Colombian authorities have arrested a senior member of the transnational criminal network, Tren de Aragua, detaining Jorge Luis Páez Cordero, aka Cucaracho, in the northern city of Santa Marta.

Police said Cordero was a close associate of the group’s leader, Héctor ‘Niño Guerrero’ and coordinated large cocaine shipments from Colombia and Venezuela to Central America, the U.S. and Europe.

He was also the subject of a Red Notice issued by Interpol and was accused of organising extortion, kidnapping and money laundering operations across the Caribbean region.

Video released by investigators showed a special police unit entering Mr Cordero’s residence and arresting him in his bedroom.

Authorities seized four mobile phones and a tablet, which are now under examination.

Originating in Venezuela, Tren de Aragua has grown into one of the region’s most influential criminal networks, with activities spanning drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping.

Analysts described it as a loosely connected network of gangs rather than a centralised cartel.

The arrest follows a surge in drug-related violence in Mexico linked to operations targeting the leader of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, aka El Mencho.

At least 74 people were killed in the clashes and subsequent unrest during a recent military operation, according to reports. 

(dpa/NAN)