Caracas [Venezuela], September 22: Some 11,000 soldiers and police stormed the Tocoron prison in Venezuela about 140 kilometres south-west of the capital Caracas in a large-scale operation against the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.
"The prison is now back under the full control of the state after we dismantled the centre of the conspiracy," Interior Minister Remigio Ceballos said on Thursday night.
According to media reports, the security forces discovered a tunnel system, restaurants, a discotheque, storage rooms and even a small zoo in the prison.
The interior minister said that the jail would be completely cleared. The Tocoron prison, with some 7,000 inmates, is considered the headquarters of the Tren de Aragua crime syndicate. From the jail, Tren de Aragua ruled a criminal enterprise spanning several Latin American countries and reaching as far as Chile. The Tren de Aragua, Venezuela's most powerful criminal organization, is involved in drug smuggling, racketeering, illegal mining and the smuggling of migrants. Most recently, it extended its sphere of influence to Colombia, Peru and Chile.
Supposedly the Tocoron prison was de facto run by the gang's boss, HectorRusthenford Guerrero Flores alias Niño Guerrero.
Tocoron not only held convicted criminals but also some of their partners and relatives, who moved into the penitentiary to be near their loved ones.
One woman, Gladys Hernandez, told AFP news agency that she was waiting to hear where they were taking her husband.
Source: Qatar Tribune