On Tuesday, October 14, 2025, the complex web of international crime and political tension in northern South America became even more tangled. In a dramatic turn of events, Colombian police confirmed that Ender Alexis Rojas Montán, a 31-year-old Venezuelan national and alleged top leader of the notorious Tren de Aragua criminal syndicate, died after falling from a sixth-floor apartment during a police raid in Sabaneta, a municipality just south of Medellín. The operation, carried out jointly by the Colombian National Police and the Attorney General’s Office, was aimed at executing an Interpol arrest warrant issued by Chile, where Rojas was wanted for aggravated kidnapping and organized crime, as reported by La Vanguardia and Focus Noticias.
Colonel Edgar Andrés Correa, head of the Gaula Police anti-kidnapping unit, described the incident in stark terms: “He threw himself into the void from a sixth floor upon noticing the police presence, losing his life at the scene.” Police investigators said Rojas had only recently relocated to Colombia after coordinating Tren de Aragua’s operations in Chile and Peru. His presence in the Aburrá Valley, according to Colombian authorities, was part of a broader effort to oversee the group’s expansion in the region, managing criminal activities that included extortion, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling, and forced labor networks.
During the raid, police arrested three other Venezuelan nationals—Luis Cabeza, Daviannys del Jesús Moya, and Samuel Urbina—who, authorities say, were responsible for organizing extortion and trafficking operations in municipalities near Medellín. The operation resulted in the seizure of firearms, counterfeit identity documents, cash, and communications equipment. General William Salamanca, Director of the National Police, emphasized the significance of the operation: “This individual played a leadership role in articulating the group’s structure in Antioquia. His death occurred as he attempted to evade justice in a legally authorized operation.”
The Tren de Aragua, whose origins trace back to Venezuela’s infamous Tocorón prison, has grown into one of the most powerful and feared transnational criminal organizations in Latin America. With operations now spanning Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Bolivia, the group’s reach has alarmed law enforcement across the continent. The United States, recognizing the threat posed by Tren de Aragua, has designated the group a terrorist organization and is offering up to $12 million for information leading to the capture of three of its top leaders, including Héctor Guerrero Flores, alias “Niño Guerrero.”
The raid in Sabaneta came on the same day that Colombia’s Minister of Justice, Eduardo Montealegre, firmly rejected a request from Tren de Aragua to be included in President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” initiative—a government program aimed at negotiating with armed groups to reduce violence. The proposal, submitted by lawyers for another Tren de Aragua leader, Larry Álvarez Núñez, called for the suspension of extradition orders and the appointment of Álvarez as a “peace facilitator.” Montealegre made the government’s stance clear: “We will not allow criminal organizations to mock international justice under the pretext of peace negotiations.” While Colombia has suspended extraditions in four cases involving recognized peace mediators, Montealegre stressed that “none will be extended to transnational criminal structures.”
Meanwhile, just across the border, tensions continued to escalate. On the same Tuesday morning, the United States carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a boat suspected of transporting narcotics off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people. According to a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform, the operation was ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after “intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics” and “was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks.” This marked the fifth such strike since early September, bringing the reported number of deaths in these operations to 27. Trump once again shared a video of a small boat exploding after being hit by a projectile, but, as with previous incidents, the U.S. government did not release details about the identities of those killed or the specific cargo on board.
The strikes are part of a wider U.S. crackdown on drug smuggling in the region. However, not everyone in Washington supports the current approach. Last week, a motion to require congressional approval for such strikes failed to pass the Senate. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California, who sponsored the resolution, warned on X, “These continued strikes, 27 killed to date, risk getting the US into a full-fledged war.” James Story, the former U.S. ambassador for the Venezuela Affairs Unit, echoed concerns that the strikes could be counterproductive, particularly by undermining intelligence-sharing with regional allies like Colombia. “If they believe that the intelligence they provide us will result in what some could describe as an extrajudicial killing ... that puts us in a pretty bad spot,” Story told Focus Noticias. “It puts us in contravention with international law and it undermines our ability to work in the hemisphere.”
Members of the Trump administration, including Vice President JD Vance, have dismissed allegations of extrajudicial killings. The first U.S. attack against alleged drug traffickers occurred on September 2, killing 11 people, and was followed by additional strikes on September 15, September 19, and October 3. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has repeatedly accused the U.S. of attempting to remove him from power, a suspicion fueled in August when the U.S. doubled its reward to $50 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest. The Trump administration has long claimed that Maduro maintains ties to drug traffickers, a charge he vehemently denies.
Adding another layer of uncertainty, on Monday afternoon, October 13, Venezuelan human rights activist Yendri Velásquez and political consultant Luis Peche Arteaga were shot while leaving a building in Bogotá, Colombia. The attack, carried out by two unidentified assailants waiting in a car, left both men wounded and has stoked fears among Venezuela’s diaspora that a crackdown on dissent by Maduro’s government is extending beyond its borders. Colombian authorities are investigating the incident, but no suspects have been named.
The violence against exiled Venezuelan activists comes at a particularly sensitive time. Just days before the shooting, opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize by a committee elected by the Norwegian parliament—an event that thrust Venezuela’s political crisis back into the international spotlight. In what many observers believe was a retaliatory move, Maduro announced on October 13 the closure of the Venezuelan embassy in Oslo, Norway.
As these events unfold, the region finds itself at a crossroads. The simultaneous escalation of U.S. military action, the deadly reach of transnational criminal groups, and the targeting of political dissidents abroad all point to a period of heightened volatility. For now, the fates of those caught in the crossfire—whether they are activists, alleged criminals, or ordinary citizens—remain uncertain, as leaders in Washington, Caracas, and Bogotá struggle to assert control over forces that often seem beyond anyone’s grasp.
