DOJ charges 54 members of Tren de Aragua with ATM theft scheme to finance terrorism

The Department of Justice announced on Thursday the indictment of 54 members and alleged leaders of the criminal gang and terrorist group Tren de Aragua (TdA) for their participation in a multi-million dollar ATM robbery scheme, better known as "ATM jackpotting."

According to the indictment, the multimillion-dollar ATM theft served to finance terrorist activities of the Venezuelan criminal organization in the United States.

As reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nebraska, a federal grand jury filed two formal indictments detailing a massive conspiracy to deploy malware on bank and credit union ATMs across different states, resulting in the theft of millions of dollars in cash.

The main indictment, filed Dec. 9, charges 22 people with counts including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, bank fraud, bank robbery, computer crimes and money laundering, the DOJ reported.

A second indictment, filed in October, involves 32 other defendants and totals 56 additional charges.

Among the names highlighted in the indictment is Jimena Romina Araya Navarro, alias "Rosita," a Venezuelan artist identified as the alleged leader of the Tren de Aragua who had already been sanctioned days ago by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department.

U.S. authorities allege that Araya Navarro allegedly collaborated with Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias "Niño Guerrero," the top leader and architect of the TdA's hemispheric expansion. Authorities allege that "Rosita" was linked to money laundering operations and logistical support for the criminal group, in addition to being Guerrero Flores' alleged partner.

According to prosecutors, Tren de Aragua used a malware variant known as Ploutus, designed to take over ATM cash dispensers and thus force unauthorized cash withdrawals.

According to the indictment, the members of the dreaded gang operated in a coordinated manner. They performed surveillance beforehand, opened the ATMs, installed the malicious software and then distributed the money according to previously established percentages, erasing traces to hinder the authorities' work.

The Department of Justice stated that part of the funds obtained through these thefts were channeled to leaders of Tren de Aragua to sustain their violent and terrorist activities, both inside and outside the United States.

Tren de Aragua is one of the fastest growing criminal gangs in the hemisphere, with an active presence in several countries in South America, Central America, Europe and the U.S.

"This violent terrorist organization relies on a wide range of criminal activities to generate revenue supporting their campaigns of violence and terror," FBI authorities said, who described Tren de Aragua as a direct threat to national security. The criminal group, which originated as a prison gang in Venezuela in the mid-2000s, is also linked to the terrorist regime of Nicolas Maduro, a dictator formally indicted for drug trafficking in the U.S. and for whom a has $50,000,000 bounty.

If found guilty, the defendants in this case could face prison sentences ranging from 20 to 335 years. If successful, the case could be considered one of the most severe judicial responses to transnational crime related to the Maduro regime in the United States.

The operation, according to the DOJ, is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), an interagency initiative created to dismantle cartels, foreign gangs and transnational criminal organizations, with special emphasis on those linked to terrorism and human trafficking, both major features of the TdA.