The Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) arrested three members of the criminal structure founded by Eduardo José Natera Balboa (El Run) in Bolívar, according to military sources.
One of the procedures was carried out at the Casa Blanca Citizen Service Point, located between Tumeremo and El Dorado (Bolívar) where they stopped Armando José Blanco Rodríguez who was traveling in a Hyundai with license plate AA795RO.
According to a report from the 64-1 Rural Command Detachment, the subject was seized with 950 9mm cartridges.
And in the San Isidro sector, Sifontes municipality (Tumeremo), Bolívar state, the military seized a 9 mm Glock pistol; two pistol magazines; 47 9 mm cartridges, thirty cartridges for 7.62×51 mm caliber rifles and two radio transmitters.
In that procedure, two other associates of alias El Run were arrested: Elías Rafael Vargas Mayay and Yeison José Lisboa González, according to the report from Detachment 641 of the GNB.
The Run gang is dedicated to the illegal exploitation of mines in southern Bolívar and to collecting fees in dollars from small miners, according to investigations.
In November 2022, the GNB seized four helicopters “used for trafficking illegal mining and strategic materials” belonging to the Run, reported General Domingo Hernández Lárez, head of the Strategic Operational Command of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (Ceofanb).
More explosives
In another procedure, GNB agents, attached to the National Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Command (Conas) No. 34, seized 164 cartridges, including 156 for 7.62×39 mm rifles, in an operation carried out in the Zamurito sector, San José de Guaribe municipality, Guárico state.
The material was in the possession of Miguel Ángel Rondón Armas (Negro Paco), a member of the criminal gang Tren del Llano, dedicated to collecting fees from medium and small producers in Guárico.
Negro Paco was also seized with a 12-gauge shotgun and a telephone. This individual belongs to the Uveral cell, associated with the Tren del Llano, and which operates in the hamlet of the same name, in the municipality of San José de Guaribe.
The Virolo
In Zulia, there were also procedures involving the seizure of weapons and cartridges. In this regard, seven members of the criminal group El Virolo were arrested, from whom 23 cartridges were seized, according to reports.
One of the operations was carried out in the Nazareth neighborhood, Jesús Enrique Lossada municipality (La Concepción), Zulia state, where agents of the GNB and the Bolivarian National Police seized fifteen cartridges for 7.62×39 mm caliber rifles, two radio transmitters, two telephone sets and two motorcycles.
During the proceedings, three members of the El Virolo gang were arrested, identified as Vanessa García, Luingui Morillo and José Quintero, who were handed over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to be prosecuted for illegal possession of war material, among other crimes.
In the aforementioned municipality of Zulia, Santa Rosa sector, they also seized a .38 caliber revolver, two radio transmitters, three telephone sets and two motorcycles. This material was in the possession of other members of Virolo: Édison Gonzalo Urdaneta González, Deiner Josué Basanta Hernández and Eucaris Gregoria Urdaneta González, according to a report from Detachment 114 of the GNB.
- In the La Curva de Molina sector, Maracaibo municipality (Zulia), the military seized 8 12-gauge cartridges that Cesar Javier Fuenmayor was allegedly transporting.
- At the Citizen Service Point located in La Pedrera (Táchira), the GNB officers stationed there seized a .22 caliber Marlín Firearms rifle; twenty-four .22 caliber cartridges and a Chevrolet Spark driven by Ivo Alexander Tele, who was detained.
- Also in Táchira, but in the La Recta de Ayarí sector, Fernández Feo municipality (San Rafael del Piñal), they seized a Winchester 16-gauge shotgun and a Keeway motorcycle with license plate AF8X82M, where Eber Acasio Roa Uzcátegui and Ramón Edison Roa Uzcátegui were traveling, who were arrested.
- In the Paraíso sector of Chabasquén, in the municipality of Monseñor José Vicente de Unda, in the state of Portuguesa, the military seized five crudely manufactured explosive devices, 1 kilo 720 grams of potassium chlorate, 18 grams of sulfur, a facsimile and two coffee pulping machines. Rubén Antonio Rodríguez Álvarez was arrested there and will be prosecuted for using a facsimile as a firearm and possession of a homemade explosive device, according to a report from GNB Detachment 311.
