Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello displays a chart showing the individuals, arrested or sought, allegedly linked with a drug trafficking gang in Zulia state. Photo: Alba Ciudad.
Venezuelan Minister for the Interior, Citizen Security, and Peace Diosdado Cabello Rondón reported that nine individuals were arrested for alleged involvement with drug and arms trafficking organizations. Among those arrested were the mayor of Miranda del Zulia municipality, Jorge Nava, and the mayor of Almirante Padilla municipality, Alberto Sobalvarro. The mayors allegedly used their authority to support the training of paramilitaries.
At a press conference on Friday, March 15, Minister Cabello reported that during the operation in Zulia state, 5.4 tons of high-purity cocaine, three rudimentary submarines, two revolvers, 25 boats, 25 outboard motors, 17 cell phones, six GPS devices (three of high technology), two carbon monoxide detectors, three Colombian passports, and one Ecuadorian passport were seized.
He further reported that three logistical movement centers and shipyards were dismantled. In addition, 27,200 liters of fuel, 7,000 liters of resin, 73 rolls of fiberglass, 140 galvanized sheets for boat construction, and other implements were seized.
Apart from the two Zulia state mayors, the other detainees are Melvis Manuel Aular Ramírez, Jorge Luis Orozco Sánchez, Leonardo José Humero Malavé, Yorman Jesús Pirela Espina, Jesús José Ferrer Nava, John Jairo Cardona Reyez, and Dudar Andrei Agudelo Vérez. Another individual named Luis Darwin Mora fled the scene during the operation, while an alleged boss called Gerson Parra, who appears in the phone messages, is being investigated.
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Minister Cabello added that Oswaldo José Nava Chacín, alias “El Oso,” who works with Jorge Nava, and José Alfredo Durán, alias “El Guasón,” are also being searched for.
He explained that these individuals exercised operational control over these mafias, as they require “territorial control” to administer the logistics for their criminal purposes.
“We are not going to support any criminal, elected by whoever. If they were elected on the PSUV [United Socialist Party of Venezuela] ticket and are participating in drug trafficking activities, they will pay,” Cabello emphasized.
He reiterated that the national government will not show any leniency towards these criminals. “We are going to act for the peace of our country and the health of our youth,” he said. Cabello emphasized that the investigations will continue until all the individuals involved in this drug trafficking network are caught.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
