Larry Changa, 46, is from the Venezuelan state of Aragua, from which his criminal organization takes its name.
Under his leadership, Tren de Aragua grew from a prison gang based in Tocoron Prison, where he and co-founder Héctor Guerrero Flores were serving sentences for murder, to an international criminal organization.
Changa succeeded in escaping from Tocoron in 2015.
Three years later he reappeared in Chile, where prosecutors said he began laundering money for the gang.
Venezuelan author Ronna Rísquez, who wrote a book about the Tren de Aragua, explains in a BBC News Mundo article (in Spanish) how crime in Chile has skyrocketed as a result of the Tren de Aragua's expansion.
Mr. Rísquez said the gang expanded its empire by exploiting the millions of migrants moving from Venezuela to other Latin American countries.
They are involved in extortion of immigrants, sex trafficking, contract killings, and kidnapping.
Larry Changa is believed to have left Chile in 2022 after Chilean police began arresting him.
Colombian police tracked him down in Chercasia, a small town in Colombia's coffee-growing region.
Authorities have not yet provided details on how they found Larry Changa, but have said he will be taken to the Colombian capital Bogotá.
The Pentagon said on Twitter that its message to other criminal leaders was clear: “We will continue to pursue them until they pay for their crimes.”
Among the co-founders of the still-operating Train de Aragua is Hector Guerrero Flores, who escaped from Tocoron prison last year.
Police across Latin America hope Larry Changa's arrest will provide clues to Guerrero Flores' whereabouts.
