A Venezuelan “migrant influencer” who encouraged squatting complains from prison of being a victim of persecution

The Venezuelan ‘migrant influencer’ who entered the United States illegally and encouraged other migrants to squat and take over Americans’ homes is now complaining behind bars of being persecuted and losing his freedom .

Leonel Moreno, 27, spoke to the New York Post during a 30-minute television broadcast from inside the Geauga County Jail in Chardon, Ohio, earlier this week. He was arrested near Columbus, Ohio, late last month after failing to make required registrations with officers.

Moreno complained to the Post that he came to the United States because of “persecution in my country,” but he is supposedly facing the same treatment now.

“It’s all misinformation in the media about me. They’re defaming me. They’re misrepresenting me in the news,” Moreno said, insisting he was a good father, a good husband and a good son. “I miss my whole life – I miss my freedom!”

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Moreno is believed to have entered the United States illegally in 2022. He was paroled at the border in April 2022 under the government’s Alternatives to Detention program, which is supposed to track captured and released migrants when there is no not enough room to hold them.

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Federal documents reviewed by The Post now suggest he could also face federal gun charges.

Moreno made headlines last month for his incendiary TikTok videos in which he bragged about not having to work and mocked fellow migrants who come to the United States to do hard manual labor.

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“I didn’t cross the Rio Grande to work like a slave,” he said in Spanish in one of his videos. “I came to the United States to mark my territory.”

Her TikTok account, which had more than 500,000 followers, was banned last week, but her Instagram account, with just under 19,000 followers, appeared to still be active on Sunday.

In a message, he acknowledges that they closed his TikTok account, but he pledged to continue making money on Facebook and Instagram.

He had previously told his audience that he planned to start a business by “invading” abandoned houses and reclaiming them under squatters’ rights laws, then selling them for a profit.

In his Post interview, Moreno insisted that the person in his social media posts was just a “character” and should not be confused with his normal self.

“I have a sarcastic, dark sense of humor. That’s my job,” he said. “Leonel Moreno is the opposite.”

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price, Mike Ruiz and Christina Coulter contributed to this report.

Original article source: A Venezuelan “migrant influencer” who encouraged squatting complains from prison of being a victim of persecution