United States.

Cocaine Counts and a July Shipment

The drug counts are specific. The indictment charges Mosquera Serrano with distributing about 10 kilograms of cocaine on or about Nov. 6, 2024, and about 14 kilograms on or about March 5, 2025, intending that it reach the United States. It charges Perdigón Dávila and García Maestre with shipments of about 8 kilograms on or about Dec. 9, 2025, and about 20 kilograms on or about July 17, 2026, less than two weeks before the grand jury returned the indictment.

The aliases in the filing do not fully match the announcement. The indictment spells Romero's nickname "Johan Petrica" and also lists "El Viejo" among his aliases, while it lists Mosquera Serrano's alias as "El Viejo Viejo."

The government is also seeking forfeiture of assets tied to the alleged crimes. An indictment is an accusation, and all six defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

The department asked anyone with information to contact the FBI at 281-787-9939 on WhatsApp or Telegram, or at tips.fbi.gov.

Sources: United States v. Yohan Jose Romero et al., No. 4:25-cr-00030 (S.D. Tex.), third superseding indictment filed July 29, 2026, as released by the Justice Department (https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1470576/dl); U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, Nov. 5, 2026 (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/reward-offers-50m-information-leading-arrests-andor-convictions-foreign-terrorist). Cover photo: Bob Casey Federal Courthouse, Houston, by WhisperToMe, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).