Federal authorities in California have arrested 40-year-old Rafael Enrique Gamez Salas, a Venezuelan national identified by investigators as a high-ranking leader within the “Los Piratas” cell of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) transnational criminal organization.
The arrest, executed Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Service, comes at the formal request of the Chilean government, which seeks his extradition to face seven felony charges, including kidnapping, extortion, and a high-profile homicide involving a former military officer.
Gamez Salas, who also used the aliases “Turko” and “Adrian Rafael Gamez Finol,” is accused of orchestrating the February 2024 abduction of a former Lieutenant in the Venezuelan military from an apartment in Santiago, Chile.
According to Chilean investigators, the suspects impersonated police officers, using a battering ram to enter the victim’s home before taking him away in a vehicle equipped with emergency lights. A week later, authorities discovered the victim’s body buried three feet deep under a concrete slab in a makeshift dwelling.
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An autopsy revealed the victim had been tortured and died of asphyxia due to hanging. Intercepted communications allegedly show Gamez Salas claiming he was assigned the task of coordinating the crime “from above.”
The legal history of Gamez Salas in the United States is extensive. He was originally removed to Venezuela in 2023 for illegal entry but returned to the U.S. shortly after.
Since his return, he was convicted of human smuggling in Texas in February 2025 and later pleaded guilty to federal charges of illegal reentry in April 2025. He was serving a prison sentence in the Central District of California when the extradition warrant was served.
“This illegal alien from Venezuela is an alleged leader of the foreign terrorist organization TdA,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “While in the United States, he was convicted of human smuggling and is accused by Chile of heinous violent crimes. This man is a clear public safety threat and should never have been in this country but reentered the United States illegally under the Biden Administration. The Justice Department, along with our federal and international partners, will continue to put safety and security first.”
Beyond the military officer’s murder, Chile alleges Gamez Salas directed an April 2024 armed confrontation that resulted in the death of a Chilean police officer, as well as several other kidnappings for ransom. Prosecutors claim he was responsible for ensuring the financial proceeds of these crimes were funneled out of Chile to TdA leadership.
“Our country must never become a refuge for criminal illegal aliens who are senior members of foreign terrorist organizations,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “We will continue to work closely with our overseas law enforcement partners to ensure this defendant will face justice in a Chilean courtroom.”
The extradition process follows a similar case from September 2025, when the U.S. sent another alleged TdA member, Edgar Javier Benitez Rubio, back to Chile to face charges related to the same homicide investigation. Gamez Salas appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick on Wednesday and remains in federal custody pending the outcome of the extradition proceedings.
While the suspect is also subject to a U.S. removal order to Venezuela, Venezuelan law generally prohibits the extradition of its own citizens, making the Chilean request the primary legal avenue for prosecution.
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