NEW YORK (April 25, 2025) — The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) condemns Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro for using the Tren de Aragua criminal network to target and eliminate dissidents beyond Venezuela’s borders. New evidence from a Chilean prosecutor’s investigation has confirmed that the February 2024 abduction and assassination of former Venezuelan army lieutenant Ronald Ojeda in Chile was a politically motivated murder, ordered by Maduro’s regime and executed by members of Tren de Aragua. This case demonstrates the ruthless reach of Maduro’s transnational repression and his regime’s control over criminal networks operating far beyond Venezuela’s borders.
On Feb. 21, 2024, Ronald Ojeda — a 32-year-old former Venezuelan army lieutenant living in exile in Chile — was abducted from his home in Santiago by individuals posing as police officers. Days later, his dismembered body was discovered inside a concrete-encased suitcase. Ojeda had fled Venezuela in 2017 after facing persecution for his anti-regime activities and was granted political asylum in Chile in 2023. Chilean authorities quickly identified the perpetrators as members of Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s largest criminal network.
Authorities have arrested at least 19 suspects in Chile, with additional captures in Colombia and the United States. Two suspects fled to Venezuela immediately after the murder, prompting an extradition request that remains unanswered by Maduro’s regime. From the outset, Chilean investigator suspected the assassination was ordered by the Maduro regime as retaliation for Ojeda’s opposition activism. Organized Crime Prosecutor Héctor Barros confirmed that the kidnapping and murder were organized from Venezuela for political reasons, stating there was “no other line of investigation” given Ojeda’s profile as a prominent Maduro critic. By April 2024, Chilean prosecutors formally classified the case as a state-ordered political assassination planned in Caracas. Attorney General Ángel Valencia reaffirmed this conclusion, emphasizing, “Ojeda’s murder doesn’t have the characteristics of a normal crime,” and pointing to overwhelming evidence of political orchestration from Venezuela.
Multiple witnesses have testified that Ojeda’s assassination was ordered at the highest levels of Venezuela’s government. One protected witness identified Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s powerful Interior Minister and Nicolás Maduro’s right-hand man, as the official who instructed Tren de Aragua’s leader to carry out the killing. Chile’s Attorney General and Interior Minister have affirmed that there is “substantial evidence” linking Ojeda’s murder to directives from Venezuelan officials. Authorities have formally briefed the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the case, strengthening its relevance to the ICC’s ongoing investigation into crimes by the Maduro regime.
“As if ordering and executing the torture and killing of Venezuelans through the Venezuelan armed forces and police inside Venezuela weren’t enough, Maduro is now resorting to this notorious international gang, recently designated as a terrorist organization in the U.S., to execute its transnational crimes,” HRF Chief Legal and Policy Officer Javier El-Hage said. “It is a positive development that Chile’s principled, center-left government, led by President Gabriel Boric, is leading the effort to denounce this and other crimes by Maduro’s dictatorship. The evidence leaves no doubt that Maduro’s henchmen continue using the Tren de Aragua gang to kidnap and murder dissidents. We welcome Chile’s efforts to involve the ICC and urge democracies worldwide to support accountability for Maduro and his cronies.”
For years, the Maduro regime has harbored and enabled Tren de Aragua. Born within Venezuela’s prison system, the gang expanded under the protection of Maduro’s inner circle. Until a raid in late 2023, Tren de Aragua operated openly from Tocorón prison in Aragua state — a facility transformed into a fortified criminal compound complete with pools, nightclubs, and armories, functioning as a “liberated territory” with government acquiescence. Security experts have long noted that the regime co-opted criminal groups like Tren de Aragua as enforcers, deploying them to attack pro-democracy protesters and eliminate political opponents. Operatives have effectively acted as an extension of the regime’s repressive apparatus, shielded by official impunity and alleged financial ties to state officials.
“The Maduro regime is exporting terror by partnering with violent criminal networks,” HRF Chief Advocacy Officer Roberto González added. “Ordering Tren de Aragua to commit a kidnapping and murder on Chilean soil is a textbook case of state-sponsored transnational repression. For Maduro, organized crime has become a tool of political repression abroad. HRF stands with the people of Venezuela and Chile’s institutions in pursuing justice for Ronald Ojeda, and calls on all democratic governments to act so that Maduro’s regime faces consequences for this heinous crime.”
HRF commends the Chilean Public Ministry’s investigation and the Chilean government’s commitment to justice. The assassination of Ronald Ojeda stands as one of the starkest examples of a Latin American dictatorship reaching across borders to eliminate a political opponent — a tactic more often associated with regimes like Russia or Iran.
HRF calls for stronger international coordination to protect Venezuelan dissidents in exile and to sanction Maduro’s regime for engaging in transnational organized crime. As Chile prepares to present formal evidence to the ICC, HRF reiterates its call for all responsible individuals — from the hitmen on the ground to the officials in Caracas — to be brought to justice, whether in Chilean courts or through international legal mechanisms.
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