The trial of a police officer who led a criminal gang in Anzoátegui was interrupted, sources from the Justice System reported. This process had begun before Trial Court 2 of Barcelona, where five sessions had already passed.
The defendant is identified as Alexander José García Suárez (Chicho Colon), who was on trial along with three other members of his criminal structure, dedicated to extortion. The interruption of the debate where the possibility of declaring García Suárez guilty or innocent was being studied is due to the fact that the Court of Appeals of Anzoátegui annulled the preliminary hearing in which that trial had been ordered, explained the judicial source. Now, that new preliminary hearing was called for next March 24.
García Suárez’s arrest was reported by Latest News in August 2024. On that occasion we explained that the capture of the police officer occurred in the Los Olivos sector, Barcelona, capital of Anzoátegui. In the procedure, they also detained Wilfredo Celestino Tayupo Rivero and seized two 9 mm Taurus PT24/7, PT809E pistols, 65 cartridges of different calibers, two caps, a jacket with the initials of the police of the Peñalver municipality (Puerto Píritu), a bulletproof vest, a pair of handcuffs and 4 radio transmitters, according to a report from the National Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Command (Conas), to which We had partial access. Precisely, the police director of the Peñalver municipality, Luz Santaella, informed Colonel Wilfredo José Torres Guzmán, head of Conas-Anzoátegui, that Alexander José García Suárez, was an active official of that security body with the rank of officer, has been assigned a Taurus PT809E firearm and is on secondment at the Social Production Company ”Don Fernando de Peñalver”, according to the official letter. 0092-2024.
While he was on secondment, alias Chicho Colon formed a Structured Organized Crime Group that dedicated itself to charging vaccinations to oil businessmen based in Anzoátegui, according to an investigation by the Public Ministry (MP-140732-24).
In that sense, Chicho Colon used to break into the headquarters of the oil companies and demand from them (their owners) a certain sum in dollars for each contract that was executed in the José Antonio Anzoátegui Petrochemical Complex located between Barcelona and Puerto Píritu (Jose Refinery).
But, in addition, Chicho Colon and his group approached the victims in public places and got into their vehicles carrying firearms to intimidate them and warn them that they should understand each other because he was the one who had ”the car in Jose”, alluding to the aforementioned petrochemical complex. He also demanded amounts in dollars because he had to pay a certain ”fee” to other police officials who were aware of the criminal actions.
All of this modus operandi carried out by Chicho Colon is included in complaints filed by victims before the Judiciary of Anzoátegui, where they went asking for justice to be done to them.
As a result of this type of extortion, the Chicho Colon gang managed to accumulate a total of 37 vehicles identified during the investigation by the Public Ministry. That is why, in April 2025, lawyer Junior Cárdenas, provisional 46th national anti-extortion and kidnapping prosecutor, sent a letter to Conas-Anzoátegui requesting to include the aforementioned batch of 37 vehicles in the Police Information and Investigation System (Siipol) of the Cicpc with the status of ”requested”.
Through that same letter (00-F-46NN-0188-2025) prosecutor Cárdenas tells Conas to carry out the necessary measures ”for the search, retention and collection” of the 37 motor vehicles. Said diligence entrusted to Conas ”is related to criminal case number MP-140732-2024, for the commission of one of the crimes classified and sanctioned in the current substantive criminal law…specifically extortion”. Until now, it is unknown if these vehicles were seized as requested by the Public Ministry.
Below is the list of vehicles that were seized from the subject Chicho Colón:
