Chile's Public Prosecutor identifies Diosdado Cabello as intellectual author of Ronald Ojeda's murder
Prosecutor Héctor Barros asserts that Cabello negotiated and paid for the crime with Tren de Aragua. The trial for the kidnapping and homicide of the Venezuelan began in Chile.
Trial in Chile for Ronald Ojeda's murder: Cabello at centre of accusation
The South Metropolitan Regional Prosecutor of Chile, Héctor Barros, reaffirmed on Radio Pauta that Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela's Minister of Interior and Justice, allegedly ordered and financed the kidnapping and murder of Venezuelan Ronald Ojeda on Chilean soil. According to facebook.com, which cites the analysis by Salvador Bracho published in Diario de Cuba, the trial for this case has already begun.
"Diosdado Cabello would have been the one who arranged it or who negotiated, in essence, with the highest leadership of Tren de Aragua—which was Niño Guerrero at that time—and would have additionally been the one who agreed to and made the payment for this contract," Barros stated.
The prosecutor clarified that the accusation is not based on a single piece of evidence: the investigation has more than five antecedents that directly link Cabello to the crime. Among the evidence, Barros mentioned recordings from mobile phones, voice messages, data and text messages, as well as testimony.
Political motive and profile of the victim
Barros described the crime as political in nature, given Ojeda's history. The victim was a former Venezuelan military officer who participated in an attempted coup d'état, escaped from prison and arrived in Chile, where he requested political asylum. In December 2023 he travelled again to Venezuela along with other former military officers to participate in a new coup attempt. Less than two months later he was kidnapped and murdered.
For the prosecutor, this case "departs from everything Tren de Aragua has done in Chile and, I believe, in South America, by the manner in which it was committed", which reinforces the thesis of an operation with exceptional characteristics within the criminal pattern of that organisation.
New proceedings amid changes in Venezuela
Barros noted that recent changes in Venezuela open opportunities to advance the investigation. According to the prosecutor, there are proceedings that had not been able to be carried out until now: on some occasions Venezuela did not respond to requests for cooperation, and on others it did so in a manner that did not correspond with what had been asked.
The Ronald Ojeda case constitutes one of the most complex judicial processes linked to Tren de Aragua's activities outside Venezuela, and the first in which the Chilean prosecution directly points to a Venezuelan government official as the alleged intellectual author.
Source: Google News VE — Crime