Death of "El Conejo", one of the most wanted criminals in Venezuela

"

" (the rabbit), leader of a criminal gang wanted for months and for whom the authorities were offering a million dollar reward, has been killed, announced Venezuelan Interior Minister Remigio Ceballos.

"

by public television.

Actively wanted for months

Gomez Rodriguez was the leader of a dangerous gang, known by the pseudonym of its leader, which operated in the state of Aragua, in the center-north of the country.

According to a source close to the police, he owed his nickname to imposing incisors.

The minister did not give specific details on how "

" was "

", but he indicated that the latter had died after an operation that had lasted "

" throughout the country, especially in the state of Aragua.

The security forces also arrested "

", seized "

".

"

" had been actively sought for more than a year and his head had been priced at 1 million dollars - just over 186,000 Venezuelan minimum wages - in February after exchanges of gunfire with the police.

In February 2022, another organized gang leader, Carlos Luis Revette alias "

", an ally of "

", was also killed.

He was the subject of a reward of 500,000 dollars.

Venezuela is, along with Honduras, the most violent country in Latin America, with nearly 11,000 violent deaths between 2021 and 2022, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence (OVV), an NGO that refers in the absence official figures.