The Carlos Capa gang, named after the alias of its late leader, Deiber Johan González, is one of the longest-running megabandas in Valles del Tuy, a strategic region south of Caracas in Miranda state, central Venezuela. The group is primarily involved in predatory crimes such as extortion, fraud, and robbery.

The gang rose to power in a violent region characterized by the proliferation of small criminal groups. Its ability to forge alliances and eliminate rivals has been key to its longevity, along with the support its members have received from local communities and their ability to hide in mountainous areas to evade law enforcement. The group has been active for over a decade and was one of the dominant criminal organizations in Venezuela in 2023.

After nearly eight years of failed state operations against its leader, Capa was killed on March 7, 2024, during a police raid in a mountainous area of Ocumare del Tuy, Miranda. While the gang lost influence, it continues to operate.

History

Capa built his power by forming alliances with other criminals. He first created a gang called the Rompe and partnered with Haisel Javier Rivas Tovar, alias “Diente de Oro,” an important criminal leader from San Francisco de Yare, as well as with Kelvin Saúl Yánez Muñoz, alias “Saulito,” with whom he formed the Carlos Capa y Saulito gang in 2015. Saulito’s father, Saúl Yánez, has served as mayor of Simón Bolívar municipality since 2008.

In July 2015, Saulito was assassinated while celebrating his birthday at a home in San Francisco de Yare, in an attack allegedly ordered by Carlos Capa and Diente de Oro. Later that year, Diente de Oro was killed in a shootout with CICPC officers, leaving Carlos Capa as the sole leader of the gang.

In August 2015, following his son’s death, Mayor Yánez backed Operation Liberation and Protection of the People (Operación de Liberación del Pueblo – OLP) in San Francisco de Yare and surrounding areas, with the Carlos Capa gang as the primary target. The operation involved around 500 officers and resulted in at least three gang members being arrested, though Capa managed to escape.

The 2015 OLP marked the beginning of a series of operations against the gang. In September 2022, following the murder of a local police officer, allegedly by Capa, authorities launched Operación Trueno IV, deploying around 900 security officers in a raid that left several suspected criminals dead and led to dozens of arrests.

Despite these crackdowns, the gang demonstrated remarkable resilience. However, Capa’s resistance was not limitless. In March 2024, he was killed in a reported clash with a police unit during an operation in a mountainous area of Ocumare del Tuy. After losing its leader, the gang continues to function, but with less territorial control than in the past.

Leadership

Carlos Capa’s leadership within his gang was undisputed. He was an unusual case of longevity among criminal bosses in Valles del Tuy, evading security forces for years while preventing his own men from overthrowing him.

Capa’s survival was due in part to his ability to form alliances with other criminal leaders, but also to his ruthlessness in eliminating rivals, as evidenced by videos he released of his enemies’ executions. Saulito’s death sent a clear message to anyone attempting to challenge his power within the gang.

In recent years, several of Carlos Capa’s lieutenants have been arrested or killed by security forces. While this weakened the gang, it also prevented internal figures from rising to challenge Capa’s authority.

Following Capa’s death, it remains unclear who has taken over leadership of the gang.

Geography

Due to his strong ties with local communities and his consolidated criminal leadership, Carlos Capa wielded broad control over several sectors in the Valles del Tuy subregion of Miranda, particularly in the municipalities of Simón Bolívar and Tomás Lander, as well as Cristóbal Rojas and Independencia.

To evade rivals and law enforcement, Carlos Capa regularly used cambuches—makeshift shelters in mountainous areas between San Francisco de Yare and Ocumare del Tuy. In these communities, the gang focused on extorting local businesses, agricultural producers, and construction companies. The group was also heavily involved in scams using Facebook Marketplace, luring victims to Valles del Tuy with offers of used vehicles at below-market prices. Once there, victims were robbed, kidnapped for ransom, or killed if they resisted.

The gang still maintains a presence in Tomás Lander municipality. However, following Capa’s death and continued law enforcement operations, the group no longer exerts absolute territorial control.

Allies and Enemies

Over the years, members of the Carlos Capa gang have killed several police officers, prompting intensified law enforcement efforts against them. Capa was among the most wanted criminals in Miranda state.

However, a key strategy for the gang was securing alliances with high-ranking police officials. During Operación Trueno IV, authorities arrested Patricia Eliana Rodríguez López, director of the Simón Bolívar municipal police, and Osmer Israel González Suárez, chief of operations for the Urdaneta municipal police in Miranda, for their alleged ties to the group.

Additionally, media reports indicate that Capa was allied with members of Tren de Aragua, Venezuela’s most powerful mega gang. In September 2017, Capa reportedly met with members of the criminal organization. However, the nature of this alliance and whether it remains active following Capa’s death and the intervention in Tocorón prison—Tren de Aragua’s main operational base until September 2023—remain unclear.

The Carlos Capa gang also formed alliances with smaller gangs in San Francisco de Yare and Ocumare del Tuy, which were vital to its operations and survival.

Prospects

Following Carlos Capa’s death, the gang has continued to operate, albeit on a smaller scale.

His death has opened the door for members of the Peace Defender Squads (Cuadrillas Defensoras de la Paz – CUPAZ), an armed group made up of former and active police officers, to attempt to expand their presence and seize the territories and criminal economies that Capa’s gang controlled for over a decade. While they have yet to establish full dominance over the region, support from the Maduro regime could be instrumental in their success.