Jorge Vera Fierro, an 84-year-old hardware businessman, was released alive this Wednesday morning after being held captive for eight days in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago. The octogenarian was found after the police received a call alerting them to the fire of a car, abandoned by his captors, in the Santa Teresa with Quilapilún area, in the municipality of Colina, north of Santiago. The victim was found walking about six kilometers from the place where the completely burned vehicle was located.
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In connection with the case, four detainees belonging to a criminal organization linked to the Tren de Aragua in Chile have been confirmed by prosecutor Héctor Barros, coordinator of the Organized Crime and Homicide Teams (ECOH). “They were arrested without realizing the police work that had been done. The investigative procedures revealed their involvement,” he said at a press conference.
The detainees are three Venezuelans and one Chilean. The men were captured in operations in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago and in the city of Iquique, in the north of the country. Chilean authorities have had the support of the National Police of Colombia during the investigation.
Hassel Barrientos, head of the Metropolitan Anti-Kidnapping Special Police Investigations Brigade of the Investigations Police (PDI), said that all those captured are the material authors of the kidnapping: “Information related to their phone devices was seized from these individuals. They participated in the capture and captivity of this person who was released today.” He also announced that they expect to make new arrests.
Vera owns a hardware store and about seven horses used for racing. He was kidnapped on April 21 in the El Llano area, in the municipality of San Miguel, in the southern zone of Santiago, when he was driving his truck to go home and was intercepted by three cars. His family was especially worried because the victim must inject insulin daily due to diabetes. Barrientos said they have had kidnappings with characteristics similar to that of the businessman for three years, but in this case the affected person is “of advanced age, with underlying diseases, which complicates the process because his delicate health condition was also an imminent risk.”
Authorities reported that, when found, he was in good health. It has not been confirmed whether a payment was made for his release, but Barrientos did affirm that negotiations lasted more than 180 hours.
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A few hours apart from Vera’s kidnapping, the abduction of a Peruvian woman was also reported in the Estación Central commune, in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago. She was lost track of after four individuals, in a white vehicle, took her from her home. The two kidnappings put Chilean authorities on alert, who have increased in the last four years. Ángel Valencia, national prosecutor of Chile, said that this crime “has evolved very badly” and that “kidnappings and extortion were criminal phenomena we did not know.”
A report from the studies division of the Public Ministry, published last year, indicated that 868 cases were reported in 2024, 2.1% more than in 2023 and the highest figure in a decade. The phenomenon reached its turning point in 2022, after increasing by 68% compared to the previous year. This same report indicated that between 2021 and 2024 the number of kidnappings remained above 800 cases annually. The upturn coincides with the presence of the Tren de Aragua in Chile, a Venezuelan-origin criminal organization that, among other criminal activities, focuses on extortion kidnappings, migrant trafficking, and territorial control, according to the investigative platform InSight Crime.
Hassel Barrientos said that they frequently dismantle factions of the Tren de Aragua in Chile, but “they are constantly trying to reestablish their criminal activities.” In January last year, for example, the Los Piratas cell was dismantled, involved in more than a dozen cases, including the murders of Carabineros lieutenant Emmanuel Sánchez and the Venezuelan ex-military and Nicolás Maduro dissident, Ronald Ojeda, in February 2024.
President José Antonio Kast promised to fight these criminal groups during his campaign to reach the La Moneda Palace. His Security Minister, Trinidad Steinert, stated that the Government is coordinating with all actors to confront organized crime: “I want to be very clear and emphatic: we will not stop until we prevent these organizations from settling in the country, and it is time for them to leave.”
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