WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY, Dec 3 (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a Venezuelan actress for allegedly using her entertainment career to launder money and support the Tren de Aragua gang.
Jimena Araya, also known as “Rosita” for the name of her character in comedy shows “Cheverísimo” and “¡A que te ríes!,” is romantically linked to a Tren de Aragua kingpin and helped him escape Venezuelan prison in 2012, the U.S. Treasury said.
According to U.S. authorities, Araya launders money for the organization by performing as a DJ at nightclubs and diverting a portion of the revenues to the gang’s leadership.
The Treasury named one of the nightclubs as Maiquetia VIP Bar Restaurant in the Colombian capital Bogota. The venue’s owner, her former bodyguard and manager Eryk Landaeta, was also sanctioned.
“The Tren de Aragua network’s narcotrafficking and human smuggling operations have long posed a grave threat to our nation,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, adding that the U.S. will “use every tool to cut off these terrorists from the U.S. and global financial system.”
Araya lives in Mexico, though her posts on Instagram, where she boasts 3.5 million followers, often show her traveling in Venezuela, Europe and the Caribbean. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a separate statement on Wednesday, Mexican authorities said they had sanctioned a “Venezuelan public figure linked to the entertainment sphere,” without naming Araya, and presented evidence to prosecutors for a criminal case to be opened.
US CRACKDOWN ON VENEZUELA
Separately on Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said it was raising its reward to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of a Tren de Aragua leader, Giovanni Mosquera.
Tren de Aragua, a gang with prison origins, has become a key reference in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and as the U.S. ramps up military presence in the Caribbean.
On Tuesday, Trump said that any country trafficking illegal drugs into the U.S. could be attacked, including Venezuela or Colombia.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry in Mexico City, Katharine Jackson in Washington and Bhargav Acharya in Toronto, editing by Deepa Babington)
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