A former army lieutenant allegedly recruited Venezuelan soldiers to provide firepower for the Tren de Guayana gang’s bid to take over illegal gold mining operations in southern Venezuela, revealing the ever more complex web of collaboration between the military and criminal gangs.
By InSight Crime
Aug 9, 2021
The allegation was made in a filmed confession by a young sergeant, Ricardo Andrés Figueroa Largo. The video, dated July 12, 2021, was shared by local journalist Germán Dam on Twitter.
In the video, Figueroa states he and other soldiers were contacted by a former army lieutenant who offered them $1,000 per month. According to Dam’s investigations, Figueroa had already deserted the army when he received the offer from the lieutenant, who said he would be working as a security guard for a gold company in Bolívar state. But on arrival, Figueroa was forced into the ranks of Tren de Guayana and deployed in an operation to retake a mine occupied by rival gang 3Rs Organization.
In a separate video, Figueroa describes how the rival gang captured him. Both videos are shot by his captors, raising doubts about the level of coercion involved in the confession.
Nevertheless, his claims were echoed by human rights lawyer Tamara Suju. She argued that mercenaries were deployed in a coordinated campaign between Tren de Guayana and the army to take control of the Atenas mine in Bolívar.
“The army went into the area to displace the miners and give the mine to the other gang,” she told Diario Las Américas.
Venezuela’s 51st Infantry Brigade occupied the mine in April 2021. At the time, displaced miners told local media that the military incursion had been supported by masked men dressed in black.
InSight Crime Analysis
While InSight Crime cannot independently confirm Figueroa’s story, it is consistent with numerous recent reports to InSight Crime regarding coordination between the army and Tren de Guayana.
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