JUSTICE · CHILE
Key Facts
- —The country Chile, where Venezuelan refugee Ronald Ojeda, a former army lieutenant, was abducted in Santiago on 21 February 2024 and later found dead.
- —Why it matters The case links a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, to a possible political killing, and tests extradition promises between Chile and Costa Rica.
- —Why now The first full trial ended with a sentence on Thursday 15 October, five days before a second trial of 18 accused opens.
- —What happened A Santiago court sentenced delivery driver Maickel Villegas Rodríguez to 20 years for kidnapping with homicide on Thursday 15 October 2026.
- —The numbers 20 years imposed, against a 50-year ceiling promised to Costa Rica. 18 accused go to trial on Tuesday 20 October, and six arrest warrants remain open.
- —What it means for you Venezuelan exiles and US readers see a Chilean court convict a gang member at trial, while the alleged political chain of command stays untested.
- —Still open Who ordered the killing. Prosecutors call the political motive an open line of inquiry, and the court did not rule on it.
- —Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 63.6 points (October 2026 edition).
- —Power Index Venezuela ranks 13th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 27.0 points (October 2026 edition).
The Villegas 20-year sentence, issued in Santiago on Thursday 15 October, is the first from a full trial over Ronald Ojeda’s murder. The Second Oral Criminal Trial Court of Santiago found delivery driver Maickel Villegas Rodríguez guilty of kidnapping with homicide.
Ojeda was a former Venezuelan army lieutenant who held refugee status in Chile when he was abducted in February 2024. La Tercera says the gang’s top leader was killed in an operation coordinated from Washington, which gives the case a US dimension.
What the Court Decided
The judges Jorge Candia (presiding), María Carolina Herrera and Gloria Canales ruled unanimously, according to the Poder Judicial note quoted by Monitoreamos. They imposed 20 years of effective prison, the penalty Chilean law calls presidio mayor en su grado máximo.
Prosecutors and the family’s lawyers had asked for exactly 20 years, while the defence asked for 15 years and one day. The court rejected the defence request because that term was out of proportion to the harm caused.
Prosecutor Álex Cortez said the result was “exactly what was requested”, La Tercera reports. Family lawyer Alejandra Valdivieso said no sentence can repair the damage, but that each conviction gives the family a little more peace.
Why the Villegas 20-Year Sentence Is Not Life
Under article 141 of the Chilean Penal Code, kidnapping with homicide carries life imprisonment or qualified life imprisonment. The court said that is the penalty that legally applied to Villegas.
When Chile obtained his extradition, it promised Costa Rica not to impose the death penalty or any term above 50 years. Because life sentences have no fixed length, the judges said neither kind could be used.
The court therefore chose the nearest fixed term, 15 years and one day to 20 years, and set it at the maximum. It said it did so only to honour the guarantee given to Costa Rica, not because any legal ground reduced the penalty.
The judges also weighed one aggravating and one mitigating factor, his clean prior record, and treated them as cancelling out. Valdivieso said the sentence would have been heavier had Villegas not fled, and La Tercera adds that the extradition terms capped what prosecutors could seek.
What Villegas Did, According to the Court
La Tercera’s account of the verdict says Villegas, a delivery driver, used his own car to watch the street outside Ojeda’s building. On the night of the abduction he and a 17-year-old passenger filmed a video from the parked car, later deleted.
Hours later a car used in the abduction broke down on a Santiago motorway, and Villegas drove three of the men to San Bernardo. He left Chile days afterwards and was extradited from Costa Rica in November 2024.
Prosecutors place him in “Los Piratas”, a cell of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang that began in prisons. Efecto Cocuyo, citing the EFE agency, says the group has spread to Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
The Political Motive Question
Ojeda was 32 when he died and had left Venezuela in 2017 after being accused of conspiring against Nicolás Maduro. Chile granted him refugee status in late 2023.
Cortez told local media that this trial concerned only Villegas and that the political motive is among the open lines of inquiry. Prosecutors are examining alleged payments from senior Venezuelan figures, among them Diosdado Cabello, to gang leaders, and those remain allegations.
Family lawyer Juan Carlos Manríquez said the reasoning made a political order by a foreign government “plausible”, though it was not tried. He added that the court did not find the evidence strong enough against Villegas to add a political-motive aggravating factor.
La Tercera adds that a protected witness said Cabello contacted the gang’s leader, and that Maduro is now detained in the United States. The witness statement is a claim in a case file, not a finding of any court.
What Happens Next
A second trial of 18 accused opens on Tuesday 20 October, according to La Tercera and the family’s lawyers. Several face qualified life imprisonment, the most severe term in Chilean law.
Efecto Cocuyo lists among the accused Rafael Gámez Salas, alias “El Turko”, the gang’s Chile leader, extradited from the United States in August. Luis Alfredo Carrillo Ortiz, alias “El Gocho”, was extradited from Colombia.
Six arrest warrants remain in force, according to Monitoreamos and the EFE text. One of them is the warrant for the gang’s top leader, who has since been killed.
Efecto Cocuyo says that leader, Héctor Guerrero Flores, alias “Niño Guerrero”, was killed in June. An operation involving Venezuela’s interim government and the United States carried it out.
La Tercera also reported on 1 October that a third case covers suspects extradited later. Prosecutors say key steps there depend on international cooperation to hear former Venezuelan officials detained in the United States.
What It Means for You
For US readers, the Villegas 20-year sentence shows a Latin American court convicting a Tren de Aragua member at trial. It also shows that extradition terms can cap a sentence, which matters for any suspect one country hands to another.
For Venezuelans, travellers and investors in Chile, the change is confidence in the courts rather than safety on the street. The verdict follows Chile’s decision to join a US-led security pact, covered in Chile Joins US-Led Crime Coalition and Drops Observer Role.
The first verdict, on 1 October, is covered in Chile Court Convicts Villegas in Ronald Ojeda Murder. Wider context is in our Chile news in English and Venezuela news in English pages.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether Villegas will appeal, and the sources reviewed do not say whether the defence has filed any challenge. The court’s full written ruling was not available to us, so details come from La Tercera, Monitoreamos and El Nacional.
Sources differ on the next trial, with La Tercera giving 18 accused and Efecto Cocuyo’s EFE text 16. The presumption of innocence applies to every defendant not yet convicted.
It is not known who ordered the killing, and no court has found that a foreign government did. The sources reviewed do not say where the open warrants’ targets are, and they announce no new arrest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Maickel Villegas Rodríguez?
He is a delivery driver, extradited from Costa Rica in November 2024, whom prosecutors place in the Tren de Aragua cell known as Los Piratas. A Santiago court sentenced him on Thursday 15 October 2026 as a direct perpetrator of kidnapping with homicide.
Why did he get 20 years and not life?
Chilean law sets life imprisonment for the crime, but Chile promised Costa Rica not to impose more than 50 years or the death penalty. The court said life terms are open-ended, so it chose the nearest fixed term and set it at the 20-year maximum.
Did the court say Venezuela ordered the killing?
No, because the trial concerned only Villegas and the court did not add a political-motive aggravating factor. Prosecutors say the political motive remains an open line of inquiry.
What happens on 20 October?
A second trial of 18 accused opens in Santiago for the kidnapping and killing and for the crimes of Los Piratas. Some defendants face qualified life imprisonment, according to La Tercera.
Who was Ronald Ojeda?
He was a former Venezuelan army lieutenant, aged 32 at his death, who left Venezuela in 2017 and received Chilean refugee status in late 2023. He was taken from his home in Independencia, Santiago, on 21 February 2024, and his body was found on 1 March 2024.
Sources: La Tercera, 15 October 2026 (sentence report; the court’s reasoning; family lawyer); Monitoreamos, 15 October 2026, quoting the Poder Judicial of Chile (report); Efecto Cocuyo, 15 October 2026, EFE text (report); El Nacional, 15 October 2026 (report); La Tercera, 1 October 2026 (Manríquez interview).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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