Operation Zaraza: Airstrikes, Abuses, and a Criminal Revolt in Chavista Venezuela
An anti-gang operation that became an attack on rural communities.
In July 2024, the Tren del Llano gang attacked a voting center to protest Venezuela’s stolen election. The Chavista regime responded by ordering thousands of soldiers and police to hunt the gang down, triggering a wave of repression and human rights abuses that peaked with the aerial bombardment of peasant farmers.
This investigation reveals an unreported tale of personal ambition and loss that drove the Tren del Llano gang to declare war on the Venezuelan state. It also documents the abuses perpetrated by the security operation that President Nicolás Maduro ordered in response, via extensive interviews by Defiende Venezuela.
Explore the series
The Day the Bombs Fell: The Anti-Gang Op Where Venezuela’s Security Forces Ran Wild
On the night of July 29, 2024, a criminal commando unit armed with rifles, shotguns, and grenades launched an assault on a school being used as a voting center in the small town of San Francisco de Macaira, in the central Venezuelan state of Guárico.…
Narrative Article
When Tren del Llano Went to War: Stolen Elections and Vengeance in Venezuela
Tren del Llano’s assault on a voting center was a remarkable criminal intervention in a political crisis. But the story behind it—told to InSight Crime by multiple sources, including some close to the gang—was as personal as it was political. It is a tale of loss, vengeance, and family.…
Human Rights Violations During Operation Zaraza 2024
InSight Crime and Defiende Venezuela document in this report the human rights violations committed during Operation Zaraza 2024, including arbitrary detentions, sexual violence, and forced displacement.
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Credits
Illustrations and colorization: Juan José Restrepo
Investigation: Ezequiel Monsalve and Omar Piñango from Defiende Venezuela
Texts: James Bargent
Creative direction and art direction: Elisa Roldán
Layout and effects: Juan José Restrepo and Luis Acosta
Editing: Deborah Bonello, Liza Schmidt, and Creusa Muñoz
Graphic design: Juan José Restrepo and MarÃa Isabel Gaviria
Social media: Paula Rojas and Daniel Reyes
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