Presidential command post in Las Tejerias, Aragua state, built after the landslide affecting the region in the last quarter of 2022. Photo: Últimas Noticias/File photo.
This Wednesday, February 8, the Venezuelan Ministry of the Interior, Justice and Peace, ordered the reinforcement of security at the presidential command post that was built in Las Tejerías, Aragua, after the landslide that affected the region in October 2022.
This action is in response to an armed attack carried out last Sunday, February 5, against the headquarters of the Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigations Corps (CICPC) and Bolivarian National Police (PNB) located in the area, according to local media outlets.
Meanwhile, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) remains deployed in the surrounding areas of Las Tejerías, to closely monitor the coast and the valleys of the state of Aragua, heavily affected by gang violence.
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The FANB is in search of gang members on drug trafficking routes, which recently confronted the security forces in the region. Shots came from the mountainous areas that surround Las Tejerías—specifically, the hills surrounding the El Béisbol neighborhood, the sources said.
Agents from the Rural Commando Detachment of the Bolivarian National Guard went to the site to repel the attack. Subsequently, armored units from the PNB Strategic and Tactical Actions Directorate (DAET) arrived with approximately 200 men, who took up positions at key points in Las Tejerías. So far, there is no report of casualties of the attack.
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El Conejo gang
Authorities presume that said attack occurred between Sunday night and Monday morning, and was perpetrated by members of the gang of Carlos Enrique Gómez Rodríguez, aka El Conejo (The Rabbit).
These violent groups were expelled during the operation Gran Cacique Guaicaipuro 2, between April 5 and 9, 2022. The attack on Sunday occurred exactly one year after the aforementioned operation where Carlos Revette (El Koki) was killed. This gangster led the criminal gang that operated in Cota 905, Caracas.
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Another mercenary incursion?
Operation Gideon attempted to overthrow the government of President Nicolás Maduro in May 2020, through an armed deployment carried out by Colombian paramilitaries and Venezuelan deserters. They acted under the coordination of US mercenaries hired by the false interim government of former deputy Juan Guaidó.
In July 2021, leaders of the extreme right-wing Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) party conspired with various mega-gangs in the capital—including that of “El Koki,” which operated in Cota 905—to perpetrate destabilizing actions within the framework of the “Fiesta de Caracas” operation.
As a consequence of these events, former deputy Freddy Guevara was arrested, who later received a release benefit. This was performed as a demonstration of willingness to dialogue with the extreme right of the country, shown by the President Maduro administration.
This is the second attack in a week that has been carried out against law enforcing agencies located in the central region of Venezuela. The first occurred on Wednesday, February 1, in the Carlos Arvelo (Güigue) municipality, Carabobo, where four individuals arrived on a motorcycle at the police headquarters located in front of the mayor’s office and fired at uniformed officers, three of whom were injured.
Strategic analysis
Local analysts have engaged in public debate in recent days, trying to find the possible causes of this recent revival attempt of gang violence and its possible connection with the upcoming 2024 presidential elections and the terrible approval rating that far-right opposition parties and leaders show in the polls.
Some analysts believe that these recent violent incidents might be a new, easy, violent solution taken by far-right political groups to provoke national commotion and push for regime change, amid their lack of real chances of defeating Chavismo in the upcoming presidential race.
On the other hand, it is a reality that aside from the success of the police-military operation Gran Cacique Guaicaipuro 1 and 2, the El Conejo gang and its leader was not subdued or defeated properly. For that reason, some experts believe that this might be the opening of a new police-military operation, to finally subdue these violent paramilitary organizations, that have shown connections not just with Colombian paramilitaries and drug-trafficking groups, but also with US agencies.
(RedRadioVE) by Dubraska Esteves, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
