Arizona DPS: Venezuelan National Indicted for Armed Extortion, Terrorism in Maricopa Community

Arizona authorities say Javier Enrique Erazo‑Zuniga, a 27‑year‑old Venezuelan national, has been indicted on multiple felonies after allegedly claiming part of the Hidden Valley area near Maricopa as his "territory" and extorting residents at gunpoint. Arizona Department of Public Safety investigators began probing Erazo‑Zuniga in December after reports that he was demanding money from locals, and court records describe at least two 2024 incidents in which he allegedly put a victim in a headlock and cut their neck with a knife, and later waited at another victim’s driveway and held them at gunpoint. A search of his bedroom recovered a firearm DPS believes was used in the December gunpoint incident, and a Pinal County grand jury has charged him with aggravated assault involving a firearm (designated a dangerous felony), two forgery counts and two weapons‑misconduct counts for possessing handguns while prohibited; DPS says he is also being charged with assisting a criminal street gang and terrorism, with possible additional state or federal counts to come. Erazo‑Zuniga is being held in Pinal County Jail on a $250,000 secured bond and is scheduled for arraignment Friday, while DPS has publicly urged other victims who may have been too afraid to report earlier extortion attempts to contact its tip line at 602‑644‑5805. The case lands amid growing federal scrutiny of Venezuelan criminal groups like Tren de Aragua and follows recent Colorado and Oregon prosecutions, as law‑enforcement officials and political figures increasingly point to such incidents in arguments over border enforcement and community safety.