Venezuelan migrant Leonel Moreno is FINALLY arrested by ICE in Ohio after sparking fury with TikTok videos sharing squatting tips on how to invade homes

Fugitive Venezuelan migrant Leonel Moreno has finally been arrested by ICE after almost two years on the run.

The 27-year-old was picked up in Columbus, Ohio and is now in federal custody, Fox’s Bill Melugin reports.

Moreno has been hunted by ICE since he crossed the border illegally at Eagle Pass, Texas in April 2022.

He was released as part of the Alternatives to Detention Program, which lets migrants on parole go free while officials track them until their next court date.

Moreno was due in court in Miami in November 2022, but he never showed up.

The fugitive hit headlines recently after sharing tips on how to invade vacant homes and live off the US government on his TikTok account @leitooficial_25, where he had over half a million followers before the account was suspended. 

The videos appear to have led ICE to his whereabouts, as he had previously proved difficult to track.

On Tuesday, he posted a series of bizarre videos of him sobbing from a new account claiming to be the victim of persecution.

‘I am in danger of death in the US! I need protection! I am being persecuted! My account has been blocked!’ he said as liquid dropped from his nose.

‘My people, I need you to pay attention to what’s happening because my family is on danger. They erased my TikTok accounts. I have received threats from powerful people. Help!’

In another video he added: ‘My people, they have gotten what they wanted! The envy has reached my family! Everything that’s happening is because of your evilness!

‘They want to silence me!’

TikTok told DailyMail.com it had suspended Moreno’s original account as it does not allow users to promote criminal content.

But it appears he does not plan on stopping posting, as he shared a clip on Wednesday counting hundred dollar bills boasting how he doesn’t need to work to make money. 

In one of his now-viral videos, Moreno instructed his followers how to ‘invade’ American homes and invoke squatter’s rights, claiming that under US law, ‘if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it.’

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

The fugitive travelled to the US with his wife and young daughter, who frequently features in his clips.

The family have reportedly been given $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 sparking hatred against migrants who plan on working for a better life in the US.

Venezuelans represent the largest displacement crisis in the world, with more than 7.7million people outside their nation – even larger than Ukrainians and Syrians.

It’s a rare case of massive migration from a country that is not at war but has seen one of the most extreme fortune reversals in recent history after the socialist takeover 20 years ago.

Venezuela has suffered political, economic and humanitarian crises over the past decade making food and other necessities unaffordable for those who remain. The vast majority who fled settled in neighboring countries in Latin America, but many began coming to the United States in the last three years.

DailyMail.com has contacted ICE for comment.