Venezuelan TikToker Leonel Moreno grimaces in his mugshot after being nabbed by ICE for crossing into US illegally then telling others how to on social media

The mugshot of the Venezuelan migrant sharing tips on social media on how to make a living from the US government has been revealed.

Leonel Moreno, 27, has been on the run from immigration since he illegally crossed the border at Eagle Pass, Texas, in April 2022, ICE told DailyMail.com.

ICE had lost track of Moreno until his videos of him telling migrants how to live off the state went viral. They have now listed him as possibly living in Columbus, Ohio.

The migrant’s TikTok account @leitooficial_25, where he had amassed half a million followers, was suspended following his controversial clips.

A TikTok spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the platform does not allow users to promote criminal activities.

Moreno participated in the Alternatives to Detention program, which allows migrants on parole to walk free while officials follow them until their next court hearing. But he failed to show up for his court hearing in Miami in November 2022 and is now listed as an “absconder” in the program.

On Tuesday, Moreno posted several apparently sobbing clips to a newly created account as he claimed he was being sued and threatened after his original TikTok account was suspended on Saturday.

‘I am in danger of dying in the US! I need protection! I am being persecuted! My account has been blocked!’ He said as liquid dripped from his nose.

“My people, I want you to pay attention to what is happening, because my family is in danger. They deleted my TikTok accounts. I have received threats from powerful people. Staff!’

In another video, he added: “My people, they got what they wanted! Jealousy has reached my family! Everything that happens is because of your wickedness!

“They want to silence me!”

It seems Moreno has no plans to stop his dedicated content, as he shared a clip of himself counting hundred-dollar bills on Wednesday and said he doesn’t have to work to make money.

In one of his now-viral videos, Moreno instructed his followers how to “invade” American homes and invoke squatters’ rights, claiming that under U.S. law “if a house is not occupied, we confiscate it can take’.

Moreno also made headlines in February after demanding that Venezuelans unite to help a 15-year-old migrant accused of shooting a tourist and killing an NYPD officer in Times Square.

The videos have been widely shared as Venezuelan migrants fleeing their country’s collapse become one of the largest nationalities arriving at the US-Mexico border.

Venezuelans have taken to social media to label him as a troll, accusing him of using their situation to become an influencer while spreading hatred against migrants who plan to work for a better life in the US.

“He has gone absolutely viral for all the wrong reasons and is a complete disgrace and disgrace to my home country,” Daniel Laplana wrote on X.

“I have nothing but contempt for the man and his intolerable caricature of a Venezuelan migrant,” said Venezuelan-American Rafael Estruve, chairman of Houston Young Republicans.

“His charade is a gross mix of incompetence and arrogance on full display, and he is by far one of the absolute worst representations of Venezuelans on a public stage.”

Others accused Moreno of “provoking anger.” Many Venezuelans believe he is deliberately trying to stoke anger to gain more views and be profitable on TikTok as the US receives record numbers of Venezuelans.

The coverage allowed Moreno to increase his follower count. In February, when one of his videos first went viral, he had fewer than 219,000 followers, about half of what he had when his account was suspended last week.

On Friday, Moreno livestreamed himself sleeping as as many as 270 people watched the static image and sent donations.

One of the comments from his fans read: ‘Make money while you sleep, yah, you’re the best.’

Some of his other videos show him begging for money on the street with his daughter. Others show him bragging about using the financial assistance he supposedly receives from the government to help his toddler buy a car.

In several clips, Moreno shows viewers the squalid area under a bridge that he thought would serve as a great living space while he saved to rent a house.

Many of his fans seem to see Moreno as some kind of comedian, with comments claiming he is playing up the stereotype of a migrant in the US.

Regardless of Moreno’s intentions or actual positions, however, his comments have sparked outrage among Americans already worried about the crisis at the border, largely fueled by Venezuelans fleeing socialism.

One comment on Moreno’s TikTok read: “We Americans are going to vote in November for politicians who will deport you back to Venezuela as soon as possible.”

Another read: ‘I hope they take your baby away and send you back to your country, you’re causing too much trouble.’

Venezuelans represent the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 7.7 million people living outside their country – even larger than Ukrainians and Syrians.

It is a rare case of mass migration from a country that is not at war but has experienced one of the most extreme reversals in recent history following the socialist takeover two decades ago.

Venezuela has suffered political, economic and humanitarian crises over the past decade, making food and other necessities unaffordable for those left behind. The vast majority who fled settled in neighboring Latin America, but many have come to the United States in the past three years.