They are looking for clues to the whereabouts of Ronald Ojeda Moreno, a former Venezuelan soldier kidnapped in Chile

The Chilean government confirmed the kidnapping of former Venezuelan military officer Ronald Ojeda Moreno and decreed the strengthening of its borders to prevent him from being taken out of the country.

The Vice Minister of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, reported after an emergency meeting in the government palace the plagiarism in the early hours of Wednesday, February 21, by the Venezuelan.
“The first thing I want to inform you is that There was indeed a kidnapping of a Venezuelan citizen during the early morningas I believe is public knowledge, in the commune of Independencia” in Santiago, Monsalve told the press.

A woman, apparently a relative of the former military man, called Carabineros to report that A group of four men who identified themselves as members of Immigration took him away.

The meeting at the government palace was attended by the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Tohá; of Foreign Affairs, Alberto Van Klaveren, and of Justice, Luis Cordero.

The undersecretary acknowledged that in light of this fact “the government takes charge of all the hypotheses” that have arisen in this case, which is why he raised an alert with Interpol and decreed the protection of the borders.

He also indicated that contacts have been established both “at the diplomatic level”, through the Chilean ambassador in Caracas, and “at the police level from the Chilean Investigative Police (PDI) with the Venezuelan police.”

Media outlets indicate that among the theories being investigated is the possible participation of members of the Venezuelan government’s intelligence services, taking into account that Ronald Ojeda Moreno is an opponent of Nicolás Maduro and in 2018 he began to apply for political refuge in Chile.

It is also not ruled out that the former Venezuelan military man was involved with criminal gangs.

“The government takes charge of all possible hypotheses. In this context, during the morning the Government has asked the police to reinforce border controls, both the Carabineros (police) and the PDI (Investigative Police),” said Molsalve. .

The official added that “it has been requested to raise an Interpol alert, a matter that has already been done.”

However, he emphasized: “The responsibilities, motivations and hypotheses regarding a crime of this complexity must be confirmed or discarded by the Public Ministry within the framework of the investigation.”

The name of Ronald Ojeda Moreno appears on the list released at the end of January by the Venezuelan Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino, which includes 33 soldiers demoted and expelled from the Bolivarian National Armed Forces. (FANB) “involved in conspiracies” against the government, which included the assassination of President Nicolás Maduro.

Voluntad Popular (VP), the party of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López, accused the Maduro government of being behind the kidnapping and of “using sovereign territory of other states for espionage practices and aggression against Venezuelans.”

“For years we have denounced that Chavismo is a danger to the security of the continent. The disappearance of Lieutenant Colonel Ojeda takes this situation to another level, which endangers Venezuelan dissidents even outside the national territory,” the party indicated in its account of

Chile is home to a large community of Venezuelan citizens, estimated at one million people.

The authorities are also investigating the operation in Chile of international organized crime gangs, such as the Tren de Aragua.