Chile arrests 18 in $88M Tren de Aragua crypto probe

On Tuesday Chilean police and the Southern Prosecutor’s Office arrested 18 people after a two-year investigation that uncovered an $88 million money‑laundering network linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The operation took place across three regions and included freezing more than 140 bank accounts and seizing about $300,000 in cash.

Prosecutors say the network used regular bank accounts, irregular companies and cryptocurrency remittances to move funds that originated in drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution and kidnappings. Investigators found the scheme moved money through conventional banks and crypto firms to send funds abroad.

Officials identified Venezuelan national Juan Carlos Pérez Asencio, who worked at Banco Santander as a recovery executive since 2019, as instrumental in opening multiple accounts used for large transactions. Charges were filed against the 18 suspects; authorities did not release the names of all detainees.

Prosecutor Héctor Barros described the case as “one of the largest money‑laundering cases we have seen in our country, linked to the Tren de Aragua,” and said investigators had targeted the group’s assets. He added that the laundered funds “left our country via cryptocurrency companies, heading to other countries.”

The arrests follow a July operation that disrupted a group called Tren del Mar. That action led to 52 arrests and uncovered about $13.5 million laundered through bank accounts and cryptocurrencies and moved to Venezuela, Colombia, the United States, Paraguay, Mexico, Spain and Argentina.

Tren de Aragua, which originated in Venezuela, has been connected to criminal activity across South America. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the group in 2024, noting it had established cross‑border financial activity, laundered funds through cryptocurrency and developed ties with the Brazilian gang Primeiro Comando da Capital.

Officials said the current arrests are intended to dismantle the network’s financial channels and prevent further movement of illicit funds while the investigation continues.