‘Migrant Influencer’ Leonel Moreno, Venezuelan Who Posted TikTok Videos About Squatting In Homes, Arrested By ICE After Two Years On The Run

Leonel Moreno, the Venezuelan migrant and TikTok influencer, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Ohio after being a fugitive for two years.

ICE records reveal that the agency picked up Moreno, who is being held at Geauga County Jail.

He had been hunted by ICE ever since he crossed the border illegally at Eagle Pass, Texas, in April 2022.

The fugitive had been released as part of the Alternatives to Detention Program, which allows migrants on parole to go free while officials track them until their next court date. Moreno was due in Miami court in November 2022 but never showed up.

He made headlines recently after sharing tips on invading vacant homes and living off the United States government on his TikTok account @leitooficial_25, which had over 500,000 followers before it was suspended. 

The videos led ICE to his whereabouts after he proved himself challenging to find.

On March 26, he posted a series of videos from a new account in which he was sobbing and claiming to be a victim of persecution.

“I am in danger of death in the U.S.,” Moreno declared in one video. “I need protection! I am being persecuted! My account has been blocked!”

“There are open arrests in New York for me, and I’m not in New York,” he added. “I need you to pay attention to what’s happening because my family is in danger. You are in great danger, boy. Delete from the text door. The other one, too. I have received threats from powerful people. Please help! My family is in danger.”

TikTok suspended Moreno’s original account since it prohibits users from promoting criminal content.

But it appears he is not going to stop posting. On March 27, he shared a clip counting hundred-dollar bills and bragging about how he does not need a job to make money. 

In one of his videos, Moreno told his followers how to “invade” homes and invoke squatter’s rights, claiming that under U.S. law, “if a house is not inhabited,” then they “can seize it.”

Moreno had also made headlines back in February after he demanded other Venezuelans unite and help a 15-year-old migrant accused of shooting a tourist and attempting to kill an NYPD officer in Times Square.

He traveled to the U.S. with his wife, Veronica Torres, and their young daughter, who he often features in his videos.

The videos were widely shared while Venezuelan migrants fleeing their country’s collapse become one of the biggest nationalities arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.

However, many Venezuelans denounced Moreno on social media, accusing him of exploiting their situation so that he could become an influencer while inspiring hatred against migrants who want to work for a better life in America.

On March 30, Torres grew emotional as she revealed she was not allowed to see her jailed husband.

On the day after her husband was booked into jail, she was spotted crying outside the Sonesta Simply Suites Columbus Airport long-stay hotel in Gahanna, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.

In March, the Senate voted down a bipartisan border security bill that would have expedited the expulsion of migrants after former President Donald Trump told Republicans to oppose it. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called Trump’s actions “appalling.”