{"id":122075,"date":"2023-12-11T13:19:14","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T13:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/?p=122075"},"modified":"2023-12-11T13:19:14","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T13:19:14","slug":"gang-boss-escapes-from-infamous-prisoner-run-jail-that-boasts-nightclub-and-zoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/world-news\/gang-boss-escapes-from-infamous-prisoner-run-jail-that-boasts-nightclub-and-zoo\/","title":{"rendered":"Gang boss escapes from infamous prisoner-run jail that boasts nightclub and zoo"},"content":{"rendered":"
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    An international manhunt is underway after a notorious gang boss escaped an infamous prison that has a pool, nightclub and even a zoo with monkeys and flamingos.<\/p>\n

    The Tocoron prison in Venezuela, located 62 miles west of the capital Caracas, acted as the Tren de Aragua gang\u2019s headquarters for years, where it turned into something not too dissimilar from a resort hotel. <\/p>\n

    After it descended into a warzone, it was taken back into the hands of the Government in September.<\/p>\n

    It was described as "a city within a prison", with drug lords from cartels living with their families and running their criminal activities from behind bars. <\/p>\n

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    According to an investigation by Venezuelan journalist Ronna Risquez, the prison was more like a "hotel" for the gang leaders with a bank, baseball field, restaurant and nightclub.<\/p>\n

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    During an operation to take back the prison earlier this year, ordered by controversial president Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, tank-like armoured vehicles were seen rolling into the site, some of them painted white and disguised as ambulances.<\/p>\n

    Some 11,000 cops and soldiers stormed the jail and found well-constructed tunnels, which some drug bosses are believed to have fled as the raid unfolded.<\/p>\n

    One such boss is Tocoron\u2019s most famous prisoner, H\u00e9ctor Guerrero, alias El Ni\u00f1o. Guerrero is the leader of the Tren de Aragua, Venezuela\u2019s most prominent criminal gang. <\/p>\n

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    According to Transparencia Venezuela, a Caracas-based NGO, the gang is \u201cthe largest and most powerful criminal organization in the South American country, as it has 4,000 hitmen and alliances with other smaller groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The Interpol office in Caracas issued a Red Notice against Guerrero after they couldn't find him during the raid, or in the days after. <\/p>\n

    It soon became apparent that he had left the prison along with several of his main associates before the operation.<\/p>\n

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    Who are the Tren de Aragua gang?<\/h3>\n

    The gang has been linked to kidnappings, robberies, drug trafficking, prostitution, extortion and even illegal gold mining.<\/p>\n

    The group, the most notorious in Venezuela, had been under control of the prison for years until the government crackdown.<\/p>\n

    The gang\u2019s leader, H\u00e9ctor Guerrero Flores, who is in the slammer for murder and drug trafficking, was so powerful that he reportedly used to come and go as he pleased.<\/p>\n

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