Tren de Aragua leader extradited on terrorism and international drug distribution charges following Homeland Security Task Force investigation

HOUSTON - A 24-year-old Venezuelan national is set to make his initial appearance in Houston federal court for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and significant drug trafficking offenses, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.

Jose Enrique Martinez Flores aka Chuqui, 24, is alleged to be a high-ranking leader of the designated foreign terrorist organization Tren de Aragua in Bogota, Colombia, and is part of the inner circle of senior TdA leadership.

Colombian authorities arrested him in Colombia March 31, 2025, pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant the United States had requested. He has now arrived in Houston and is set for an initial appearance May 15 at 10 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan of the Southern District of Texas.

According to the allegations, Flores is charged with one count of conspiring to provide material support to TdA in the form of personnel (including himself) and services and one count of providing material support to TdA. The indictment also alleges international drug distribution conspiracy based on his involvement in the distribution of five kilograms of cocaine or more in Colombia intended for distribution in the United States. The charges allege the proceeds were used to further TdA's criminal goals.

As a TdA leader, he allegedly oversaw criminal activities in Colombia such as drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution and murder.

A federal grand jury in Houston returned a second superseding indictment Dec. 16, 2025, which also charges three other TdA leaders - Yohan Jose Romero aka Johan Petrica, 48, Juan Gabriel Rivas Nunez aka Juancho, 45, and Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano aka El Viejo, 38, for conspiring to provide and providing material support to TdA. Mosquera Serrano is also named in the conspiracy and distribution of cocaine charges along with Flores.

The Department of State designated TdA as a foreign terrorist organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist Feb. 20, 2025.

If convicted, he faces up to life in prison and a possible $10 million fine.

Mosquera SerranoLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List. Jose Romero and Rivas Nunez are also fugitives. Anyone with information concerning either individual is asked to contact the FBI via WhatsApp or Telegram at 281-787-9939. Those with information may also contact their local FBI office, nearest American Embassy or Consulate or can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

The Department of State's Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program is also offering a reward of up to $4 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Jose RomeroLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. and up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Mosquera SerranoLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey N. MacDonald and Anibal J. Alaniz of the SDTX are prosecuting the case along with Deputy Director David C. Smith and Trial Attorneys James Keller and Kelly McGann of Joint Task Force Vulcan.

This case is part of JTFV, which was created in 2019 to eradicate MS-13 and now expanded at the direction of the Attorney General to target TdA. JTFV is comprised of U.S. Attorney's Offices across the country. Those include SDTX; Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina; Western District of Virginia; Southern District of Florida; Eastern District of Texas; Western District of Oklahoma; Northern District of Indiana; and Districts of Nevada and Arizona as well as the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and Department of Justice's National Security Division. Additionally, Federal Bureau of Prisons; FBI; Drug Enforcement Administration; Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Marshals Service and Homeland Security Task Forces are essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.

This case is part of the HSTF established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Houston comprises agents and officers from FBI; DEA; Texas Department of Public Safety; Houston Police Department; Harris County Sheriff's Office; ATF; USMS; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Department of Transportation and IRS Criminal Investigation with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas leading the prosecution.

Colombian National Police (Policía Nacional de Colombia) and the Colombian Attorney General's Office (Fiscalía General de la Nación), Justice Department's Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia, and Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the provisional arrest and extradition of Flores to the United States.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.