Venezuelan Government in Search of Criminal Group Fugitives

Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, said on Monday night that his government is coordinating with Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Peru, a search and capture operation of fugitives from Tocorón prison.

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"We have coordinated with the governments of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile so that the search, pursuit and capture operation against these criminals is international," said the president in his weekly program With Maduro+.

According to the president, within the framework of Operation Gran Cacique Guaicaipuro carried out last Wednesday in the penitentiary center of Tocorón, more than 11,000 heavily armed security officers were deployed to retake the legality of said prison controlled until then by inmates.

Maduro indicated that during the operation, some corrupt officials of the penitentiary center warned the inmates of the criminal organization "Aragua Train" of the deployment. In this regard, he said that those officials "are already in jail and will be judged and severely punished."

The tweet reads, "2 of those who escaped from Tocorón prison through the tunnels were recaptured by officials of the National Guard (GNB) - CEOFANB. The next phase, according to the Government, will be the recapture of all the escapees, including "Niño Guerrero", leader of "El Tren de Aragua" (The Aragua Train). Leader of "El Tren de Aragua."

The operation in the prison lasted a few hours, and it was possible to safeguard the life and integrity of the detainees who remained on site, according to the Venezuelan government. 

Last Saturday the Minister of Interior and Justice, Remigio Ceballos announced the complete dismantling of the criminal organization. At that time, the minister said that the South American nation is geopolitically positioned to collaborate and contribute to the citizen security bodies of neighboring countries and others, with which it is in permanent contact.

Once the prison was taken, Caracas announced the beginning of phase 2 of the operation, which consists of the "search and capture" of all members of the criminal organization. The "Aragua Train" has spread to other countries in the region such as Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia.