Chile says a Venezuelan fugitive has been arrested in the killing of an anti-Maduro dissident
Chile says a Venezuelan fugitive has been arrested in the killing of an anti-Maduro dissident
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile announced Friday that one of the suspects wanted in the kidnapping and killing of a dissident Venezuelan soldier on Chilean soil early this year has been arrested in Costa Rica.
The slaying in February caused shock in Chile, where Ronald Ojeda, a former lieutenant and self-described political prisoner, had sought asylum after protesting against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“It’s an important step,” Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Tohá wrote on the social media platform X of Friday’s arrest, promising that Chile would “continue making every effort to clarify the case and ensure that those responsible face justice.”
The killing has strained relations between the South American nations. Chilean authorities have suggested Venezuelan officials orchestrated Ojeda’s capture, sparking fears that Maduro’s government had opened a new front in its political crackdown. Venezuela has denied involvement.
The development comes at a sensitive time for Maduro, who is running for re-election in an election July 28.
The Chilean prosecutor’s office identified the detained suspect as Venezuelan national Maickel Villegas Rodríguez, saying that Costa Rican police picked him up as he tried to cross the border into Panama via bus.
Chile said Costa Rica was acting on an Interpol notice filed against Villegas earlier this year. Interpol declined to comment on the arrest and referred questions to Costa Rica’s government, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The prosecutor, Héctor Barros, accused Villegas of surveilling Ojeda’s house before his abduction and “providing cover” to the other alleged assailants.
In March, Chile issued arrest warrants for both Villegas and another Venezuelan, 28-year-old Walter Rodríguez Pérez, who authorities believe has since taken refuge in Venezuela. In Chile, meanwhile, police have detained a 17-year-old Venezuelan in connection with the case.
Chile has requested to prosecute Villegas in absentia, Barros added, and plans to pursue extradition.
“He was one of the first suspects identified by the police teams,” Barros said of Villegas, describing him as a legal resident and employee at a package delivery company who had never drawn the attention of law enforcement.
Authorities said he fled the country three days after Ojeda’s abduction.
Earlier this year, Chilean prosecutors implicated Venezuela’s largest criminal organization, the Aragua Train, in the kidnapping and killing of the 32-year-old Ojeda.
But the gang never made a ransom demand and officials say Ojeda was killed just hours after being kidnapped, leading Chilean authorities to probe the possibility that the assailants acted out of political motives.
After 10 days of feverish searching, Chilean authorities found Ojeda’s body squeezed into a suitcase, buried a meter (three feet) beneath a building in a poor neighborhood of Santiago, sprinkled with white lime to hasten decomposition. Cement had been poured over the suitcase.
