The Chilean prosecution’s agreements on the Ronald Ojeda case

The Chilean Public Prosecutor’s Office reached an agreement with the defense of a minor, identified by the initials AC, who is accused of having provided “cover” for the kidnapping and murder of former Venezuelan military man Ronald Ojeda, according to a report published by the local media Bio Bio.

As part of the agreement, the media outlet highlighted that an abbreviated trial was agreed upon in which the 17-year-old teenager will admit the facts, resulting in a five-year sentence divided between confinement and supervised release.

According to sources from Radio Bio Biothe agreement between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the defense of AC implies that The young man will accept the facts without admitting criminal responsibilitywhich does not mean that he admits to being guilty of the crime.

Despite this, he will be convicted of the completed crime of kidnapping with homicide, punishable by article 141, paragraph 5 of the Penal Code. The sentence will be reduced due to two mitigating circumstances: that of irreproachable previous conduct and that of collaboration in the clarification of the facts.

Ronald Ojeda was kidnapped in Santiago on February 21 and his body was found 10 days later. Photo: Archive

Mother of the accused hopes for protection for the minor

The local press highlighted that the mother of the minor saw this agreement as a reasonable option, fearing for her son’s safety due to his involvement in the crime.

Chile is awaiting the extradition of Maickel Villegas Rodríguez, another defendant in the case, who was arrested in Costa Rica after trying to enter illegally from Panama.illegas Rodríguez was formalized in absentia and his extradition is expected after being approved by the Court of Appeals of Santiago de Chile on July 17.

During Villegas Rodríguez’s formalization hearing, it was detailed that both he and AC They established a surveillance point to ensure the success of the kidnapping of Ronald Ojedastaying near the victim’s home in a Chevrolet Sail vehicle. After the kidnapping, both went to the Costanera Norte highway, where the plan was executed with the help of another vehicle that picked up more participants in the crime.

Ojeda had requested political asylum in Chile

At the beginning of March, Chilean national prosecutor Ángel Valencia referred to the kidnapping of Lieutenant Ojeda as a case of “atypical kidnapping” which could be related to transnational organized crime gangs and appeared, in an interview with the local media Radio Dunathat those involved could have acted under orders from someone who was not in Chile.

At that time, the prosecutor stated that the kidnapping of the lieutenant involved an unusual amount of resources, which made it a more serious case since it involved a former Venezuelan military officer.

Ojeda had arrived in Chile in 2021 and received political asylum from the Chilean government in December 2023. Before his kidnapping and murder, he had expressed his opposition to Venezuelan governmentwhich could have motivated his murder, according to some theories put forward by Chilean authorities and international media.