The Trump administration is going after a Venezuelan social media influencer as tensions with the South American country reach a boiling point.
On Wednesday, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against five Venezuelans accused of being linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, specifically highlighting Rosita—whose legal name is Jimena Romina Araya Navarro—a DJ and social media influencer with more than 3 million followers on Instagram.
“Today, OFAC is sanctioning a network of individuals and entities in the entertainment industry involved in providing material support to TdA,” the press release said.
A screenshot from the Treasury Department’s press release, displaying side-by-side photos of Rosita working as a DJ.
According to the announcement, Rosita held “drug-fueled parties” to funnel money to the Venezuelan gang. She was also accused of helping the gang’s leader, Niño Guerrero, escape from a prison.
Daily Kos reached out to Rosita’s management and the Treasury Department but did not receive a response by time of publication.
But as the Trump team targets social media influencers, the administration’s attacks on Venezuela continue to escalate, resulting in the killing of more than 80 people purportedly trying to smuggle drugs into the United States.
According to the Washington Post, as people held on to a boat during a Sept. 2 missile strike, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered military officials to “kill them all.”
Now, Democrats and Republicans are questioning whether these strikes were war crimes.
“A couple of hours later, I learned that that commander had made the [decision], which he had the complete authority to do,” Hegseth said during a Tuesday Cabinet meeting. “And by the way, Adm. Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat.”
Trump has had it out for Venezuelan President Nicolas Madúro since his first term, but his approach today is far more violent than his 2018 sanctions—and it’s all being done under the widely disputed narrative that Tren de Aragua has infiltrated the United States.
Apparently in its pretend war on drugs, social media personalities have become another casualty.
