The Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, called the media publication “a total lie.” The reason which points out that the agreement signed between Chile and Venezuela “opened the doors” to Caracas intelligence for the kidnapping of Lieutenant (r) Ronald Ojeda.
The Venezuelan media highlighted that Ojeda’s kidnapping occurred only 33 days following the signing of the agreement.
The agreement was signed in January 2024 by the undersecretary and, according to the Government, “promotes and improves the relationship in terms of police collaboration between Chile and Venezuela.” However, the media in question stated that “following the signing of the police agreement, the head of operations (and torture) of the DGCIM, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gramko Arteaga (…), would have requested the senior Chilean security official (the undersecretary Monsalve), cooperation to achieve the capture of Lieutenant Ronald Ojeda Moreno, who resides in Santiago and who in 2017 had escaped from the Ramo Verde military prison.”
Monsalve responded to the publication this Monday and highlighted that the sole purpose of this agreement is “the fight once morest criminal organizations.”
“Our task is to carry out expulsion processes while ensuring national security. In this context, we have carried out work with other countries such as Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela. The agreement that was signed is one of a police nature, not a political one,” he said.
The undersecretary added that the trip to Venezuela and its meetings were public, known throughout Chile and all the media.
“I held two meetings in Caracas, in both of which the ambassador, the secretary general of the Foreign Ministry, and the national deputy director of the Investigative Police were present. The meetings were also public, known, with photos of their attendees. Therefore, let me point out the absurdity of the theory,” he added.
Monsalve asked political actors for responsibility in the management of information: “In practice, what they are calling into question is trust in our institutions that are in charge of the fight once morest organized crime, especially when they take charge of “claims from an absolutely foreign media, with a clear political orientation and that provides information without foundation or evidence.”
Asked regarding the possibility that in these meetings he was warned that the name Ronald Ojeda corresponded to a “subject of interest,” the undersecretary responded that “the collaboration agreement is regarding the leaders of criminal organizations.”
Regarding the questions from other political figures in the country who demanded that the Government clarify the state of progress of the investigation into the kidnapping of the former military man, Monsalve insisted that it is a secret investigation carried out by the Public Ministry and that, therefore , might not do so, as it might interfere with the investigations.
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