Tren de Aragua member convicted of kidnapping and murder of Ronald Ojeda in Chile
Chilean justice issued the first guilty verdict following an oral trial against Maickel Villegas for the crime of the former Venezuelan military officer. The sentence will be known on 15 October.
First oral trial for Ronald Ojeda's murder concludes with guilty verdict in Chile
Chilean justice issued a guilty verdict on Thursday, 1 October through an oral trial against Maickel David Villegas Rodríguez, a member of the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, for the kidnapping and murder of former Venezuelan lieutenant Ronald Ojeda, which occurred in 2024. According to eldiario.com, the process began on 10 September.
The case already had previous sentences for three other suspects, imposed through expedited procedures. The Villegas Rodríguez case represents the first oral trial held in Chile for this crime. The final sentence will be made public on 15 October.
Villegas's role within the "Los Piratas" cell
Villegas was extradited to Chile from Costa Rica in November 2024. The Public Prosecutor's Office identifies him as responsible for compiling audiovisual material intended to document the execution of the kidnapping and murder of Ojeda, acting as part of the Tren de Aragua cell called "Los Piratas".
Héctor Barros, southern metropolitan regional prosecutor, expressed satisfaction with the result. "I am very satisfied with what was resolved by the court; it is a conclusive verdict regarding his participation in the kidnapping with murder", he told the local press. The Public Prosecutor's Office has requested 20 years' imprisonment for Villegas Rodríguez.
Who was Ronald Ojeda
Ronald Ojeda was 32 years old at the time of his death. He had fled Venezuela in 2017 after being accused of conspiracy against the government of Nicolás Maduro. Chile granted him political refugee status in late 2023.
The Public Ministry also points to alleged payments from the highest political level of the Venezuelan government—specifically from Diosdado Cabello—to leaders of the transnational criminal organisation.
32 people identified, 26 detained
The investigation links 32 people to the crime of the former Venezuelan military officer. Of these, 26 remain detained in Chile and six have outstanding arrest warrants. The first conviction in the case was imposed, via expedited procedure, on Ángelo Castillo, aged 17 at the time of the kidnapping, who received five years' detention under a social reinsertion programme.
Prosecutor Barros clarified that among those detained are "those who physically carried out the act and those who also participated in the concealment of his body". He added that the investigation remains open: "We still have the case open, where Carlos 'Bobby' is, who is the leader for South America, 'El Turko' who was the leader for Chile and the other individuals we have been extraditing".
Carlos "El Bobby" Gómez, currently detained in a Colombian prison, is identified in Chile as receiving money from extortions and other criminal activities of the Tren de Aragua.
Rafael Gámez Salas, alias "El Turko", was extradited from the United States to Chile in late August. He remains detained awaiting trial, accused of being part of the "Los Piratas" faction in the Ojeda case.
Tren de Aragua, from Venezuelan prisons to South America
Tren de Aragua emerged in Venezuelan penitentiary centres and has expanded its operations to Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Chile, countries where authorities attribute to it a wide variety of crimes.
Source: Google News VE — Crime