Chile demands the extradition of Venezuelans after the killing of the dissident | Crime news

Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Toha said all “eyes” are on Venezuela to act in the pursuit of justice.

Chile has announced plans to seek the extradition of two Venezuelans it considers suspects in the gruesome killing of a political dissident.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Toha called on her Venezuelan counterparts to be partners in her country’s quest for justice.

“What happened in this crime is important for Chile,” she said. “We give it the most seriousness, but it is also important for Venezuela.”

She said there would be “eyes” on Venezuela’s behavior on the matter. “Willingness to cooperate in this investigation must be demonstrated in action – first, by finding those responsible and, second, by making it easier for them to face justice.”

Toha’s statement comes as part of an investigation into the killing of Ronald Ojeda, 32, a Venezuelan dissident and former military lieutenant.

Ojeda had been imprisoned in Venezuela for alleged treason. In 2017, he escaped to Chile, where he sought and was granted asylum.

From abroad, Ojeda has continued to vocally criticize the government of President Nicolás Maduro, whose administration is accused of human rights abuses and suppression of dissent.

But on the morning of February 21, surveillance footage showed three men disguised as Chilean police abducting Ojeda from his apartment. His body was later discovered on March 1 stuffed in a suitcase, buried under lime and cement dust in a suburb of Santiago.

Later, Chilean police arrested a 17-year-old Venezuelan suspect who was allegedly linked to Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s largest criminal network. Officials said two other suspects fled to Venezuela.

Chilean authorities suggested on Friday that the killing was politically motivated and coordinated from Venezuela itself.

“We are talking about a victim who participated in actions against the Venezuelan government and, secondly, was detained for nine months in Venezuela. He escaped and has political asylum in Chile,” said Hector Barros, prosecutor of the Santiago Organized Crime and Homicide Squad.

“Given the profile he has, there is no other line of inquiry.”

But earlier this week, Venezuela disputed the continued existence of the Tren de Aragua criminal group, with Foreign Minister Yvan Gil calling it “a fiction created by the international media.”

That determined a cry from the Chilean government. “It’s an insult to the people of Chile and Latin America,” Toha said Monday, referring to violent incidents attributed to the group in the region.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric also announced Thursday that he would recall his administration’s ambassador to Venezuela in response.

“The irresponsible statements of the Chancellor of Venezuela, ignoring the existence of Tren de Aragua, are worrying and constitute a serious insult to those who have been victims of this organization and also demonstrate a lack of commitment to the necessary international security cooperation. “, Boric he wrote on social media.

Venezuela has yet to respond to Chile’s latest extradition requests. He denied responsibility for Ojeda’s murder.

Maduro is seeking a third term in the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for July 28.

But the race has been marred by allegations that his government has tried to intimidate and derail the opposition, including through detentions, arrest warrants and bans from holding public office.

Speaking on Friday, Toha, the Chilean interior minister, stressed the need to cooperate on justice issues.

“A case like this, with the implications it has, must be at its heart that justice is done, that the truth is found, that those responsible are found and that they face sentences that fit (their crimes),” he said she. .