Venezuelan military officer who championed democratic opposition found buried in cement block in Chile

A Venezuelan military officer who spoke out against dictator Nicolas Maduro, and was recently abducted from an apartment in Santiago de Chile, was found buried under a cement block, according to authorities.  

Ronald Ojeda Moreno was kidnapped in Santiago de Chile after a group of unknown people entered his apartment, according to police reports.

The Public Ministry of Chile confirmed on Friday that they discovered the military officer’s body under a cement block in a Maipú based commune, located in Santiago de Chile.

The information was confirmed by prosecutor Héctor Barros, who is leading the case and who also timed the death of the former military man between 7 to 10 days.

“The tests have been carried out on the body that was found in the afternoon by the Investigative Police in this place and finally we can, based on the tests that were carried out, confirm that the remains correspond to the victim Ronald Ojeda,” he said.

“The approximate date of death is between 7 and 10 days, which coincides with the date the kidnapping occurred,” he explained, explaining that the body was found under a cement block buried 1.4 meters deep.

Three perpetrators of the incident identified, although, at the moment, only one of them is detained: a 17-year-old Venezuelan teenager with an irregular immigration status.

Ojeda Moreno, 32, was kidnapped two weeks ago in Santiago after a group of unknown people entered his apartment, located in the commune of Independencia.

The media specified that four subjects posed as detectives from the Investigative Police (PDI), lifted him from his bed, stripped him naked and put him in a car, which later appeared abandoned near the Arturo Merino Benítez international airport.

Venezuelan opponents had denounced that the kidnappers were agents of the regime who some believe were trying to repatriate the lieutenant back to Venezuela after he publicly spoke out against Nicolás Maduro.

As a result of the kidnapping and murder, Chilean Undersecretary of the Interior Manuel Monsalve ordered the reinforcement of the border crossings and raised an alert at Interpol.