Chile officially denounces that Venezuela ordered the murder of an anti-Chavista dissident who took refuge in the country

The Chilean Prosecutor’s Office reported today that the murder of former dissident military officer Ronald Ojeda was ordered from Venezuela and called for the arrest and extradition of two citizens of that country accused of participating in the crime.

The public prosecutor in charge of the case, Héctor Barros, informed the press that it was “an organized crime originating from Venezuela” and that The Venezuelan transnational organized crime organization known as Tren de Aragu participatedA. The Chavista regime has just denied the existence of this mafia.

“The specific profile of the victim leads us to conclude that none of the initial hypotheses that the victim was involved in illicit acts or that the Aragua Train had kidnapped him to collect a ransom is completely excluded,” said Barros, head of the team. of the accusation against Organized crime and murders.

He added that “we are talking about a victim who participated in actions against the Venezuelan government… he was detained for nine months in Venezuela, he escaped while he was detained in Venezuela and “He has political asylum in Chile.”

The kidnapping was different from the gang’s usual way of operating since “a ransom was never asked”, continued the prosecutor, and the victim was murdered a few hours after being kidnapped.

“The Aragua train always He left the bodies lying in different placesand in this case “they took the trouble to bury him 1.40 meters deep, they put him in a suitcase after he was dead, they put a bag of lime on him and then they put a layer of cement on top” , explained the prosecutor.

Barros confirmed that extradition has been requested from Venezuela two subjects involved as perpetrators of the kidnapping and who would be in that country.

The Aragua Train Mafia

The Chilean government will support “the Prosecutor’s Office in its request for international criminal assistance through diplomatic efforts and contacts with” Venezuelan authorities, Interior Minister Carolina Tohá said from the presidential palace in La Moneda.

Officer has ruled out for the moment the possibility of breaking off diplomatic relations with that country, as requested by the opposition. Chile demands “that justice be done” and that the truth be found, Tohá said. The minister specified that this case is also important for Venezuela, “all eyes will be on his behavior”.

The opposition asked the government break diplomatic relations with Venezuela in a week of particularly high political tension with this country, after an exchange of statements after the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Yvan Gill, had underlined that the Aragua train was a “narrative created by international media”.

The statements were strongly contested by the Chilean authorities who took them into consideration “an insult” for the victims of the criminal organization. The day before, President Gabriel Boric called the Chilean ambassador Jaime Gazmuri for consultations as a measure of protest against these sayings.

Ojeda’s crime shocked Chile and the international community in February kidnapped from his home in the early hours of the morning, captured by security cameras. After an intensive search, his body was found in a suitcase under a concrete slab in a rough housing area in Santiago.

The prosecutor’s announcement came a day after the killing of a Chilean police officer whose car he had attempted to steal. The death of Lieutenant Emmanuel Sánchez has caused a shock in the country which is experiencing a serious security crisis. The alleged perpetrators of the accident, arrested by the police, They are three Venezuelans. One of them had an expulsion order from 2020.

Chile has a long list of people with deportation orders that in many cases cannot be carried out due to Venezuela’s lack of cooperation in receiving those expelled.

Santiago de Chile. AP and the Clarin editorial team