Twenty Years After brutal Kidnapping-Murder, Key Figure Apprehended in Aragua
After two decades on the run, Gabriel Alexander García Peñaloza, 43, has been arrested in Cagua, Aragua state, for his role in the horrific 2006 kidnapping and murder of three brothers and their driver. The arrest, carried out by members of the Special Actions Group (Gaes) No. 42 of Aragua, under the National Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Command (Conas), brings a measure of closure to a case that shocked venezuela.
García Peñaloza, known by the alias “Chande Bemba,” was a principal participant in the abduction of Jason Faddoul (17), Kevin Faddoul (13), John Bryan Faddoul (12), and their driver, Miguel Rivas. The crime unfolded in February 2006,during the presidency of Hugo Chávez,when the victims were stopped by individuals posing as officers of the defunct Metropolitan Police at a fake checkpoint in the Vista Alegre sector while en route to the Nuestra Señora del Valle school.
The kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of $4.5 million (equivalent to 10 billion bolivars at the time). Despite the family’s efforts to gather the funds and negotiate, the perpetrators abandoned the exchange upon suspecting police involvement.
Tragically, 41 days later, on April 4, 2006, the bodies of all four victims were discovered in the El Lechozal sector of San Antonio de Yare, Valles del Tuy. Authorities confirmed they had endured torture and were killed by shotgun blasts to the head.
At the time of the crime, García Peñaloza was 23 years old and had a history of vehicle theft. He had been living openly in Cagua, approximately an hour and a half from Caracas, where the initial kidnapping occurred. According to the Integrated Police Data System (Sipol), García Peñaloza was subject to three outstanding arrest warrants, including one specifically for the Faddoul case and others related to vehicle theft.
While García Peñaloza has been apprehended, others involved in the crime have already been sentenced to the maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. This recent arrest represents a significant development in bringing all those responsible for this heinous act to justice.
