2023-09-23 02:55:48
– The “chief” of the prison taken over by the authorities has fled
The leader of the Tren de Aragua gang, who ran the Tocoron prison (north-center) taken over by the police on Wednesday, was able to escape. The authorities have issued a wanted notice.
Published today at 04:55 Updated 22 minutes ago
Relatives of detainees demonstrate in front of the Tocoron prison a day after authorities took control of the prison in Tocoron, Aragua state, Venezuela, September 21, 2023.
AFP
“Reward. Wanted”, can we read in the wanted notice posted on social networks by the Ministry of Justice against Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias ‘Niño Guerrero’ (child warrior), the main leader of the Tren de Aragua who had of Tocoron a sort of headquarters.
During the day, the NGO Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVV) denounced the flight abroad of the main leaders of the gang, assuring that they had “already negotiated (with the authorities) their exit from the complex and had left the country a week ago.
The prisoners’ rights organization does not specify which countries they went to but accuses the authorities of “opacity”, at a time when the other inmates of Tocoron, emptied, were distributed to different prisons.
More than 11,000 members of the security forces, supported by dozens of armored vehicles, invaded this prison on Wednesday. The operation left one dead (a soldier), according to the authorities who did not provide a report on the number of injured. A large arsenal, including rocket launchers and grenades, had been seized.
A swimming pool, a zoo, a nightclub
Tocoron was entirely managed by the gang who extorted the inmates but had also set up a swimming pool, a zoo, a nightclub, stores, and sports fields.
The Tren de Aragua, which reportedly numbers some 5,000 criminals, appeared in 2014, operating in “classic” mafia activities: kidnappings, robberies, drugs, prostitution, extortion. It has extended its influence to other activities, some legal, but also to gold panning and illegal mining.
Interior Minister Admiral Remigio Ceballos announced Thursday that authorities had discovered tunnels that allowed detainees to escape, without specifying how many of them had managed to escape. The ministry announced Friday that 80 detainees had been recaptured. The minister indicated that four prison officials had been arrested, accused of complicity with the criminals.
“We would like to know more about how these officials managed to enter with rockets and weapons without the complicity of many other people,” emphasizes the OVV.
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