Venezuelan Entertainer Sanctioned for Ties to Violent Gang

A Venezuelan model, actress, and DJ, linked romantically to the leader of the Tren de Aragua gang, faced sanctions from the U.S. Treasury on Wednesday. This action stems from her involvement in an entertainment network that allegedly supports foreign terrorist groups.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has officially designated Jimena Romina Araya Navarro, often referred to as Rosita. She is noted for having millions of fans on social media and, alongside fellow entertainers, is said to have assisted in laundering money for the gang.

Reports indicate that Rosita aided her purported former partner, Hector Rustenford Guerrero Flores, known as ‘Niño Guerrero,’ in escaping from a Venezuelan prison in 2012.

Rosita’s online profiles reveal that she has featured on various popular Spanish-language TV shows, works as a DJ, and promotes electronic house music across Colombia and Mexico.

However, much of her income appears to have been redirected to funding Venezuela’s infamous criminal organizations, partly through performances at a Bogotá nightclub managed by her ex-bodyguard Eric Manuel Randaeta Hernandez.

Eric was apprehended by Colombian authorities in October 2024, and he allegedly used events at his club to further drug trafficking and money laundering for both Niño Guerrero and another gang leader, Mosquera Serrano, both of whom have already been sanctioned.

Both Eric’s venue, Maiquetia VIP Bar Restaurant, and Rosita’s company, Global Import Solutions SA, have also received sanctions from the Treasury.

The specifics of Rosita and Niño Guerrero’s relationship are unclear, but she has a history of dating individuals with criminal backgrounds.

In 2012, she appeared in an adult animated series called Jail or Hell, where she became involved with the show’s creator, Ruidig Ochoa, a former convict who had been imprisoned in Tocolon. That relationship ended tragically when Ochoa was shot during an attempted robbery while on a motorcycle.

Years later, Rosita began a relationship with Carlos Galíndez, connected to a drug gang, who was murdered and mutilated in Caracas in 2016 according to local reports.

Images of Galíndez’s remains were said to have been circulated by family members of Nicolas Maduro’s wife, who purportedly sought to shield Rosita from potential harm following her boyfriend’s death.

These recent sanctions mean that Rosita will be prohibited from accessing the U.S. financial system.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent commented that under the previous administration, measures have been taken to prevent terrorist cartels from operating freely. He emphasized the seriousness of the threats posed by the Tren de Aragua network.

Rosita and Eric have been sanctioned for materially supporting TDA, according to the Treasury Department.

Aside from them, the sanctions also extend to other individuals associated with the gang, including Kenferso Josue Sevilla Arteaga, known as “El Flipper,” arrested in Colombia on multiple serious charges.

Furthermore, several leaders and operatives of TDA have also faced repercussions from the U.S. government.

Recent intelligence suggests that Venezuelan officials have allegedly enabled the illegal entry of TDA members into the United States, aiming to promote what they view as the Maduro regime’s destabilizing objectives. Over the years, TDA gang members have reportedly expanded their activities across at least 16 states in America, engaging in various crimes.

In February, both TDA and the Salvadoran gang MS-13 were designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department.