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Tren de Aragua
The Ronald Ojeda story
On 21 February 2024 Ronald Ojeda, a former lieutenant in the Venezuelan army, was kidnapped in Chile. Ten days later his corpse was found, bearing signs of torture, in a suitcase partially encased in cement. For more than a year since his death, Chilean police have been investigating the case. At least 12 members of the Tren de Aragua have been arrested in connection with the crime. Chilean public prosecutor Héctor Barros has said the focus of the investigation is on a spin-off from the main criminal organisation, known as Los Piratas de Aragua, a group of 23 individuals who he says have a “distinct dynamic and internal hierarchy”. The US authorities also reported arresting a man named Rafael Gómez Salasin (aka El Turko) thought to be one of the intellectual authors of the abduction and murder. Very significantly, a witness was quoted as saying that the crime had been ordered by Diosdado Cabello, the Venezuelan minister of the interior and justice, who is generally considered to be number two in the Venezuelan regime (after President Nicolás Maduro).
- “Very, very dangerous people”
- The context: a country in a state of collapse
- Origins: Tocorón prison
- A dystopian hotel?
- The prison business model
- Death of the Tren?
- Life after death: international expansion
- The Ronald Ojeda story
- Donald Trump’s ‘invasion model’
- Unfair deportation: the Kilmar Abrego story
- Is there a connection between crime and migration?
- Conclusion: answering four key questions