Larry Amaury Álvarez Núñez, alias “Larry Changa,” is one of the co-founders and original leaders of Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s most prominent criminal organization, which has expanded its operations across Latin America.
Although his criminal roots are in Aragua, Venezuela, the birthplace of the organization he co-founded, Changa’s reputation grew beyond his home country. His experience and leadership were essential in establishing the organization’s cells in Chile.
After several years of evading Chilean authorities, Larry Changa was finally arrested in Colombia in 2024.
History
Larry Changa was born in May 1977 in Maracay, Aragua state, Venezuela. He began his criminal career in the late 1990s, stealing vehicles and auto parts in the states of Aragua and Carabobo.
His involvement in these crimes led to his arrest in 2002 for car theft in Carabobo. He was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison. After serving his sentence, he continued his criminal activities. The murder of an auto parts dealer in Aragua in 2006 led to his rearrest, and he was sentenced to 17 years for aggravated homicide.
In 2007, Larry Changa was incarcerated at the Centro Penitenciario de Aragua, known as Tocorón, located in Aragua state. There, he met Yohan José Guerrero, alias “Johan Petrica,” and Héctor Guerrero, alias “Niño Guerrero,” and together they formed a prison gang that later became known as Tren de Aragua.
For eight years, Larry Changa, Niño Guerrero, and Johan Petrica led Tren de Aragua from prison. In 2015, as part of a strategy to expand the group’s presence across other regions of Venezuela, Larry Changa escaped from Tocorón. According to police sources, he began operating in the states of Carabobo and Guárico. His whereabouts remained unknown until his arrival in Chile in 2018.
In Chile, Larry Changa allegedly bought a bakery, a food establishment, a horse riding club, and a nightclub, using these businesses as fronts to launder illegal money from Venezuela.
Additionally, he established a faction in Chile that took control of clandestine border crossings between Chilean cities and Bolivia, which generated significant profits due to the large flow of Venezuelan migrants.
Changa kept a low profile in Chile until two vehicles registered in his name were linked to two homicides. He was summoned by the authorities, but due to lack of evidence and no criminal record in Chile, he was released. However, he became a “person of interest” to the authorities, prompting him to flee to Colombia in 2022 via air, where he was identified and returned to Chile.
Shortly after, it is believed he returned to Venezuela, from where he crossed into the Colombian city of Cúcuta, on the border. According to La Tercera, he later moved into the interior of the country, settling in Circasia, a municipality in the Quindío department.
Upon his arrival, corrupt officials gave him the ID card of a Cartagena merchant, identified as Víctor Miguel Moreno Álvarez, according to a local news outlet. Unlike in Chile, he did not maintain a low profile, purchasing a luxury SUV and land in an exclusive area under the false identity.
After settling in Colombia, according to El Tiempo, Changa began setting up ventures to launder money from drug trafficking and other criminal activities that are part of the Tren de Aragua’s portfolio, such as extortion, migrant smuggling, and illegal mining. He was also responsible for the gang’s expansion in Colombia, according to Colombia’s Ministry of Defense.
He is currently imprisoned in Colombia, and Chilean government officials have stated that they are in talks to request his extradition.
Criminal Activity
In Venezuela, Larry Changa was involved in car theft, homicide, and extortion, crimes for which he was imprisoned. After escaping Tocorón and moving to Chile, he expanded into other activities, such as money laundering, using legal businesses to launder illicit funds, which were then sent to Venezuela through a money transfer company managed by frontmen, according to El Mostrador.
At the same time, he oversaw operations involving migrant trafficking, human trafficking, and extortion in urban areas. He also led other criminal activities of the gang, such as kidnappings and small-scale drug trafficking.
After fleeing to Colombia, he resumed his previous strategy. He owned pizzerias and was about to open a chain of butcher shops, legal businesses he used as fronts for money laundering.
He continued to manage his criminal network in Chile, and from Colombia, Larry Changa directed criminal activities in Chile, such as kidnappings, according to a Chilean journalist interviewed by InSight Crime.
Geography
Larry Changa began his criminal career in the states of Aragua and Carabobo, located in central Venezuela.
He also contributed to the international expansion of Tren de Aragua in Chile, where he settled in Santiago. His criminal operations primarily took place in the Tarapacá region, located in the north, according to two officials from Chile’s Public Prosecutor’s Office who spoke with InSight Crime.
After moving to Colombia, he spent some time in the border city of Cúcuta before relocating with his family to the municipality of Circasia, in the Quindío department, where he focused on money laundering and replicating the gang’s model in the country.
Allies and Enemies
Larry Changa’s key allies include other leaders of Tren de Aragua: Niño Guerrero, who managed to escape from Tocorón during the Venezuelan government’s intervention in September 2023, and Johan Petrica, who has settled in the mining areas of Bolívar.
In addition to Guerrero and Petrica, he is supported by lieutenants such as Josué Ángel Santana, alias “El Santanita,” one of the organization’s strongest figures, who was also not apprehended during the prison raid.
In Chile, Larry Changa had strategic alliances, including his lieutenants Carlos González Vaca, alias “Estrella,” and Hernán David Landaeta Garlotti, alias “Satanás,” both of whom are imprisoned in Chile.
Prospects
The arrest of Larry Changa represents the biggest blow Tren de Aragua has faced since the takeover of Tocorón. His leadership in Chile and Colombia was crucial for the group’s expansion outside Venezuela, and his capture weakens the group’s capacity abroad.
Following his arrest, the faction he led in Chile risks becoming an independent cell with autonomous operations, losing the benefits that its relationship with Larry Changa provided.