Venezuela Deploys 11,000 Troops to Recapture Prison from Criminal Group
Venezuela has sent 11,000 troops to regain control of one of its biggest prison that had been overrun by a powerful criminal gang.
The Tocorón prison, in the north of the country, was under the control of the Tren de Aragua mega-gang for years.
Members were able to roam freely around the prison, which had hotel-like facilities including a pool, nightclub and a mini zoo, local media reported.
Officials said the 6,000 inmates would be transferred to other prisons.
Many free residents were living inside the prison alongside sentenced inmates.
Read Also:
DR Congo Asks UN Force to Start Leaving this Year
After authorities announced that prisoners would be relocated, some relatives cried outside, unsure where they would go next.
One woman, Gladys Hernández, told AFP news agency that she was waiting to hear where they were taking her husband.
“I was living in there, but they kicked us out,” she said.
The jail doubled up as the headquarters of the Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s most powerful transnational gang.
From the jail, Tren de Aragua ruled a criminal enterprise spanning several Latin American countries and reaching as far as Chile.
Its members engage in human trafficking, run prostitution rings and extort migrants.
The gang fitted the prison out with all kinds of facilities, such as games rooms and a small zoo complete with flamingos and an ostrich.
