FBI Director Kash Patel announced Tuesday that a Venezuelan alleged member of the Tren de Aragua terrorist organization featured in the FBI’s Most Wanted list was recently captured in Venezuela and is on his way to the United States.
Director Patel made the announcement speaking before U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) — noting that, with the latest arrest, the FBI has now apprehended all ten members of its Most Wanted list during President Donald Trump’s second term.
“Mr. Chairman, I’m proud to announce today, and I hate to correct you, we haven’t captured nine of the top 10 most [wanted] individuals on our list. We’ve captured 10,” Patel said, per Fox News.
“Just this past weekend, we captured a thug down in Venezuela who was on our most wanted list and on the run for years. He has been captured, apprehended and is on his way back to the United States of America. That’s ten of ten. Nobody in the FBI history has done that,” he continued.
While Director Patel did not disclose the identity of the captured man, the FBI revealed to Fox News Digital that the apprehended man is Venezuelan national Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre — the FBI’s first ever “cyber fugitive.”
The FBI detailed on social media that it has now arrested 2.5 more members of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives than the entire four years of the administration of former President Joe Biden. The Venezuelan socialist regime now led by “Acting President” Delcy Rodríguez has not publicly commented on the arrest of the Tren de Aragua member in Venezuela at press time.
Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre, a man in his late 40s who goes by the aliases “Prometheus” and “The Engineer,” was included in the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List in March. The Venezuelan national and alleged Tren de Aragua member stood accused of allegedly leading a large conspiracy in the United States to steal millions of dollars from financial institutions to fund the terrorist group. A U.S. District Court in Nebraska charged Canelon Aguirre and dozens of others with ATM jackpotting, computer fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering charges. The U.S. Department of Justice detailed at the time that Canelon Aguirre was believed to be in Venezuela.
Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowell detailed in March that Canelón Aguirre developed malware that targeted hundreds of U.S. financial institutions’ ATMs, forcing the machines to dispense large amounts of cash not linked to any account. Kowel explained at the time that the now-arrested Venezuelan national had been evading law enforcement since 2017, when ATM jackpotting was first reported in the United States. Since than, over 1,800 such incidents have been reported, totaling over $55 million in losses.
The arrest of the FBI’s first-ever “cyber fugitive” and alleged Tren de Aragua member and his impending arrival in the United States comes months after United States military forces conducted a strike on Venezuelan territory that led to the death of Tren de Aragua’s fugitive leader, Héctor Rusthenford “El Niño” Guerrero.
The Venezuelan socialist regime, during the rule of deposed dictator Nicolás Maduro, repeatedly denied the existence of the terrorist group — claiming that it had been “dismantled” following a prison “raid” in 2023. The FBI later detailed in 2025 that the bureau had reasons to believe that Maduro and his regime were actively using Tren de Aragua to “destabilize” the United States and several Latin American countries.
The ruling Venezuelan socialists’ stance appears to have dramatically changed following Maduro’s arrest. President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth detailed in June that the strike against Guerrero occurred with the full cooperation of the Venezuelan authorities.
Director Patel’s announcement occurred on the same day that Alex Saab, allegedly Nicolás Maduro’s top money launderer, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges before a Miami court. Saab, who was arrested by the United States and later pardoned and released by former President Biden in 2023, was extradited and sent back to the United States earlier this year to face a new money laundering trial.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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