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The alleged leader of the armed wing of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang has been arrested in Colombia.
Police said José Antonio Márquez Morales, known as “Caracas,” was captured in Valledupar. He is accused of handling money and logistics for the gang’s crimes, including extortion, drug trafficking, and smuggling.
Alias ”Caracas” carried out “terrorist actions involving explosives, homicides, firearms trafficking, and ‘territorial control’ on the Colombian-Venezuelan border,” said the director of the Colombian National Police.
Colombian police chief Carlos Fernando Triana Beltrán said Márquez Morales was wanted under an Interpol Red Notice, which asks police around the world to hold someone until extradition. The arrest involved Colombia, the US, and the UK.
The news comes as US President Donald Trump escalates his fight against drug cartels. He has declared Tren de Aragua a terrorist group and deported more than 250 alleged members to a prison in El Salvador.
Trump has also sent warships to the Caribbean and ordered strikes on boats he said were carrying drugs from Venezuela.
His administration accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of working with cartels and is offering $50 million for information leading to his capture. However, Maduro rejects these claims and says his government is fighting drug trafficking.
Sources: BBC, CNN.
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