Former Venezuelan Military Officer Kidnapped and Killed in Chile: The Ronald Ojeda Moreno Case

2024-03-02 09:28:46

Nine days after his kidnapping, the Chilean authorities confirmed on Friday night that the body found in a neighborhood of Maipú corresponds to former Venezuelan military officer Ronald Ojeda Moreno, who was a refugee in that country and was persecuted by the Nicolás Maduro regime. .

Prosecutor Héctor Barros, who heads the Team Against Organized Crime (ECOH), reported that the body was found in the afternoon in a neighborhood in the municipality of Maipú, in the western area of ​​Santiago de Chile. Ronald Ojeda Moreno, 32, was buried and covered with a concrete slab.

LOOK: Who is Ronald Ojeda Moreno, the former Venezuelan military man who was kidnapped in Chile

“Experiences have been carried out on the body that was found in the afternoon by the Investigative Police in this place and finally we can, based on the tests that have been carried out, confirm that they correspond to the remains of Ronald Ojeda, who had been a victim of kidnapping,” Barros told the press.

“The approximate date of death indicates that it is between seven and 10 days, coinciding with the date on which the kidnapping occurred,” said Barros.

Barros also confirmed the arrest of a 17-year-old minor, of Venezuelan nationality, who would be involved in the case and who will be transferred to detention control on Saturday.

The prosecutor did not provide details about the motivations for the crime, in an investigation that was declared secret since the kidnapping was confirmed on February 21, when Ojeda was taken from his home in Santiago at dawn, in his underwear, by people who simulated be police officers

From there, the press pointed to an alleged covert operation by the Venezuelan secret services, which would have infiltrated the country and taken Ojeda to prison from which he would have escaped.

Barros, however, stated that it is “a complex investigation, linked to organized crime” and that there are two other arrest warrants pending.

For her part, the national head of Crimes Against Persons of the PDI, prefect inspector Catalina Barrias, explained that the body “was found buried 1.40 m” deep, and that “the cause of death will be established in the Legal Medical Service through the autopsy.”

According to the Chilean newspaper La Tercera, inside the improvised building there was a concrete slab that immediately caught the attention of investigators. The work to chop the floor lasted all afternoon until around 6:00 p.m. PDI personnel confirmed the findings of a human body inside a suitcase, which after 10 p.m. was confirmed to belong to former lieutenant Ojeda. According to close sources, he was recognized by his fingerprints and the underwear he was wearing at the time of the kidnapping.

The Chilean Government had granted Ojeda refugee status, according to Chilean media.

On social networks, the former Venezuelan military man defined himself as a “former political prisoner” and “officer of the Venezuelan Armed Forces.”

Ojeda’s kidnapping generated great expectation in Chile and Venezuela, where dissidents accused it of being an intelligence operation by the Maduro government.

The case is investigated by a special organized crime unit of the Chilean police, which is also behind the operations in the country of international gangs such as the Tren de Aragua.

Without ruling out any hypothesis, when the kidnapping occurred, the government alerted Interpol and reinforced its borders to prevent Ojeda from being taken out of Chile.

The South American country is home to a large community of Venezuelan citizens, estimated at close to a million people.

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