Reported by Eurasia Review

(Summary shared below. To read full report, go to: https://www.eurasiareview.com/04122025-us-targets-money-laundering-network-supporting-venezuelan-terrorist-organization-tren-de-aragua/#google_vignette)

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on December 3, 2025 that it has imposed fresh sanctions on a new network of affiliates tied to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), marking another step in Washington’s clampdown on transnational criminal organizations.  Among those newly sanctioned is Venezuelan entertainer Jimena Romina Araya Navarro (aka “Rosita”), accused of helping the gang’s leader escape prison years ago — and suspected of funneling proceeds from nightlife events and entertainment ventures into TdA’s illicit operations. 

Alongside “Rosita,” OFAC targeted several high-level gang lieutenants and support operatives — including individuals involved in money laundering, extortion, and cross-border criminal logistics — as well as entities linked to TdA in South America.  These designations build on earlier efforts: TdA was first sanctioned as a transnational criminal organization in mid-2024 and later designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in early 2025. 

In parallel, the U.S. government significantly raised the stakes on TdA’s top leadership. A reward of up to US$5 million is now being offered for information leading to the capture and conviction of senior TdA figure Giovanni Vicente Mosquera Serrano, already among the most wanted fugitives linked to the group’s drug trafficking and extortion operations. 

The Treasury emphasized that these sanctions are part of a broader crackdown — intended to sever TdA’s access to U.S. and global financial systems, disrupt their ability to launder money and finance violence, and cut off resources used for narcotics trafficking, human smuggling, and violent crime. 

This latest wave of action underlines that aiding a gang like TdA — even indirectly, via entertainment, business fronts or money-laundering — will no longer be tolerated. As the U.S. ramps up pressure, the fight against narco-terrorism and transnational criminal networks is clearly being expanded beyond direct traffickers to the financiers and facilitators who undergird their operations.