1 of 7 Swimming pools, sports fields, cockfights and a baseball stadium were among the eccentricities of the place Photo: GLENN REQUENA Swimming pools, sports fields, cockfights and a baseball stadium were among the eccentricities of the place Photo: GLENN REQUENA
The intervention in Tocorón prison on behalf of the government of Nicolás Maduro destroyed the base of operations of the Tren de Aragua, one of the most feared criminal groups in Venezuela and with tentacles in other Latin American countries such as Brazil.
The effects are still being felt around the prison. You no longer see dozens of women carrying packages of food and clothing for their imprisoned relatives.
Not even children rushing their mothers to get to the pool quickly. Beer sales and most shops in the city of Tocorón, Aragua state, are closed.
The brick kiosks and tents outside the prison, where visitors paid US$1 (R$5) to store their mobile phones, appear deserted. Meanwhile, demolition of the prison buildings continues.
2 of 7 The prison even had a playground Photo: GLENN REQUENA The prison even had a playground Photo: GLENN REQUENA
When the government announced the intervention in Tocorón prison, I couldn’t believe it. I was there less than a year ago because I wanted to know what the prison that served as the “headquarters” of the Tren de Aragua was like, to finish the book I was writing about this organized crime group whose power spread throughout the country continent spread.
This is what I saw when I entered the house of Niño Guerrero, the leader of the gang and now one of the most wanted men in Latin America.
3 of 7 Tocorón Prison originally had a capacity for 750 prisoners, but ended up housing more than 7,000 Photo: Portal Tocorón Prison originally had a capacity for 750 prisoners, but ended up housing more than 7,000 Photo: Portal
“Is this your first time here?” asked Julio, the prisoner who greeted me that Sunday and showed me the facilities of the emblematic Aragua prison center, better known as Tocorón, or as the prisoners called it: Casa Grande.
This prison was built in 1982 in the city of Tocorón, which is about 140 kilometers southwest of the capital Caracas. The 2.25 square kilometer site originally accommodated 750 prisoners, but during the years of strengthening and expansion of the Tren de Aragua between 2015 and 2018 alone, more than 7,000 prisoners were housed.
“I have to take a tour with you,” Júlio insisted, as if a tour of the prison grounds were an unmissable attraction. I had no idea what I was going to see.
As I walked through the place, I began to doubt what I was seeing. Tocorón wasn’t just any prison, it was an amusement park. Something similar to the Wild West of Westworld, the dystopian HBO television series.
Swimming pools, zoo, sports fields, small houses with tin roofs, restaurants, baseball stadium, gym, drugstores, motorcycles and guns… All the images that circulated on the networks that day since the shooting a few days ago were real.
“Guerrero,” said Julio, referring to Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores or Niño Guerrero, the head of Tocorón and the Tren de Aragua, “always says that he will not rest until he moves this prison to the urbanización (district) of “Tocorón is transforming,” he assured him during our conversation, in an airconditioned room for visitors, with a television, wooden chairs and tables.
In Venezuela, residential areas where the middle class and the rich live are called “urbanización”. But Tocorón was more than a neighborhood, it was more of a small town.
The prison had a huge power plant to counteract the power outages that are common in Venezuela.
There was also a dedicated team of technicians (inmates), uniformed in jeans and colorful Tshirts, who were responsible for maintaining and monitoring the prison’s electrical system.
“The technicians here are so good that when there is a power outage in surrounding towns, there are people who send them to repair things,” commented Júlio.
4 of 7 All rooms in the prison were guarded by men armed with AR15, AK103 rifles and 9mm pistols Photo: GETTY IMAGES All rooms in the prison were guarded by men armed with AR103 rifles 15, AK103 and 9 mm pistols were armed with 9 mm caliber pistols Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Guerrero’s obsession with turning Tocorón into a neighborhood may explain the prison’s number of buildings and recreational facilities, as well as its desire for order and security.
All areas of the prison were guarded by men armed with AR15s, AK103 rifles, 9mm pistols and shotguns. These guards were also prisoners and are known in prison jargon as gariteros.
The zoo, which overlooked a large mountain with lots of vegetation, had two keepers to look after the animals.
It was said that a snake that was of great value to Guerrero had escaped, and since then the Pranes, as prison governors are known in Venezuela, have been making sure something like this doesn’t happen again.
Small birds, monkeys, ostriches, cats, chickens, horses, pigs and cattle were all in cages or rooms perfectly suited to each species. There were even small tablets or cards describing the characteristics of each individual.
The same area also hosted the cockfight, an impressive concrete structure that hosted betting competitions. Next door, a baseball stadium renovated by Guerrero with artificial turf.
5 out of 7 zoo animals were in rooms adapted to each species Photo: GLENN REQUENA Zoo animals were in rooms adapted to each species Photo: GLENN REQUENA
My visit was monitored by two armed men with pistols and rifles from an improvised checkpoint three meters away from us.
During this journey I encountered armed men every 100 meters, as well as others riding motorcycles.
I found places where I could bet on horse racing, and what caught my attention the most were the shops dedicated exclusively to selling narcotics: from marijuana to cocaine to synthetic drugs.
At each step, I identified places I had seen in leaked photos or videos since 2016, or recreated based on statements from people I knew.
“Look. It’s the Tokyo Nightclub,” I said to myself as we passed the popular spot, the scene of the famous Tocorón parties.
It was difficult for me to identify it because the facade was covered with a black tarpaulin.
When I left prison, a former member of the organization explained to me that the Pranes had received an order from the government (without specifying where or by whom) to close the nightclub in mid2022.
It was a matter of discretion not to attract attention because the parties were still in prison.
This move could perhaps be the beginning of the end for Tocorón.
At that time, Guerrero also ordered his allies to stop vehicle sales scams being carried out at several prisons through Facebook Marketplace. The scandal affected various sectors of society and even authorities.
6 of 7 The Tokyo nightclub remained open to the public until 2022 Photo: GLENN REQUENA The Tokyo nightclub remained open to the public until 2022 Photo: GLENN REQUENA
“Prison for millionaires”
The informal conversation with Júlio took place while he was enjoying the baguette I had brought him. He said he didn’t always have the opportunity to eat bread and drink soda. And he rarely received visitors.
However, he told me that there were prisoners in Tocorón in worse conditions.
They were called Varones, Stained and Ovejas and were at the bottom of the prison’s social class, prisoners who had no family or who violated some rules imposed by the Pran.
They were restricted to certain areas that they were not allowed to leave and had no access to swimming pools, restaurants or nightclubs.
To be identified, they had to wear a longsleeved shirt with a checkered or striped print and a tie. Many of these men looked hungry and moved like zombies.
“This is for millionaires. This prison is for millionaires. Everything here is money,” Júlio warned with a gesture of resignation.
“We all have to pay $15 (the amount prison inmates pay to the Pran to stay in prison without corporal punishment) per week.”
The prisoners also had to pay for telephone calls and other amenities.
Prices varied: US$20 (R$100) for renting a 2 x 2 meter single bed, US$30 (R$150) for a weekend stay for their spouses and others.
7 of 7 Tocorón had restaurants and shops where you could buy expensive brand products Photo: GETTY IMAGES Tocorón had restaurants and shops where you could buy expensive brand products Photo: GETTY IMAGES
It caught my attention that inside the prison there were shops with Balenciaga, Gucci or Nike stickers in the windows.
What I couldn’t see there were the Pranes’ houses, as they were in an area where only people close to the leaders of Tren de Aragua were allowed access.
But I was told that swimming pools and barbecue areas were also built in this area for the leaders.
This parallel universe was dissolved after government intervention involving 11,000 agents.
“We discovered a large number of rooms that were unsuitable for the operation of this type of facility,” said Venezuela’s Interior Minister Admiral Remigio Ceballos, who ordered the military takeover of the prison.
Today Julio’s fate is unknown, as is the fate of dozens of Tocorón prisoners and that of Pran, the Niño Guerreiro, who is on the run.
The occupation of the prison was a serious blow to the criminal organization. However, it is not clear whether this means the end of the most powerful faction in Venezuela, which since this arrest has expanded its criminal activities to Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and possibly the United States.