According to local media reports, members of the Tren de Aragua gang were able to move freely in the prison. According to authorities, the 6,000 prisoners will now be transferred to other prisons.
In many cases, family members lived with prisoners in Tocoron prison. After authorities announced that the inmates would be transferred, some women and children gathered in front of the detention center crying due to uncertainty about where the detainees would be transferred. “I’m waiting to find out where they are taking my husband… I lived there, but they kicked me out,” Gladys Hernandez told AFP.
Venezuela: Prison control recovered
In Venezuela, 11,000 soldiers were deployed to regain control of one of the country’s largest prisons. The Tocoron detention center, in the north of the country, was for years under the control of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua. Gang members were able to move freely around the prison, which, according to media reports, had hotel-like facilities, including a swimming pool, a nightclub and a small zoo.
TVs and motorcycles
According to AFP, security forces took everything from TVs to microwaves and motorcycles out of the prison. Venezuela’s Interior Minister congratulated security forces on Twitter (X) for regaining control of the prison in Aragua province and dismantling “a center of conspiracy and crime.” The prison must first be completely evacuated and subjected to a “restructuring process”.
The leader of the gang, Hector Guerrero Flores, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for murder and drug trafficking. According to the NGO “Uma Janela para a Liberdade”, which defends the rights of prisoners, he entered and left prison freely for a long time.
APA/AFP/Yuri Cortez Inmates at Torocon prison await transfer
Expanded prison gang
According to a report by the North American international broadcaster Voice of America, experts and various organizations have criticized for years the fact that Tren de Aragua continues to carry out his criminal activities in prison. The gang is accused of extortion, kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and human trafficking. According to the report, it is now active outside of Venezuela, in Peru, Chile, Colombia and Brazil. According to think tank Insight Crime, the gang is considered the most powerful in Venezuela. Expanded significantly in 2020/21.
The NGO Observatório Venezolano de Prisiones, which also fights for prisoners’ rights, has repeatedly warned that several prisons are controlled by a “Pranato” – an acronym for a prisoner who was born a murderer. The phenomenon has spread in recent years and can now be found throughout Latin America.
AP/Ariana Cubillo emergency teams prepare for the operation
Country in permanent crisis
Although Venezuela is one of the countries with the largest oil reserves in the world, it has been mired in a serious economic, political and humanitarian crisis for years. Gasoline is in short supply due to US and EU sanctions, mismanagement and corruption. According to the UN, more than seven million people left the country because of poverty and violence.
Opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido tried to force left-wing populist authoritarian Nicolás Maduro from office in 2019. But he is firmly in charge, not least because he has the military and police on his side.