The Venezuelan migrant influencer who gave squatting tips on TikTok said he is “respectful to people” in a recently released prison video in which he whined about how he is being treated.
Leonel Moreno, 27, is currently in federal custody after failing to show up for mandatory check-ins with agents as part of a parole order approved by the Biden administration after illegally entering the country in 2022.
In the 30-minute video, obtained by the New York PostMoreno was heard complaining about his conviction from the Geauga County Jail in Chardon, Ohio.
“I came here to the United States because of persecution in my country… But in the United States they do the same to me: they persecute me,” Moreno said.
‘It’s all misinformation in the media about me. They slander me, they misrepresent me in the news… I am a good father, a good son, a good person, humble, respectful to people who respect me.”
Leonel Moreno, 27, was seen in a recent video from the Geauga County Jail insisting that the US is ‘persecuting’ him and that the media is spreading ‘misinformation’
He first caused chaos when he started sharing tips on how to sneak into vacant houses and live off the US government on his TikTok account.
Moreno was arrested on March 29, about two years after he and his wife Vernonia Torres (pictured) illegally crossed into the US through the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas, in April 2022.
Speaking in Spanish and hiding his face from the camera, Moreno added: “I miss my whole life – I miss my freedom!”
Moreno was arrested on March 29, about two years after he and his wife, Vernonia Torres, illegally crossed into the US via the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas, in April 2022.
Since being placed in federal prison, Torres has complained that she does not know where her husband was taken after being denied visits.
“We don’t know where they took him and I can’t see him,” she told the Post. “I can’t give you more information because I don’t know much.”
In Moreno’s recent video, he was seen among other inmates wearing blue-striped jumpsuits.
During the recording, five inmates looked in his direction and shouted at him as he said, “What’s going on?”
‘I’m afraid they’re going to kill me. They’re coming for my life… anyone!’
He said he has been in contact with his wife since his arrest and told the Post he needed to contact her so she could “charge” the newspaper for a “good interview” with him.
The Post declined because the outlet “does not pay for interviews.”
Moreno could also face firearms charges after a recent video of him posing with a gun was discovered on his popular Instagram account.
During his video, Moreno said he was afraid other inmates were “going to kill him” as five of them looked his way and screamed at the Geauga County Jail in Chardon, Ohio (pictured)
The video has since been flagged for Immigration and Customs Enforcement by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Sources told the Post that the charges are likely related to violations of the Gun Control Act, which prevents parolees from possessing, shipping, transporting or receiving firearms or ammunition.
Any further charges would “escalate” the case against Moreno, former ICE field office director John Fabbricatore told the Post.
“Charges under (Gun Control Act section) 922.g are a serious matter and could have significant legal consequences for Moreno.
“This should be a warning to all illegal aliens that the unlawful possession of a firearm will lead to criminal charges and hopefully a conviction,” Fabbricatore explained.
In the post, Moreno brandished a large firearm in a gun shop and asked his followers which gun they liked best.
“Thank God I already have my driver’s license,” he said in a post.
“If you want a gun, you can buy it in stores,” he explained in another article.
He first caused chaos when he started sharing tips on how to raid vacant houses and make a living off the US government on his TikTok account @leitooficial_25, where he had more than half a million followers before the account was suspended.
In one of his now viral videos he talks instructed his followers how to do this ‘Invading’ US homes and invoking squatters’ rights, claiming that under US law ‘if a house is unoccupied, we can seize it’.
Moreno could also face firearms charges after a recent video of him posing with a gun was discovered on his popular Instagram account
Some of his other videos show him begging for money on the street with his daughter
In some of his other videos, he claimed he was begging for money on the street with his daughter.
In other posts, he waved fistfuls of cash as he claimed to have benefited from government programs.
The original story helped officials track down Moreno after he went missing during the Alternatives to Detention program.
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.
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, and he is by far one of the absolute worst representations of Venezuelans on a public stage,” said another.
