- Leonel Moreno, 27, was arrested in Columbus, Ohio, Fox reports
- He had been wanted since April 2022 after he entered the country illegally through Eagle Pass, Texas.
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Fugitive Venezuelan migrant Leonel Moreno was finally arrested by ICE after nearly two years on the run.
The 27-year-old was arrested in Columbus, Ohio and is now in federal custody, Fox’s Bill Melugin reports.
Moreno has been pursued by ICE since he illegally crossed the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, in April 2022.
He was released as part of the Alternatives to Detention Program, which allows immigrant parolees to remain free while officials track them until their next court date.
Moreno was due to appear in court in Miami in November 2022, but never showed up.
Fugitive Venezuelan migrant Leonel Moreno has finally been arrested by ICE after almost two years on the run
Moreno became famous for sharing tips on how to invade empty houses in the United States. Pictured: Moreno’s mugshot from April 2022.
The fugitive recently made headlines after sharing tips on how to invade empty houses and live off the US government on his TikTok account @leitooficial_25, where he had more than half a million followers before the account was suspended.
The videos appear to have led ICE to his whereabouts, as it had previously proven difficult to track him.
On Tuesday, he posted a series of bizarre videos of him sobbing from a new account claiming to be a victim of persecution.
‘I am in danger of death in the United States! I need protection! I’m being chased! My account has been blocked!’ he said as the liquid fell from his nose.
‘My people, I need you to pay attention to what is happening because my family is in danger. They deleted my TikTok accounts. I have received threats from powerful people. Aid!’
In another video he added: ‘My people, you have gotten what you wanted! Envy has come to my family! Everything that is happening is because of your evil!
‘They want to silence me!’
TikTok told DailyMail.com that it had suspended Moreno’s original account because it does not allow users to promote criminal content.
Subsequently, Leonel Moreno’s TikTok account @leitooficial_25, where he had accumulated half a million followers, was suspended
In his videos he is shown bragging about using the financial aid he supposedly receives from the government so that his little one can buy a car.
But it looks like he has no plans to stop posting, as he shared a clip on Wednesday counting out hundred-dollar bills and bragging that he doesn’t need to work to make money.
In one of his now-viral videos, Moreno instructed his followers how to “invade” American homes and invoke squatters’ rights, stating that under American law, “if a house is not inhabited, we can confiscate it.”
Moreno also made headlines in February after demanding that Venezuelans come together to help a 15-year-old migrant accused of shooting a tourist and trying to kill a New York police officer in Times Square.
The fugitive traveled to the United States with his wife and young daughter, who frequently appear in his clips.
The federal government has reportedly given the family $350 a week.
The videos have been widely shared as Venezuelan migrants fleeing the collapse of their country become one of the largest nationalities arriving at the US-Mexico border.
But many Venezuelans have taken to social media to denounce Moreno, accusing him of exploiting their situation to become an influencer while generating hatred against immigrants who plan to work for a better life in the United States.
Venezuelans represent the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 7.7 million people outside their nation, even more than Ukrainians and Syrians.
It is a rare case of mass migration from a country that is not at war but has experienced one of the most extreme reversals of fortune in recent history after the socialist takeover 20 years ago.
Venezuela has suffered political, economic and humanitarian crises over the past decade, making food and other necessities unaffordable for those who remain. The vast majority of those who fled settled in neighboring Latin American countries, but many began arriving in the United States in the last three years.
DailyMail.com has contacted ICE for comment.