The Chilean government confirmed Friday the arrest in Costa Rica of a suspect in the kidnapping and murder of Ronald Ojeda, a former Venezuelan military officer and dissident who was living as a refugee in Chile. The apprehension was executed in response to an Interpol red notice, prompting the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs to initiate extradition proceedings to bring the suspect to Chile for trial.
Manuel Monsalve, Undersecretary of Chile’s Ministry of Interior and Public Security, announced that Costa Rican police detained Venezuelan national Maickel David Villegas Rodríguez, 27, suspected of kidnapping and murdering Ojeda. The victim’s body was found earlier this year buried under cement in a settlement in Maipú, Santiago. In June, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab suggested the murder had a political motive, calling it a “false flag” operation aimed at damaging diplomatic relations between Chile and Venezuela. However, the alleged political motivation behind this assassination remains under investigation.
Villegas Rodríguez was apprehended on a bus with migrants traveling from Panama to Nicaragua via Costa Rica. At the Costa Rican border, migration police identified him. Costa Rican Minister of Public Security, Mario Zamora Cordero, stated that Villegas Rodríguez was detained and transferred to San José, pending contact with Chilean authorities to initiate extradition procedures.
Following Zamora Cordero’s statement, the Third Guarantee Court of Santiago held a hearing to formalize the investigation against Villegas in absentia. Prosecutor Esteban Silva argued for pre-trial detention due to flight risk, while defense attorney Yerko Pizarro Astudillo strongly opposed the motion. Despite the defence’s objections, the judge ordered the case details to be forwarded to the Santiago Court of Appeals for a ruling on extradition. The Court of Appeals subsequently approved Villegas’ detention, dismissing the defense’s arguments and noting that detention requirements had already been evaluated by the guarantee court. In addition to confirming the arrest warrant, the Public Ministry and plaintiffs requested the Foreign Ministry’s intervention to manage diplomatic procedures for Villegas Rodríguez’s detention and prevent his escape.
Ojeda’s widow, son, and sister have since relocated to Argentina, seeking refuge under President Javier Milei’s government. They cited experiences of surveillance and hacking attempts during their stay in Chile as reasons for their departure. Chilean government spokesperson Camila Vallejo Dowling responded to this move by expressing respect for the family’s decision while asserting that Chile is indeed a safe country. Vallejo stated that Chile would only further comment once receiving official communication from the Argentine government regarding the family’s refugee status.
