Selfie of former Venezuelan military man Ronald Ojeda Moreno with pictures of Venezuelans detained for terrorist activities—whom he called "political prisoners"—behind him. Photo: El País Chile.
By Misión Verdad – Mar 14, 2024
The former Venezuelan military official Ronald Ojeda Moreno, linked to anti-government conspiracies, was abducted on February 21 in Santiago de Chile, and his lifeless body was found on March 1st. Chilean media reported that he died of positional mechanical asphyxiation and the date of his death coincides with the date of his abduction. Positional asphyxia occurs due to a person being in a prolonged abnormal body position that prevents adequate breathing.
The abduction took place in the Independencia sector of the Chilean capital during the early hours of February 21, as reported by Chilean Undersecretary of the Interior Manuel Monsalve at the time of the event. Ojeda Moreno was allegedly tricked by individuals posing as officers of the Chilean Investigative Police (PDI), who took him from his Santiago residence by force.
Monsalve stated that it was premature to draw conclusions about the motives behind the abduction and that several hypotheses were being evaluated. In view of this situation, the Chilean government requested reinforcements at border control points and issued an Interpol alert.
However, the international press has been quick to speculate with theories and point fingers at the Venezuelan government for being responsible for the crime, linking it to the Venezuelan organized criminal gang Tren de Aragua. Terrorist Iván Simonovis claimed that agents of the Venezuelan General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) carried out an “illegal operation” in Chile, pretending to be Chilean immigration officials, and abducted Ojeda.
Ojeda was arrested by Venezuelan authorities in April 2017, accused of participating in conspiratorial activities and plotting terrorist actions with other military officers. The crimes for which he was charged included rebellion, instigation of rebellion, mutiny, and treason. He escaped in November 2017 during a transfer to the Ramo Verde prison.
In 2019 Ojeda was demoted and expelled from the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) along with 24 other officers, and he fled to Chile to escape justice in Venezuela. In November 2022 he gained notoriety by protesting in front of the Moneda Palace, the seat of the presidency of Chile, where he demanded the release of Venezuelan “political prisoners” and condemned the dialogue between the Venezuelan government and the opposition. In 2023 the government of Chile granted him political asylum status.
Investigations by the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office determined that Ojeda participated in the foiled terrorist plot known as Operation White Bracelet, which was aimed at attacking military installations in Venezuela, as well as assassinating the governor of Táchira state, Freddy Bernal, and President Nicolás Maduro.
Shady business deals from the United States
Investigations into Ojeda’s assassination have revealed unusual details related to Ronald Ojeda’s financial dealings, which has raised speculation about his activities in Chile.
The Venezuelan ex-military man resided in a luxurious residential complex in Santiago de Chile, with exclusive apartments that offer services such as swimming pool, events room, gym, and laundry, and the values of the properties in the complex reach up to $130,000.
The Chilean investigative authorities discovered a notable flow of dollars from the United States to Ojeda’s Chilean accounts. Chilean police have revealed that Anyelo Heredia Gervacio, another Venezuelan ex-military man implicated in Operation White Bracelet, had sent Ojeda between $100,000 and $200,000 on several occasions, and even $1 million in a single transaction.
Ojeda received these transfers in bank accounts in Chile, and part of the funds were sent to a friend nicknamed Fefo, who was in charge of distributing the money in Caracas.
In addition, Chilean authorities are investigating the transfer of cash remittances and cryptocurrencies, as well as the involvement of Ojeda’s sister in business loan applications.
What the investigations have revealed
The atypical characteristics of Ojeda’s abduction and murder point to a possible elimination operation to prevent him from leaking critical information about Operation White Bracelet and and the people involved in it. This is indicated by the Venezuelan digital media La Tabla, based on data compiled from the ongoing investigations into the assassination of Ojeda.
First of all, it is necessary to comprehend that there was a great logistical deployment for Ojeda’s capture. The abduction, which took place at his home, involved the participation of at least 10 uniformed individuals and vehicles for his transfer. Additionally, his wife and son were also in the residence and they were unharmed.
The abduction was not followed by any ransom demand, and the murder was not carried out in the same place. He was removed from the site and taken to another place where, before being killed, he was subjected to torture: the marks of electric shocks, blows, and mechanical asphyxiation on his body indicate this.
Chilean police authorities have identified Walter de Jesús Rodríguez Pérez, a 29-year-old Venezuelan, as the main suspect in the abduction and murder of Ojeda. Rodríguez Pérez has criminal records in both Venezuela and Chile.
In Venezuela, Rodríguez Pérez was arrested for robbery in February 2018 in Aragua state. In Chile, he was charged on three counts: assault on a security guard in June 2020, kidnapping with the use of a firearm in June 2022, and kidnapping followed by murder in April 2023.
According to records of the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security (IVSS) consulted by La Tabla, he worked in the the governor’s office of Aragua when former Venezuelan Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami was the governor of that state.
Según datos del IVSS, el delincuente trabajó en el despacho de Gerencia de la Gobernación de Aragua durante el período de #TareckElAisami y era personal de confianza (información de redes señalan que era su escolta). También lo señalan como miembro del #GEDO #TrenDeAragua. pic.twitter.com/fQQLHALVAq
— La Tabla (@latablablog) March 11, 2024
Understanding the context of the events behind the abduction and subsequent assassination of Ojeda helps us to dismantle the narrative that intends to implicate the Venezuelan state security agencies as the perpetrators of the crime. In the midst of this international conspiracy, Venezuelan authorities have continued to deepen the investigations by questioning the participants.
It is important to understand that the purpose of spreading this narrative is to criminalize Venezuela and fabricate evidence that the Venezuelan government is linked to organized crime in the region. This plot enables the governments that are subordinate to Washington — like the Chilean and Argentinian governments — to isolate Venezuela politically and economically. The strategy is another pressure campaign that Washington has been waging against Venezuela for years.
In any case, evidence suggests that the intention behind this media narrative is to create a dossier that would try to link the Tren de Aragua gang with the Venezuelan State, to present the gang as a Caribbean “Al Qaeda” and the Venezuelan government as the Caribbean “Taliban regime.” Thus, in the absence of direct political mechanisms capable of destabilizing the situation in Venezuela in favor of regime change, this narrative could lead to the validation of a foreign military intervention—a so-called preventive intervention—under the false premise that the Venezuelan government is a threat to the security of the entire continent.
Translate: Orinoco Tribune
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Misión Verdad
Misión Verdad is a Venezuelan investigative journalism website with a socialist perspective in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution
