Instead it was a that became the birthplace of Venezuela’s most dangerous organised crime gang, with a fearless journalist who went undercover at the institution revealing how opportunistic thugs ran riot – charging inmates $15-a-week rent and stockpiling ammunition as though it were an army base.
Venezuelan jail Tocoron could have passed as a luxury all-inclusive holiday resort
Among the cartel perks was a nightclub called Tokyo
The prison also had its own zooCredit: Twitter
In September 2023 President Maduro sent 11,000 troops to storm the prison and take it backCredit: X/Nicolas Maduro
The Tren de Aragua cartel, who ran the astonishing complex, has gained worldwide notoriety this year thanks to , who has made one of his main foreign policy goals.
The control that and his henchmen had over the jail enabled them to hold wild parties and concerts while enjoying week-long visits from their wives and children, who ran free around a specially-built play area.
But aside from the luxury lifestyle they were leading, the gang were also ordering kidnappings, extortions, sex trafficking and other crimes from behind bars.
Journalist Ronna Risquez, who bravely went undercover in the prison and is author of the definitive book on the gang, tells The Sun: “The gang was born in Tocoron prison. The prison was key to the gang’s growth and consolidation. It was also key to their achieving so much power.
“The prison was their bunker, their centre of operations. They turned a state infrastructure into their lair; there they were safe, no one touched them and from there they coordinated their crimes. They also recruited gang members in the prison.”
When the US government deported 177 Venezuelans in February this year, the Department of Homeland Security alleged that 80 of them were members of the gang.
The US State Department went so far as to designate Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organisation in an effort to and transnational organizations”.
In September, the US Government ordered military strikes on a in the while President Trump has issued Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro .
And last week the US for allegedly using her entertainment career to launder money and support the Tren de Aragua gang.
Jimena Araya, also known as “Rosita” after the name of her character in comedy shows, was romantically linked to Tren de Aragua kingpin Guerrero Flores and allegedly helped him escape from Tocoron prison in 2012, the US Treasury said.
Araya lives in and posts her lavish lifestyle to her 3.5million followers. But she is now banned from working in the US amid claims she used her DJ gigs to launder money for the gang.
Tren de Aragua was initially founded by Hector “El Niño” Guerrero and two other men in 2014 when they were in Tocoron prison in the state of Aragua.
Guerrero was serving time for the murder of a officer and other convictions.
The prison, like others across Venezuela, was badly run, dogged by serious allegations of torture and government corruption.
Guerrero and others realised that they had more weapons and power than the military force guarding them and saw a profitable opportunity, expanding what had been a budding gang.
Cops uncovered a swathe of weapons and ammunition at the compoundCredit: AFP
Food stalls also featured at the luxury prisonCredit: AFP
A playground was built, with inmates inviting their family for week-long visitsCredit: Twitter
They controlled inmates through force and extortion – charging them ‘rent’ to live in the prison. This bought them luxuries such as steakhouse food and their wives and children being able to visit for weeks at a time. Those who refused to pay the fees suffered or even died.
Guerrero had his own luxury suite inside the prison, and the jail boasted its own nightclub – Club Tokyo – where inmates and even members of the public partied the nights away to live music and exotic dancers.
Ronna Risquez, who has received death threats since her book blew the whistle on the prison, infiltrated it by pretending to be a family member, going inside on a Sunday which was a visitation day and less likely to see violence erupt.
She says: “The gang ran the prison. They turned it into a small city. They built swimming pools, zoos and nightclubs. To maintain all of that they charged a tax of $15 a week to all the prisoners.”
Human trafficking and sexual exploitation
Since 2014, an economic and humanitarian crisis has engulfed Venezuela, causing at least three million people to leave the country.
From inside the Tocoron prison, Tren de Aragua took advantage of this mass migration.
It expanded the group’s business portfolio to include and sexual exploitation of Venezuelan female migrants in Chile, and .
Over a decade, Tren de Aragua’s activities extended and by 2023, the gang had about 4,000 members across the country.
Donald Trump has launched a crackdown against members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Pictured, en route to a vast El Salvador mega-prisonCredit: X @ElSalvador'sPresidencyPressO
Gang leader Héctor Guerrero Flores is still on the runCredit: Wikipedia
Venezuelan investigative journalist Ronna Risquez bravely went undercover to expose what was going on in the prisonCredit: AFP
They extorted businesses, charging owners regular fees, seized control of gold mines and trafficked .
“His main crimes were extortion, drug trafficking, kidnapping, trafficking of migrant women, illegal mining and migrant smuggling,” says Ronna.
Cartel crackdown
In September 2023 President Maduro sent 11,000 troops to storm the prison and take it back under military control.
But the gang’s boss, Hector Guerrero Flores, escaped and disappeared, leading the US Government to offer up a $5million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
In July this year the US Treasury sanctioned Guerrero and five other key members of the gang, including his wife Wendy Marbelys Rios Gomez.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said: “The Trump Administration will not allow Tren de Aragua to continue to terrorize our communities and harm innocent Americans.
“In line with President Trump’s mandate to Make America Safe Again, Treasury remains dedicated to dismantling Tren de Aragua and disrupting the group’s campaign of violence.”
But Guerrero and the others are still on the run and evading capture, with various theories circulating as to their whereabouts.
Ronna says: “There are a few versions. Some say it is in Venezuela, and others say it is in .”
Members of the Bolivarian National Police stand guard outside the Tocoron prisonCredit: AFP
Glamorous Venezuelan actress Jimena Araya has been accused of using her entertainment career to launder money and support the Tren de Aragua gangCredit: Instagram
But it isn’t just Tren de Aragua under the American spotlight.
has also designated Venezuela’s Cartel of the Suns as a foreign terrorist organisation responsible for violence and drug trafficking to the US and Europe.
And the US claims that this cartel’s leader is none other than Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and have offered a $50million reward for information leading to his capture.
The cartel is named after the small yellow suns that senior Venezuelan military officers wear to denote rank, and is now classified by the US alongside the major Mexican crime syndicates such as the Sinaloa cartel.
Trump's war on drugs
DONALD Trump is enforcing a war on drugs - with Venezuela in the firing line.
Washington accuses the Venezuelan regime, led by Maduro and his top aides, of flooding drugs inside the American territory.
Trump also warned dictator Maduro’s “days are numbered” as he vowed “the land is going to be next,” earlier this month.
In response, Maduro said Trump is trying to drive him out of power.
Washington remains adamant that it is not yet planning strikes inside Venezuela, despite the strong rhetoric and military build-up.
But former defence intelligence agent Phillip Ingram has now revealed to The Sun the ways in which .
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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