Wife of Venezuelan migrant influencer who made TikToks encouraging people to invade US and squat in houses complains she can’t see him after he was arrested and thrown in jail

The wife of Venezuelan migrant Leonel Moreno is said to be distraught after being barred from visiting her husband in federal prison.

Moreno, 27, was arrested in Columbus, Ohio, and is now in federal custody been since been hunted by ICE he crossed the border illegally at Eagle Pass, Texas in April 2022.

Veronica Torres now complains she doesn’t even know where her husband was taken, and was seen in tears outside an airport hotel in the Columbus suburb of Gahanna.

“We don’t know where they took him and I can’t see him,” she said The New York Post. “I can’t give you more information because I don’t know much.”

ICE records show Moreno is being held at the Geauga County Jail in Ohio, about 165 miles northeast of Columbus.

Moreno was released as part of the Alternatives to Detention Program, which allows migrants on parole to go free while officials follow them until their next court hearing.

He was scheduled to appear in court in Miami in November 2022, but never showed up.

“Moreno was told to report to the Enforcement and Removal Office within 60 days of arriving at his destination, but he did not report as required. On March 29, 2024, Moreno was arrested in Gahanna, Ohio by agents from ERO Detroit’s Columbus office and is currently being held pending further immigration proceedings,” an ICE spokesperson explained.

“ICE agents will come and get him if he needs to be moved and take him anywhere,” Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand told The Post.

Moreno has long seemed to arouse law enforcement as the fugitive shared tips on how to break into vacant homes and appeal for squatters’ rights, before bragging about how he was living off US government handouts on his TikTok account.

He had managed to amass more than half a million followers before the account was eventually suspended.

Moreno was particularly vocal and somewhat embarrassed the authorities, who seemed to have lost track of him.

But he ended up posting so many videos that it only gave ICE enough clues as to his whereabouts.

In several of his videos, he often showed wads of cash that he claimed were the result of government subsidies and that he was begging for cash.

“I didn’t cross the Rio Grande to work like a slave,” Moreno said in an Instagram clip. “I came to the US to stake out my territory.”

“You’re hurt because I earn more than you without much work, while you work like slaves, understand?”

On Tuesday, he posted a series of bizarre videos of himself crying from a new account claiming he was a victim of persecution.

‘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!”

In a clip shared on Wednesday, he was seen counting one hundred dollar bills as he bragged that 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’.

TikTok told DailyMail.com that it has now suspended Moreno’s original account as it prevents users from promoting criminal content.

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

The fugitive traveled to the US with his wife and young daughter, who regularly appears in his clips.

The family reportedly received $350 a week from the federal government.

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.

But many Venezuelans have taken to social media to denounce Moreno, accusing him of exploiting their situation to become an influencer while spreading hatred against migrants who plan to work for a better life in The United States.

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.