Javier Ojeda, brother of former Venezuelan lieutenant Ronald Ojeda, who was kidnapped in Chile early Wednesday morning, said this Friday that the family is worried and desperate to know if the victim is still alive. His request is due to the fact that they do not have more information about the case since the Chilean government of Gabriel Boric handles it with complete security.
“I am devastated by the current situation we are experiencing. My family is desperate to know if my brother Ronald Leandro Rojas Moreno is really alive. We have the right to know, and the desperation to know, if in reality my brother, who has been kidnapped, is alive,” Javier said in an interview on the program Power Factors.
The young man stated that the family’s intention is not to hinder the investigation carried out by the country’s authorities, but stated that so far they have had no information.
How did the kidnapping of Ronald Ojeda occur?
Ronald Ojeda Moreno, former lieutenant of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, was the victim of a kidnapping during the early hours of Wednesday at his residence in Santiago, Chile. According to preliminary reports, four individuals who appeared to be members of the Chilean Investigative Police carried out the act.
An exclusive video published by Chilean media revealed the chilling moments of the former military man’s kidnapping. In the shocking footage, he is seen walking stripped of his clothes and tightly tied through the hallways of his residence, while he is escorted by several individuals dressed in black and with their faces covered.
The kidnappers also wore helmets and bulletproof vests, pretending to be members of the Chilean Investigative Police, which would have managed to deceive the perpetrator.
What is known about the ex-military kidnapped in Chile?
The former military man was arrested and imprisoned in the Ramo Verde prison in March 2017 for alleged conspiracy against the Nicolás Maduro regime. But in November of that same year he managed to escape along with other companions when they were being transferred to a court in Fuerte Tiuna, alleging conditions of torture and constant threats against their integrity.
During his period of hiding, he took refuge in Chile, where he requested political asylum and received the support of the Chilean government, which granted him the benefit at the end of last year. Currently, he resided in the town of Independencia along with his partner, her 4-year-old son, and his sister.
The Venezuelan Ministry of Defense, in February 2018, announced his demotion and expulsion from the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, along with 10 other soldiers, for allegedly being involved in conspiracies and criminal actions against the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Let’s not blame others for our mistakes. We trust in that “opposition”, which today meekly lowers its head in the face of totalitarianism. They cohabit to legitimize and normalize corruption policy.
Freedom will knock on the door, it will devastate the traitor and bury the system forever. pic.twitter.com/N7peGdFoDw
— Ronald Ojeda Moreno (@ronald1991le) November 26, 2022
Although in Chile he participated in some protests to demand respect for human rights in his country and harshly criticized the Venezuelan regime through his social networks, his name resonated again on January 24 of this year, when he appeared again in a list of officers demoted and expelled from the Armed Forces for alleged “criminal and terrorist” plans.
Recently, information suggests that Ronald Ojeda Moreno had already been transferred to Venezuela, according to statements by Iván Simonovis, former commissioner of the Caracas Metropolitan Police. Unofficial information indicates that the people involved in the incident belong to the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, an executing arm of the socialist regime.
⭕ #Now24H | They denounce the kidnapping of a retired Venezuelan lieutenant in Chile.
▶️ Iván Simonovis: “The last thing I was told is that the lieutenant would already be in Venezuela. It is something I cannot guarantee, but a colleague of his told me that his relatives have just informed him of that”
🖥… pic.twitter.com/xpK57CLgIw
— 24 Horas (@24HorasTVN) February 21, 2024
“They are highly prepared and trained”
Javier Ojeda, in the same interview with Power Factors, He described his brother’s body language: “He comes out erect, he comes out as if he were not being intimidated, but, apart from that, he is handling the situation. That serenity, I know, is a serenity with intelligence; He is not a person who is kidnapped and blocked. He knew what he was facing again and how to handle the situation perfectly.”
He added that Ronald Ojeda probably wanted to quickly distance the kidnappers from his family circle, so he helped leave his residence so that they would not harm his son and his wife, who were with him at that time.
“According to what I know, these people (the kidnappers) quickly managed to open the door, because they are obviously highly prepared, it shows and we know, not because we are Venezuelans, but yes. The characteristics are very noticeable, it is seen that people are trained. You can’t see that they are just any people,” said Javier.
According to his statements, his brother was still in bed when the subjects “destroyed” the door and managed to enter the apartment. At that point, the ex-military’s wife encountered one of the kidnappers and began to scream and he pointed a gun at her head. “My brother, as I know him, preferred to say absolutely nothing, to do absolutely nothing, because it could be worse. And also because of fear because the child was there,” he added.
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