The U.S. State Department announced a $15 million reward for information leading to the capture of Juan Gabriel Rivas Núñez, whom it identifies as a leader of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua criminal group. (Foto: Instagram)
The U.S. State Department announced a $15 million reward on Thursday, Nov. 5, for information leading to the capture of Juan Gabriel Rivas Núñez, whom it identifies as a leader of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua criminal group. The department said the reward is worth more than 82 million Brazilian reais.
The State Department said Rivas Núñez directs the group’s criminal activity in Venezuela and has led its operations since at least 2009. It also described him as second-in-command of what it called the world’s fourth-largest gold deposit. The department said the group was previously known as “Sindicato Juancho.”
Brazilian authorities arrested Rivas Núñez in Boa Vista in November 2023. He spent time in prison before being granted house arrest, but escaped in early 2025, according to the report.
The State Department said people with information about Rivas Núñez can contact authorities by text message, phone call, Telegram or WhatsApp at +1-281-787-9939. People can also contact an FBI office or go to a U.S. embassy or consulate.
Tren de Aragua is known for violent crimes and has been described by President Donald Trump as a threat to the U.S. population. The group was founded in 2012 at Tocorón prison in Venezuela. Its former leader, Hector Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, had been a fugitive since escaping through underground tunnels in 2018. He was killed during a U.S. military operation in June 2026, according to the report.
Within a few years, Tren de Aragua became Venezuela’s largest criminal group and a business partner of Brazil’s Primeiro Comando da Capital, known as PCC. Trump has classified the Venezuelan group as a “narco-terrorist” organization.
