Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Toha stated all ‘eyes’ are on Venezuela to behave in the pursuit of justice.
Chile has introduced plans to hunt the extradition of two Venezuelans it considers suspects in the grisly murder of a political dissident.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Chilean Interior Minister Carolina Toha known as on her Venezuelan counterparts to be companions in her nation’s pursuit of justice.
“What happened in this crime is important for Chile,” she said. “We give it the highest gravity, but also it is important for Venezuela.”
She stated there will likely be “eyes” on Venezuela’s behaviour in the matter. “The willingness to collaborate in this investigation has to be demonstrated in facts — firstly, by discovering those responsible, and secondly, by making it easier for them to face justice.”
Toha’s assertion comes as half of an investigation into the killing of 32-year-old Ronald Ojeda, a Venezuelan dissident and former army lieutenant.
Ojeda had been imprisoned in Venezuela for alleged treason. In 2017, he escaped to Chile, the place he sought and was granted asylum.
From overseas, Ojeda continued to vocally criticise the authorities of President Nicolás Maduro, whose administration is accused of human rights abuses and the suppression of dissent.
But early on the morning of February 21, surveillance footage confirmed three males disguised as Chilean police kidnapping Ojeda from his condominium. His physique was later found on March 1 stuffed in a suitcase, buried beneath lime powder and cement in a Santiago suburb.
Chilean police afterwards arrested a 17-year-old Venezuelan suspect, allegedly linked to the Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s largest felony community. Officials have stated two extra suspects escaped to Venezuela.
Chilean authorities advised on Friday that the murder was politically motivated and coordinated from Venezuela itself.
“We are talking about a victim who has participated in actions against the Venezuelan government, and secondly, he has been detained for nine months in Venezuela. He escaped and has political asylum in Chile,” stated Hector Barros, a prosecutor for Santiago’s organised crime and murder workforce.
“Given the profile he has, there is no other line of investigation.”
But earlier this week, Venezuela disputed the continued existence of the Tren de Aragua felony group, with Foreign Minister Yvan Gil calling it “a fiction created by the international media”.
That prompted an outcry from the Chilean authorities. “It is an insult to the people of Chile and Latin America,” Toha stated on Monday, referencing violent incidents credited to the group throughout the area.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric additionally introduced on Thursday that he would recall his administration’s ambassador to Venezuela in response.
“The irresponsible statements from the chancellor of Venezuela, ignoring the existence of the Tren de Aragua, are worrying and constitute a serious insult to those who have been victims of this organisation and also demonstrate a lack of commitment to necessary international cooperation in matters of security,” Boric wrote on social media.
Venezuela has but to reply to Chile’s most up-to-date extradition requests. It has denied duty for Ojeda’s murder.
Maduro is in search of a 3rd time period in the upcoming presidential elections, set for July 28.
But the race has been marred by accusations that his authorities has tried to intimidate and derail the opposition, together with by means of detentions, arrest warrants and bans from holding public office.
Speaking on Friday, Toha, the Chilean inside minister, emphasised the must cooperate on issues of justice.
“A case like this, with the implications it has, must have at its centre that justice is done, that the truth is found, that those responsible are discovered, and that they face sentences that correspond to [their crimes],” she stated.
