Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre, alias 'El Ingeniero' or 'Prometeo', was captured in Venezuelan territory over the weekend of mid-September.

He was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted list on March 12, becoming the first cybercriminal on that list, with a $1 million reward.

His capture completes the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, according to Director Kash Patel's testimony before senators.

US authorities allege part of the fraud proceeds financed the Tren de Aragua, designated a foreign terrorist organization by the US.

This item is a single-source report from Reporte Confidencial, an unclassified outlet, relaying a statement attributed to FBI Director Kash Patel: that Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre, alias 'El Ingeniero' or 'Prometeo', was captured in Venezuelan territory over the weekend of mid-September. The article also asserts that Canelón Aguirre was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted list on March 12, becoming the first cybercriminal on that list, with a $1 million reward, and that his capture completes the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. The signal is therefore a leadership-level confirmation claim, not an operational document or a court record. Its epistemic status is asserted rather than demonstrated: our corpus has no matching record for any of the three claims, and because our per-claim corroboration probe cannot yet tell whether two sources report the same claim (0 of 24,929 claim keys cross sources, measured 2026-09-13), we cannot yet check this against other sources. That is a limit of our own check, not a finding about the world.

Read against the source profile, the item should be treated as a relay of an official statement rather than independent verification. The entities listed — the FBI, Kash Patel, Tren de Aragua, Venezuela, the United States — place the claim at the intersection of US-Venezuela security cooperation and cybercrime enforcement, but the article itself supplies no documentary evidence, no Venezuelan confirmation, and no independent witness. The detail that the capture 'completes' the Ten Most Wanted list is a claim about the FBI's own list, which is directly observable; the reward figure and the 'first cybercriminal' characterization are likewise checkable against the FBI's own page. The mention of Tren de Aragua in the entity set does not, in the claims provided, establish any operational link to Canelón Aguirre; it should not be read as one.

The assessment would change on specific, near-term observables. Within about seven days, the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives official page should show Canelón Aguirre as captured or removed if the claim is accurate. Within about thirty days, Venezuelan Ministry of Interior/Justice press releases or Reuters/AP wires should confirm or deny the capture in Venezuelan territory. Within about ninety days, the US Treasury OFAC SDN list should show whether Canelón Aguirre was added. Until at least one of these independent checks resolves, the item remains a single-source assertion whose value is as a pointer to verifiable records, not as settled fact.

The claims, made testable

• asserted — check unavailable Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre, alias 'El Ingeniero' or 'Prometeo', was captured in Venezuelan territory over the weekend of mid-September. (evidence: not measured)
• asserted — check unavailable He was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted list on March 12, becoming the first cybercriminal on that list, with a $1 million reward. (evidence: not measured)
• asserted — check unavailable His capture completes the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, according to Director Kash Patel's testimony before senators. (evidence: not measured)

Pattern: 23 related Venezuela signals in the last 30 days on cybercrime, US-Venezuela security cooperation, Tren de Aragua, FBI Ten Most Wanted.

What would change the assessment

• Venezuelan authorities publicly confirm or deny the capture of Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre in Venezuela (within 30 days — Venezuelan Ministry of Interior/Justice press releases, Reuters/AP wires)
• The US Treasury OFAC adds or does not add Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre to the SDN list (within 90 days — OFAC SDN list)
• The FBI Ten Most Wanted list page shows Canelón Aguirre as captured or removed (within 7 days — FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives official page)

Grounded analysis — deterministic intelligence + AI synthesis anchored to real signals (deterministic + anchored deepseek-chat). No fact is asserted that the sources do not support.

What the sources establish

The source makes the assertions summarized above; VeraVadis has not yet found independent corroboration in its corpus.

Actors named in sources

Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre · FBI · Tren de Aragua

Click an actor to see other briefs that name it.

What's still unverified

• Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre was captured in Venezuela — Estados Unidos
• Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre was added to the FBI's 10 most wanted fugitives list on 12 de marzo
• Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre was the first cybercriminal to be included in the FBI's 10 most wanted list, according to US authorities — autoridades estadounidenses
• recompensa por la captura de Aníbal Alexander Canelón Aguirre was set at un millón de dólares — autoridades estadounidenses
• Estados Unidos claims that part of the money from the operations was used to finance el Tren de Aragua — Estados Unidos