Wilexis and El Gusano are the bloody leaders of two criminal gangs that have unleashed a fierce war for control of the neighborhood José Félix Ribas, located in Petare, to the east of Caracas in Venezuela. For days blood and panic ran through these streets amid the sound of bullets and grenade explosions. This terrifying confrontation has taken on a greater dimension since Nicolás Maduro intervened.
The war between Wilexis and El Gusano (recently released from prison) was unleashed for at least 10 days until the Maduro regime carried out a violent police intervention in Petare on Friday, May 8. Neighbors, of all ages, experienced moments of extreme fear when they saw helicopters and troops touring the streets of the area. There were a total of 12 deaths that have not been identified so far.
This police operation was aimed at capturing Wilexis. That day several questions were unleashed. Why had Nicolás Maduro decided to capture one of the two leaders at war? Why wouldn’t I go for both? What arguments did this police incursion have?
# 8May #Petare
State security forces arrive at the parish after a week of intense shootings and complaints.Néstor Reverol announced that it is a “special operation”.
Neighbors denounce that the criminal gangs have already been notified of the operation – @TVVnews pic.twitter.com/BqKLsMHDCS
– Report Now (@ReporteYa) May 8, 2020
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#Caracas #Miranda It continues operating in José Felix Ribas, Petare, to find the band, and its leader, Wilexis. So far, 6 subjects have been reported killed in confrontations with the security forces. Officials from the FAES, CICPC CONAS, PNB and GNB, divisions and pic.twitter.com/AWnckhUxA8
– Roman Camacho (@RCamachoVzla) May 8, 2020
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The Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace, Néstor Reverol, stated that the operation was carried out by order of Nicolás Maduro himself, who linked the Wilexis gang with the Operation Gideon.
To further clarify the issue, on Wednesday May 6, Nicolás Maduro assured that the violent confrontations in Petare “were coordinated by the DEA as part of Operation Gideon,” which sought to carry out an uprising in Venezuela to arrest him and remove him from power.
???? | 7:56 am Neighbors from Lomas del Ávila denounce overflight of Helicopters of the Cicpc in the José Félix Ribas neighborhood #Petare in addition, police deployment also includes drones in the area. pic.twitter.com/hgpHRSSorj
– Diogenes Colina (@DiogenesColina) May 8, 2020
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Hours later, Wilexis sent an audio to NTN24 claiming that it had no contact with the DEA. He also indicated that ten days ago, a group of people was removing several residents of the José Félix Ribas neighborhood from their homes.
By instructions of the Pdte @NicolasMaduro We started a citizen security police operation in the parish #Petare in the Miranda state, after the search for organized crime gangs that seek to alter the internal order and tranquility of our people pic.twitter.com/iAHOqd8EAH
– Néstor Reverol (@NestorLReverol) May 8, 2020
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“We are not politicians. I am fighting for the tranquility and comfort of the José Félix Ribas neighborhood. We just want to live in peace, “said Wilexis.
“We have 10 days in clashes. We are defending our dignity. We do not want more injustices. That the spaces and the community are respected, ”he added.
5:00 am no shots are heard at the moment, police commissions combing the area in search of the Wilexis gang, the accesses and adjacencies of JFR have been taken. pic.twitter.com/IicjPa5XMx
– Roman Camacho (@RCamachoVzla) May 8, 2020
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Wilexis of “you to you” against Maduro
Can it be said that the leader of a criminal gang is now facing a fight with the maximum leader of Chavismo? For Antonio Ledezma, former metropolitan mayor of Caracas, what there is now is a “you to you” dispute between Wilexis and Nicolás Maduro.
“The lawsuit between Wilexis and Maduro is from you to you, it is a dispute between gang leaders who fight to control areas of power,” Ledezma said in a statement.
This is how it is #PetareTaken in and out by mixed commissions, there are also tactical teams within various neighborhoods belonging to Petare. pic.twitter.com/s7ZOQsFnc2
– Delmiro De Barrio (@DelmiroDeBarrio) May 8, 2020
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According to El Nacional, Ledezma also highlighted that criminal gangs are in control of many activities that should be the power of the government.
“That there are pranes (criminal leaders, as they call it in Venezuela and other countries) that control the prisons, guerrilla nuclei that administer mining territories in the Bolívar state, terrorists who have military camps, clandestine runways for drug trafficking planes to operate; parapolice groups that organize hired killers, kidnappings, robberies, etc., and a narco-state that offers them total impunity, ”he explained.
