Colombia Arrests Two Alleged Tren de Aragua Leaders Wanted by US Authorities

Colombia says it has dealt a fresh blow to Tren de Aragua with the capture of two alleged senior figures in Manizales, in the department of Caldas.

The arrests took place during Operation Titan, according to President Abelardo de la Espriella. Police identified the detainees as Richard José Espinal Quintero, known as El Coti, and Henderzon Adrián Villarroel Luque, known as El Patón. Both are listed by the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control as Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons.

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Today, in Manizales, our National Police, through DIPOL and GAULA-ÉLITE, captured two important leaders of this transnational terrorist organization.

De la Espriella said Espinal Quintero ranked fourth in Tren de Aragua's Colombian structure and linked him to criminal operations between the Caribbean coast and the Coffee Region. The president also said the suspect maintained criminal alliances for cocaine and weapons trafficking and had been wanted since 2023 under an Interpol red notice.

Authorities accuse Villarroel Luque of involvement in arms trafficking and of coordinating logistics for moving cocaine to Central America, the United States and Europe. The arrests came days after Colombian authorities detained Luis Saúl Pérez Nieto, described as a Tren de Aragua leader in Peru and a close associate of the gang's founder, known as Niño Guerrero. Colombian authorities say the latest detentions form part of an effort to dismantle the group's structures and international trafficking links.

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This criminal maintained alliances for cocaine and weapons trafficking and had been a fugitive since 2023 with an Interpol red notice.