Two murders, 700 kilos of drugs and millions in bags: the "El Poroto" case in Lo Espejo
Héctor Cárdenas Venegas, alias "El Poroto", was shot dead in Lo Espejo after being investigated for drug trafficking and money laundering. T13.cl reveals the details of the criminal case.
Drug trafficking, money laundering and violence: the network behind "El Poroto's" murder in Lo Espejo
Héctor Cárdenas Venegas, known as "El Poroto", received at least 11 gunshots whilst travelling in a vehicle through Lo Espejo. The attackers approached afterwards to shoot him again. Transported to a medical facility in the district—where security measures were adopted due to the possibility of another attack—Cárdenas died approximately one hour later. According to T13.cl, his death forms part of a criminal plot that extends across different areas of southern Santiago.
Two years of anti-narcotics investigation
Over the last two years, the PDI's Anti-Narcotics Brigade investigated an organisation dedicated to transporting drug shipments from the north of the country to the capital. The structure was not necessarily the owner of the shipments: it provided transportation services to third parties and retained part of the drugs as a form of payment.
The leader of this organisation would be Gerardo Morales, alias "El Barbas", who maintained links with amateur football and travelled regularly to Santiago to collect payment for services rendered. The name of Héctor Cárdenas appeared during those proceedings.
"Mr. Cárdenas Venegas had no contact with the illicit substance that he was trafficking in. Therefore, as an investigative strategy, we set about gathering information in the field with detectives and, in parallel, conducting the respective asset survey on the use of his money in order to establish the crime of money laundering," explained representatives from the PDI.
According to the head of the Anti-Narcotics Brigade, the total volume of drugs transported by the organisation exceeded 700 kilograms, and a significant part would have had Cárdenas Venegas as its final destination.
Bags of money and a money exchange in the city centre
Some of the meetings investigated were photographed and recorded by police. One of those recordings shows "El Barbas", accompanied by family members, leaving a home on Pasaje 21 Sur in the José María Caro neighbourhood—a property associated with Cárdenas—transporting large bags containing significant amounts of money inside.
The surveillance lasted 24 hours and made it possible to establish that the money was subsequently exchanged for dollars at a money exchange located in the centre of Santiago.
"Work has been underway for some time on proceedings involving that defendant and there was also collaborative work with other authorities that allowed us to have him as an investigation target," said the southern metropolitan prosecutor, Héctor Barros.
A property in Paine with a swimming pool and jacuzzi
The asset investigations also extended beyond Lo Espejo. Investigators identified a property in Paine linked to Cárdenas, with at least 400 square metres of built space, 12 bedrooms, a swimming pool with jacuzzi and a spacious barbecue area. "El Barbas" is also said to have travelled to that location to withdraw money, according to the investigation records. Investigators specify that the existence and characteristics of the property form part of the asset survey and, on their own, do not prove the commission of a crime.
The link to another murder: "El Pájaro" from La Legua
"El Poroto's" death raised questions about another homicide that occurred months earlier. On 19 March, Robert Soto, known as "Pájaro", was murdered. He was identified in police investigations as the leader of "Los Pájaros" from La Legua and was also linked to the drug transportation organisation. Cárdenas attended Soto's funeral with significant security measures. The proximity between the two is one of the details that became relevant to investigators in light of the succession of attacks recorded in recent months.
A previous attack with more than one hundred shell casings
Cárdenas had already survived an earlier assault. Just one month after Soto's murder, individuals arrived on motorcycles to the vicinity of his home with the intention of attacking him.
"They knew that the person was going to be in that place and at that moment when they arrived, which is why they came prepared to end his life," explained prosecutor Christian Toledo, from the Southern Metropolitan Public Prosecutor's Office.
On that occasion, Cárdenas was accompanied by people who carried out protection duties, who repelled the attack by gunfire. The confrontation left more than one hundred shell casings distributed across different points of the sector. One of the alleged attackers died; another managed to escape. Two men identified as part of Cárdenas's security were subsequently held in preventive detention.
Source: Google News CL — Santiago