This Thursday, new and revealing details have been released along with shocking images of the mysterious kidnapping of Ronald Ojeda, the Venezuelan lieutenant who defected from Nicolás Maduro's dictatorship and was residing in Santiago de Chile.
Despite the fact that the investigation on the ex-military officer was classified as secret, a local media outlet, Meganoticias, recently published audiovisual material that shows crucial moments of the kidnapping of the Venezuelan lieutenant who gained notoriety when he escaped from the prison where he was arbitrarily detained by the Venezuelan regime.
In the images captured by the security cameras of the building where Ojeda resided, one can see the moment in which a group of armed individuals forcibly took him out of his apartment while in his underwear. They forced him to walk handcuffed towards the exit of the building, where they finally put him in a car with which they left the place.
The kidnappers were dressed in black, with helmets, bulletproof vests and their faces covered, and at least one of them wore the acronym of the Chilean Investigative Police (PDI) on the back of his clothing, raising questions about the possible involvement of fake agents in this surprise kidnapping.
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Was it the Maduro regime?
While Chilean authorities are still struggling to decipher all the details of the kidnapping, allegations have already surfaced that Ojeda was abducted by counterintelligence officials of Nicolás Maduro's dictatorship posing as Chilean immigration employees.
In an exclusive interview with Voz Media, a detective, former Caracas commissioner and politically persecuted Iván Simonovis revealed that Ojeda was with his wife and children when alleged immigration agents arrived, violently entered the house, stripped him naked and took him away.
"Everything indicates that it was an operation directed by Venezuela. In fact, the latest information we have is that Lieutenant Ojeda is already in Venezuela," Simonovis revealed.
Who is Ojeda and why was he imprisoned in Venezuela?
Ronald Ojeda is a first lieutenant, singled out by the Government of Nicolás Maduro for alleged "rebellion, instigation to rebellion, mutiny and treason."
The Venezuelan ex-military officer was arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned in Ramo Verde prison in 2017. However, Ojeda managed to escape after multiple episodes of torture and humiliation. The lieutenant obtained political asylum in Chile, along with his partner, his four-year-old son and his sister, and since then has continued to raise his critical voice against the Venezuelan dictatorship, even protesting in front of La Moneda Palace to demand the release of political prisoners in Venezuela.
What do Chilean authorities say?
Chilean authorities have deployed an intensive search operation for the Venezuelan ex-military officer after his relatives reported him missing. The seriousness of the case has led the Public Prosecutor's Office to declare the investigation secret, thus limiting the information available to the public.
According to Chilean media reports, the latest lead on Ojeda centers on the Nissan Versa vehicle used in the kidnapping, which was abandoned approximately 12 kilometers from the victim's residence. In the car's trunk, authorities found a bulletproof vest, two cases and a magazine for a 9-millimeter caliber weapon.
Chile's Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, informed that an international alert was issued to Interpol, border control was ordered to be reinforced and assured that all hypotheses are being evaluated.
"The Government has the obligation to consider all hypotheses and, therefore, takes measures for all possible scenarios, but I think it is premature to reach a conclusion (...) it is up to the Public Prosecutor's Office to confirm or rule out the different hypotheses surrounding this crime," he said.
El subsecretario del Interior Manuel Monsalve comentó este miércoles, el secuestro de un ciudadano venezolano en nuestro país, revelado durante esta jornada, anuncia do diversas medidas y dejando en manos del Ministerio Público, las investigaciones sobre este caso pic.twitter.com/vby9PPrZCk
— Radio Portales (@RadioPortales) February 21, 2024
