Maickel Villegas convicted of kidnapping and murder of Ronald Ojeda in Chile
Chilean justice has found Maickel Villegas Rodríguez guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Venezuelan former military officer Ronald Ojeda. The sentence will be announced on 15 October.
First oral trial convicts Tren de Aragua member in death of Venezuelan former military officer in Chile
Chilean justice issued its first conviction on 1 October stemming from an oral trial in the case of the kidnapping and murder of Venezuelan former lieutenant Ronald Ojeda, which occurred in 2024. According to correodelcaroni.com, the court found Maickel Villegas Rodríguez guilty. Villegas is a member of the Tren de Aragua cell known as 'Los Piratas'.
The conviction of Villegas Rodríguez is the first obtained through an oral trial in this case. Three previously implicated individuals had already received convictions in Chile, though through an abbreviated procedure. The formal sentence for Villegas will be announced on 15 October.
Extradition from Costa Rica and role in the crime
Villegas was extradited from Costa Rica in November 2024. The Public Prosecutor's Office identifies him as the person responsible for gathering audiovisual material to plan and carry out the kidnapping and murder of Ojeda, acting as part of the 'Los Piratas' structure.
Prosecutor Héctor Barros described the result as "a forceful verdict" and highlighted the weight of the evidence presented. "The evidence accounted for the facts we have established. What pleases us most is that the family had the possibility of obtaining justice," he told journalists after the ruling.
The Public Prosecutor's Office has requested a prison sentence of 20 years for Villegas Rodríguez, although the court's final decision will come at the hearing on 15 October.
Investigation line regarding links with Venezuelan government
Regarding the possibility that the government of Nicolás Maduro ordered the crime—an aspect that the Public Prosecutor's Office was unable to establish procedurally in this trial—Barros noted that "it is an open investigative line that we did not go to prove in this trial because Villegas's participation is different, it is not the same as that of the leaders". The prosecutor indicated that this hypothesis will be addressed in a later trial, where the alleged top leaders of the organisation are listed.
Ronald Ojeda had escaped from Venezuela in 2017 after being accused of conspiracy against the Venezuelan government. Chile granted him political refugee status in late 2023.
32 identified, 26 detained
The case involves 32 identified individuals, 26 of them detained in Chile and six with active arrest warrants. The first conviction in the case was for Ángelo Castillo, who was 17 years old at the time of the kidnapping, who received five years of detention under a social reintegration programme.
Among those awaiting trial are Carlos Bobby Gómez, identified as leader of Tren de Aragua for South America and currently detained in Colombia, where he is linked to the handling of extortion funds. Rafael Gámez Salas, alias 'el Turko', the alleged leader of 'Los Piratas' for Chile, was extradited from the United States in late August and remains detained awaiting trial.
Prosecutor Barros clarified that among the accused are both those who physically carried out the kidnapping and those who participated in concealing Ojeda's body.
Source: Google News CL — Crime