Chilean authorities have busted a money laundering operation that moved $88 million for the Tren de Aragua cartel, using a mix of bank accounts, irregular companies and cryptocurrency remittances. The investigation, which began in 2024, identified an 18-man network that has now been shut down.
How the scheme worked
The group didn't rely on crypto alone. According to the investigation, the launderers used traditional bank accounts and set up shell companies to layer the funds, then turned to cryptocurrency remittances to move money across borders. The mix made it harder to trace — but not impossible. Chile's financial police spent more than a year tracking the flows before moving in.
The Tren de Aragua connection
Tren de Aragua is a Venezuelan criminal organization with a growing footprint in Latin America. Its operations include extortion, kidnapping and drug trafficking. The $88 million that passed through this Chilean ring likely came from those activities. This isn't the first time the cartel has used crypto to clean money, but the scale of this particular ring stands out.
What happens now
Authorities have not released the names of all 18 suspects. Charges will follow as the case moves through Chilean courts. The investigation is considered closed, but police are likely to look for related networks — the infrastructure that moves cartel money rarely runs in isolation.
