{"id":774,"date":"2026-07-11T15:17:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T15:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=774"},"modified":"2026-07-11T15:17:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T15:17:58","slug":"trump-administration-working-with-venezuelan-leader-linked-to-killing-in-chile-propublica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/?p=774","title":{"rendered":"Trump Administration Working With Venezuelan Leader Linked to Killing in Chile \u2014 ProPublica"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP25043827675108-SOCIAL_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=1200\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Trump Administration Working With Venezuelan Leader Linked to Killing in Chile \u2014 ProPublica\" title=\"Trump Administration Working With Venezuelan Leader Linked to Killing in Chile \u2014 ProPublica\" \/><\/div><p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-reporting-highlights\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-reporting-highlights\">Reporting Highlights<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Suspected of Hiring Gang: <\/strong>The Trump administration is working directly with a powerful Venezuelan leader under investigation for an alleged political killing in Chile.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Crucial Figure in Venezuela:<\/strong> Diosdado Cabello remains the interior and justice minister, even though he is the target of U.S. drug trafficking charges and a $25 million bounty.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Implicit Geopolitical Deal: <\/strong>Washington exploits the U.S. indictment to ensure Cabello\u2019s cooperation, while he shields himself with his power over Venezuela\u2019s stability, former officials say.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-propublica-reporting-highlights__disclaimer\">These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>When Rafael Enrique G\u00e1mez Salas crossed the Mexican border in late 2024, U.S. Border Patrol agents first thought he was like hundreds of thousands of other Venezuelan migrants fleeing their country\u2019s devastating economic and political crises.<\/p>\n<p>But today the 40-year-old sits in a federal jail in Los Angeles awaiting extradition to Chile, where prosecutors accuse him of being a boss of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan street gang. Chilean authorities say G\u00e1mez organized a kidnapping that resulted in the killing of an exiled Venezuelan dissident there. Even more troubling, they believe he acted at the behest of Venezuela\u2019s authoritarian government.<\/p>\n<p>And for the past six months, the Trump administration has been working directly with the powerful Venezuelan official under investigation for allegedly ordering the crime: Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.<\/p>\n<p>The unlikely alliance with Cabello began in January, when U.S. special operations forces swooped into Caracas, captured Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and brought him to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges. While critics called the operation a blatant violation of Venezuelan sovereignty, the Trump administration declared it was restoring law and order in a strife-torn region and began to restructure Venezuela\u2019s ruined economy and exert control over its massive oil industry.<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Trump administration has left Cabello in place \u2014 despite longtime U.S. accusations that he has led the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rfi.fr\/en\/contenu\/20180118-eu-agrees-blacklist-seven-top-venezuelan-officials\">repression of political opponents<\/a> and enriched himself in <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/sm0389\">illicit partnerships<\/a> with criminal groups. Cabello has had a seat at the table during visits to Caracas by senior U.S. officials, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/us-interior-secretary-burgum-meeting-with-venezuela-acting-president-rodriguez-2026-03-04\/\">Interior Secretary Doug Burgum<\/a>, for negotiations over issues such as Venezuela\u2019s lucrative mining sector. Before Maduro\u2019s capture, U.S. authorities had charged Cabello and a top leader of Tren de Aragua in the same <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/media\/1422326\/dl\">drug trafficking indictment<\/a> as Maduro and offered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/diosdado-cabello-rondon\">a $25 million reward<\/a> for him.<\/p>\n<p>Cabello and other U.S.-backed Venezuelan leaders have come under fire in recent days for their response to the devastating earthquakes on June 24 that killed more than 3,600 people, injured more than 16,000 and left thousands more missing. In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/world\/articles\/rescuers-volunteers-report-obstacles-rescue-182509614.html\">internationally televised confrontation<\/a>, Cabello exchanged tense words with members of a U.S. search-and-rescue team en route to aid victims in a heavily damaged area. Critics of the sluggish Venezuelan response to the disaster, including U.S. congressional representatives in Miami, accused Cabello of interfering with rescue operations and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepCarlos\/status\/2071402501274755374\">repeated their calls for his arrest<\/a> on the pending U.S. charges. But a State Department spokesperson downplayed the incident as \u201can unfortunate misunderstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Early this week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LMQGM99tcuQ\">Cabello participated in a meeting with Gen. Francis Donovan<\/a>, the head of U.S. Southern Command, which leads U.S. military operations in Latin America. Donovan visited Venezuela to discuss relief operations, according to press reports and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Kz2F8zchX3g\">Venezuelan officials<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-large bb--size-large p-bb--size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"766\" width=\"1149\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=1149\" alt=\"Several seated men and women in suits smile at one another during a meeting, in a room in a government building with two Venezuelan flags.\" class=\"wp-image-83518\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=459,306 459w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-03-04T193930Z_421264022_RC2UXJAFX85D_RTRMADP_3_USA-VENEZUELA-PDedit_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1149px) 100vw, 1149px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Diosdado Cabello, right, in a meeting with Venezuela\u2019s interim President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, center, and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, left, in Caracas, Venezuela, in March.<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">Leonardo Fernandez Viloria\/Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In Chile, authorities are investigating Cabello as the alleged mastermind behind the killing of a former Venezuelan military officer, Lt. Ronald Ojeda, who had unsuccessfully attempted an uprising against Maduro. Chile\u2019s attorney general and other senior officials have said that Cabello became an investigative target based on testimony of captured suspects.<\/p>\n<p>The 32-year-old Ojeda had been granted asylum in Chile. Authorities say they suspect that Cabello paid Tren de Aragua\u2019s top leadership and that they, in turn, commissioned gang members in Chile, led by G\u00e1mez, to kidnap the former soldier. Chilean prosecutors believe Ojeda died while his captors were torturing him to get information about the Venezuelan political opposition.<\/p>\n<p>After President Donald Trump returned to office last year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials asserted that the killing in Chile demonstrated Tren de Aragua\u2019s ties to the highest levels of the Venezuelan government and the gang\u2019s reach across the Americas. The president designated the gang as a terrorist group and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/03\/invocation-of-the-alien-enemies-act-regarding-the-invasion-of-the-united-states-by-tren-de-aragua\/\">said Maduro had sent it to invade the United States<\/a>, although some law enforcement officials say the administration exaggerated the threat to justify mass deportations.<\/p>\n<p>As Chile seeks the return of G\u00e1mez and prosecutors prepare to bring 20 suspects to trial, the Trump administration has been silent on the alleged role of the regime and Cabello in Ojeda\u2019s death. U.S officials have aided Chilean counterparts with the extradition process, but they have not used the case to press Venezuelan authorities to oust, arrest or hand over Cabello, current and former U.S. officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Asked at a press conference in May if the U.S. still considers Cabello a narcoterrorist, Rubio gave a brief answer. \u201cThe policy of the United States on that topic has not changed, and when it changes we will let you know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Todd Robinson, a retired senior U.S. diplomat who served as ambassador in Caracas, said Cabello\u2019s continuing power raises questions about whether the stated U.S. commitments to advancing the rule of law in the hemisphere are real or a cover for its interests in exploiting Venezuela\u2019s oil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just a horrible, horrible idea to leave him in place,\u201d said Robinson, who was expelled from Venezuela in 2018 after criticizing human rights abuses. \u201cI don\u2019t know what their aim is in doing that, unless it really is about oil, not democratic transition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another retired U.S. diplomat, Brian Naranjo, who served three tours in Venezuela, said the administration seems more interested in appeasing corrupt actors than uprooting them. In addition to controlling the security forces as minister of the interior and justice, Cabello maintains alliances with guerrillas in neighboring Colombia and other criminal groups that make him a danger to political stability, according to Naranjo, other officials, dissidents, and U.S. and Chilean court documents. As a result, critics say, Washington sees Cabello as a necessary evil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs long as he figures out a way to keep handing over things the Trump administration wants, I think he endures,\u201d Naranjo said.<\/p>\n<p>In response to a list of questions from ProPublica, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice declined to comment on any ongoing investigations. The White House referred questions to the Department of Justice. The State Department and Venezuelan government officials did not respond to requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Although Cabello could not be reached for comment, he has publicly denied allegations of involvement in the killing of Ojeda. Responding on his television show in 2024, he said: \u201cVenezuela has nothing to do with this kidnapping. Nothing. Resolve your problems there, in Chile.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium p-bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"501\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752\" alt=\"A man with a stern expression sits at a desk. A spiked club is on the desk in front of him.\" class=\"wp-image-83517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=459,306 459w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-01-08T000000Z_1277488174_MT1LTANA000DWIXZX_RTRMADP_3_AMERICA-CARACAS-LATIN-AMERICA-MILITARY-UNITED-STATES-VENEZUELA_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,533 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Cabello sometimes wields a spiked club on his television show, \u201cCon el Mazo Dando\u201d (\u201cHitting With the Club\u201d).<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">Latin America News Agency via Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As for G\u00e1mez, ProPublica found no information indicating that the Venezuelan ex-convict had been charged with a violent offense during the nearly two years he lived in the United States. Interviewed by telephone and email from the federal jail in Los Angeles, he said he worked hard at a restaurant and as a deliveryman to support his family in Utah. He denied any role in Ojeda\u2019s death or being a member of Tren de Aragua. He also said he has no connections to Cabello.<\/p>\n<p>G\u00e1mez said that, like the dissident whose kidnapping he\u2019s accused of organizing, he left Venezuela in part because he was an opponent of the former regime. He said the governments of Chile and the United States are making him a scapegoat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf only I was everything they say I am,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously any leader boss has money to burn and I don\u2019t have a penny to my name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of pages of Chilean and U.S. court records paint a much darker portrait of his activities and detail his alleged role in the Ojeda case and other crimes. Interviews with current and former officials from the United States, Chile, Venezuela and Spain; Ojeda\u2019s friends and family; G\u00e1mez; and others, along with the court records, provide one of the fullest accounts of the case.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Crime<\/h3>\n<p>On Feb. 21, 2024, a stolen Nissan sedan arrived at an apartment tower in Santiago, the capital of Chile, one of the safest and most prosperous nations in Latin America. It was 3:05 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>Four masked men disguised as Chilean police officers got out. On the 14th floor, three of them broke into Ojeda\u2019s apartment, handcuffed him in front of his terrified wife and son, and dragged him out, according to court documents and security video. He was barefoot and wearing only underpants.<\/p>\n<p>The kidnappers rushed Ojeda to a slum hideout, where they tortured him to death, court documents say. Then they buried his partially dismembered remains in a suitcase beneath a newly laid cement floor, documents say.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium p-bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"600\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752\" alt=\"Grainy video stills show a group of uniformed men surrounding a man in his underwear, guiding him through an apartment building hallway.\" class=\"wp-image-83522\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 988w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,239 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,613 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,688 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,337 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,440 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,445 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,420 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,600 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,319 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.26-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,638 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Images from security video show kidnappers disguised as Chilean investigative police as they burst into Ojeda\u2019s 14th-floor apartment in Santiago and abducted him early in the morning on Feb. 21, 2024.<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">Obtained by ProPublica<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium p-bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"468\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752\" alt=\"A group of men in tactical gear surround a shirtless man in an elevator.\" class=\"wp-image-83523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 958w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,187 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,478 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,537 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,263 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,343 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,347 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,328 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,468 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,249 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-2.30.40-PM_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,498 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Alleged Tren de Aragua members disguised as police officers restrained Ojeda in the elevator after abducting him in front of his terrified family. Authorities say he died in a gang hideout while his captors tortured him to get information about the Venezuelan political opposition.<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">Obtained by ProPublica<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Weeks earlier, the Maduro regime had publicly declared Ojeda a traitor.<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, Ojeda and other young dissident officers had been jailed and tortured in Venezuela. Ojeda alleged in a posthumously published memoir that his ordeal had been ordered by Cabello.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-small bb--size-xsmall-right p-bb--size-xsmall-right\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"933\" width=\"527\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=527\" alt=\"A selfie in which two men smile at the camera, one of them giving a thumbs-up.\" class=\"wp-image-83521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 946w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=169,300 169w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,1360 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=578,1024 578w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=867,1536 867w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,1528 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,747 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,977 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,988 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,933 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,1332 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=904,1600 904w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,708 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HerediaOjedaCucuta-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,1416 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Ojeda in Colombia with former Capt. Anyelo Heredia, a fellow dissident, in December 2023. Soon afterward, they slipped across the border into Venezuela to do reconnaissance for a planned military uprising. Soldiers captured Heredia, but Ojeda narrowly escaped.<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">Courtesy of the Ojeda family<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ojeda took refuge in Chile. But in late 2023, he went to Colombia\u2019s border with Venezuela to try to instigate a military rebellion and narrowly escaped capture. During his final days, Ojeda feared the regime was coming for him, according to his friends and family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRonald and his wife had thought about what would happen if there was a knock on the door,\u201d said his family\u2019s lawyer, Juan Carlos Manr\u00edquez. \u201cThey had even rehearsed for it. They had agreed to protect their son at all costs by not offering any resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A tip led Chilean police to Ojeda\u2019s buried remains nine days after his abduction. Fingerprints recovered from the abandoned Nissan had already been traced to a member of Tren de Aragua, authorities say.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the evidence of the gang\u2019s involvement, Chilean investigators quickly came to suspect a political crime orchestrated by the Maduro regime, which had openly declared the victim an enemy of the state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOjeda had already escaped from them at least once before,\u201d said H\u00e9ctor Barros, the chief prosecutor in the case. \u201cThe regime took that personally. He was a high-priority target.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Delivering for DoorDash<\/h3>\n<p>Before his odyssey across the Americas, G\u00e1mez grew up in the Caribbean port city of Maracaibo, Venezuela.<\/p>\n<p>After high school, he fell into petty crime and was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for robbery and other charges in a home invasion, according to Venezuelan court records and his own account.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, there is no indication that he became a member of Tren de Aragua until years later, according to court documents and law enforcement officials. It is not clear when and how he joined the gang, Chilean investigators say.<\/p>\n<p>About a decade ago, G\u00e1mez left Venezuela as part of what has become the largest mass exodus in the hemisphere. Maduro had been elected after the death of populist President Hugo Ch\u00e1vez. In 2014, the price of oil had plummeted, causing inflation, unemployment and food shortages. In addition to economic necessity, G\u00e1mez said he migrated because he belonged to a political party that opposed the increasingly repressive regime.<\/p>\n<p>G\u00e1mez spent years in Chile, where he worked in bread and clothing factories and as a barber. There are no indications that he had a criminal record during that period, according to interviews and court documents.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium p-bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"425\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752\" alt=\"An Instagram post in which a man is looking at the camera as he cuts hair in a barber shop. His T-shirt reads, \u201cJust Do It.\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-83524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 1940w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,434 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,579 1024w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,868 1536w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,488 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,238 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,312 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,315 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,298 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,425 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,649 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,226 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,452 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,678 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-18-at-11.56.04-AM-PDeditp-REDACTED_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,904 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Rafael Enrique G\u00e1mez Salas featured his work as a barber on his Instagram account while living in Santiago, Chile. Authorities say he did not have a criminal record there before he left for the United States, but allege that he became a leader of Tren de Aragua after returning to Chile in 2023.<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">Screenshot and redactions by ProPublica<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2021, G\u00e1mez and his family joined a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/11\/briefing\/us-immigration-surge.html\">record number of immigrants<\/a> who headed north to the United States during the Biden administration. They surrendered to U.S. border agents in Arizona and were released pending the outcome of immigration proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll the people who came here said there was more work and better quality of life,\u201d G\u00e1mez said. \u201cI also thought about the future of my children and their security because I thought this was a safe country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The family settled in Salt Lake City. G\u00e1mez said he found jobs in a restaurant kitchen and delivering for DoorDash, sometimes working as many as 15 hours a day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole time I was here I worked,\u201d he said. \u201cI never had a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Until December 2022, when a Texas state trooper patrolling near the Mexican border pulled him over for driving with expired plates and discovered that his Venezuelan passengers were undocumented. G\u00e1mez admitted that he had agreed to take the family of three to Utah, court records say. He told ProPublica he was doing a favor for a friend who is related to the family. But state prosecutors charged him with smuggling of persons and smuggling of a minor, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported him back to Venezuela in August 2023.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s from that period when Chilean police say they recovered an early clue about G\u00e1mez\u2019s links to Tren de Aragua. The Venezuelan government sent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/9\/21\/venezuela-sends-11000-troops-to-control-gang-run-prison-with-pool-and-zoo\">some 11,000 troops<\/a> to Aragua state to take back control of the notorious Tocor\u00f3n prison, the <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books\/about\/El_Tren_de_Aragua.html?id=O4QT0AEACAAJ\">center of operations of Tren de Aragua<\/a>. Gang bosses had enjoyed surreal luxuries inside \u2014 a zoo, a discotheque, a cockfight arena \u2014 while directing rackets that had spread across the hemisphere as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibiconsultants.net\/_upload\/mediaandpublications\/document\/tren-de-aragua-overview-latam.pdf\">Tren de Aragua took control of smuggling routes and victimized Venezuelan immigrants<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Although the government declared victory, critics said the authorities had tipped off the top gang bosses, including Hector Rusthenford \u201cNi\u00f1o\u201d Guerrero, who managed to flee the raid.<\/p>\n<p>G\u00e1mez was not involved, and Chilean authorities believe he had already left Venezuela en route back to Chile. But investigators say their later search of his communications found a post after the raid in which he appeared to celebrate Guerrero\u2019s escape.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey toppled the castle, but not the king,\u201d read his WhatsApp status, according to court documents. \u201cSo the game continues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Authorities said the message suggests that G\u00e1mez may have had contact with the gang during his first stay in Chile or in Utah.<\/p>\n<p>Citing communications and witness testimony, investigators say he was back in Chile about two months after the raid on the prison. The Venezuelan gang rapidly put him in charge of its offshoot in Santiago, called the Pirates of Aragua, according to court documents and interviews.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no way he moves up that quickly when he returns to Chile unless he\u2019s already connected,\u201d said a former U.S. federal law enforcement official.<\/p>\n<p>In early 2024, Chilean investigators say they started hearing chatter about a new gang boss, known as el Turko, who was overseeing a wave of extortion and kidnappings of immigrants.<\/p>\n<p>Angered by public attention to the Ojeda case, senior Tren de Aragua leaders ordered the kidnappers to leave Chile, according to court documents and interviews. Investigators say G\u00e1mez also left, spending time in Peru and Colombia as he used his phone to oversee crimes by members of the crew still in Santiago, according to court documents and interviews.<\/p>\n<p>Six weeks after Ojeda\u2019s killing, G\u00e1mez was communicating by text with them when they attempted a carjacking that led to a gunfight with an off-duty Chilean police officer, court documents say. The officer and one of the suspected gang members were killed. Recovered text exchanges reveal that an agitated G\u00e1mez gave real-time instructions to the accused killers as they fled the scene, according to court records and interviews.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe clothes you had,\u201d he wrote, according to court records. \u201cDump them\u2026right away the shoes\u2026everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Police arrested three suspects for killing the police officer and found data in their phones that identified G\u00e1mez as el Turko, according to documents. It included a trove of telltale communications in which G\u00e1mez, acting on instructions from senior gang bosses outside Chile, allegedly directed the plot to kidnap Ojeda, according to interviews and court documents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe order comes from above and they are putting their trust in me,\u201d G\u00e1mez told his crew in a text, according to court documents.<\/p>\n<p>By mid-2024, the police knew who they were looking for. But they didn\u2019t know where he was.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">End of an Odyssey<\/h3>\n<p>On Dec. 30, 2024, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested G\u00e1mez after he crossed near Brownsville, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>He was carrying a Colombian passport with an alias to hide his previous deportation and hoping to rejoin his wife and children in Utah, according to officials and his account. But fingerprint checks revealed his true identity.<\/p>\n<p>G\u00e1mez pleaded guilty to a charge of being illegally in the country after deportation and received a sentence of 13 months in prison. He also pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in the 2022 smuggling case and was sentenced to 120 days, according to court records.<\/p>\n<p>In Chile, the sprawling investigation had gathered momentum. Chilean police tracked down other fugitives abroad with the aid of U.S. and Latin American law enforcement agencies. And a number of witnesses, including accused kidnappers, implicated G\u00e1mez and the Venezuelan regime, court documents show. Three of them pointed the finger at Cabello, according to sources close to the case.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium p-bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes=\"\" height=\"502\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=752\" alt=\"A smiling woman and a man with a serious expression stand in front of a group of people, most of whom are wearing military uniforms.\" class=\"wp-image-83520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=863,576 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=527,352 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=752,502 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=459,306 459w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-2270788637-PDcrop_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Cabello, right, with Rodr\u00edguez on Venezuela\u2019s National Civil-Military Unity Day in April.<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">Javier Campos\/NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cDiosdado Cabello, who is a Venezuelan politician, gave the instruction to do the kidnapping,\u201d said an admitted kidnapper. Cabello allegedly paid Guerrero, the top boss of Tren de Aragua, according to that testimony.<\/p>\n<p>Another alleged gang member testified that one of Ojeda\u2019s kidnappers told him the crime was \u201cordered by the Government of Venezuela, planned by the leaders of Tren de Aragua, and executed by the members of the gang who were in Chile,\u201d court documents say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe money was paid by the government,\u201d the alleged gang member said.<\/p>\n<p>So far, authorities said they do not have other evidence that directly connects Cabello to the crime \u2014 like communications between the Venezuelan leader and gang bosses. But last year, Chile took the extraordinary step of going to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/chile-meets-icc-officials-over-tren-de-aragua-linked-murder-venezuelan-dissident-2025-03-28\/\">International Criminal Court<\/a> to accuse the Maduro regime of being involved in Ojeda\u2019s death. That case is in the preliminary investigation stage as part of the court\u2019s probe of human rights abuses in Venezuela.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cnnespanol.cnn.com\/2025\/10\/15\/latinoamerica\/boric-venezuela-asesinato-ronald-ojeda-orix\">Gabriel Boric, who was Chile\u2019s president at the time, said,<\/a> \u201cDictatorships and authoritarian leaders cross borders to impose fear when they think they can do it with impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Venezuelan government responded to Chile\u2019s charges with a statement that the case \u201cdoesn\u2019t just lack a legal basis, but is sustained by a vicious hate towards Venezuela, showing the desperation to please the agendas ordered by the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. agenda in Venezuela has come under increasing scrutiny. Venezuela\u2019s opposition, which has long counted on the United States for support, continues to call for Cabello\u2019s ouster and democratic reforms. But an unspoken bargain between Cabello and the Trump administration prevails, according to dissidents and current and former U.S. officials. The administration exploits the leverage of the U.S. indictment to ensure Cabello\u2019s cooperation, while Cabello shields himself with his power to upend Venezuela\u2019s stability, critics said.<\/p>\n<p>Naranjo, the former diplomat, said Cabello\u2019s willingness to accommodate Washington suggests that he is \u201cgoing to be around far longer than anybody wants. He\u2019s always demonstrated his ability to react and adapt, operationally and tactically, to the circumstances in front of him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a recent and dramatic sign of the evolving partnership with the United States, Trump announced June 13 that a U.S. missile strike had killed Guerrero, Tren de Aragua\u2019s leader, in Venezuela\u2019s lawless mining region. Trump said the strike had been \u201ccoordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Guerrero\u2019s death will make it more difficult for Chilean investigators to pursue the allegations that Cabello hired the gang to target Ojeda, former officials said. But Ojeda\u2019s family and other dissidents hope that the trial in Santiago will show that the Venezuelan regime, like other authoritarian governments, enlisted organized crime to send a terroristic message to its foes at home and abroad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDiosdado Cabello is the person we want punished,\u201d said Javier Ojeda, the victim\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n<p>Chilean authorities say G\u00e1mez and other suspected gang chiefs who have been captured could provide further evidence about the alleged links to Cabello. G\u00e1mez has consented to extradition, according to court documents, but the process could still take weeks. G\u00e1mez told ProPublica he decided to return voluntarily to Chile because he wants to fight the charges against him in the Chilean courts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>G\u00e1mez questioned the credibility of witnesses against him, saying one of the admitted gang members \u201cis looking for an escape \u2026 by any means, like lying and inventing things.\u201d He didn\u2019t respond to some questions about the voluminous court file against him, including his alleged communications.<\/p>\n<p>G\u00e1mez asserted that he\u2019s being set up as a fall guy for political reasons. Both the Chilean and U.S. governments, he said, have exploited the Ojeda case in their persecution of Venezuelans.<\/p>\n<p>Chilean authorities have arrested many Venezuelans \u201cto use that as a strategy so they leave Chile,\u201d he said. \u201cThe same as the president here did\u2026everyone they caught they connected to Tren de Aragua to arrest them and throw them out of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reporting Highlights Suspected of Hiring Gang: The Trump administration is working directly with a powerful Venezuelan leader under investigation for an alleged political killing in Chile. Crucial Figure in Venezuela: Diosdado Cabello remains the interior and justice minister, even though he is the target of U.S. drug trafficking charges and a $25 million bounty. Implicit&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP25043827675108-SOCIAL_preview_maxWidth_3000_maxHeight_3000_ppi_72_embedColorProfile_true_quality_95.jpg?w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1627,1630,779,877,1629,81,289,1628,466],"class_list":["post-774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-administration","tag-chile","tag-killing","tag-leader","tag-linked","tag-propublica","tag-trump","tag-venezuelan","tag-working"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valutednews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}