DENVER — Four defendants admitted to holding a victim against his will for days and torturing him, according to federal court documents. The defendants admitted to doing this, because they learned the victim and his father had worked as police officers in Venezuela.
9NEWS has previously reported on the incident, but few details had been revealed until the guilty pleas. The defendants “Contacted international leadership of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang and consulted with gang leaders about the kidnapping.”
They remained in touch with international leadership throughout, and came up with a plan to hold the man for ransom.
Torture filmed
Plea deal documents detail the torture the victim endured:
- “The group strangled (the victim) with a rope until he nearly lost consciousness and filmed it…”
- “The group also attempted to drown (the victim) by holding his head in a bucket of water for 30 seconds or more at a time, repeatedly.”
- The victim was hit in the head with a pistol
The group sent the videos to the victim’s wife, demanding $30,000 for his release. She did not pay.
“I’ll do it”
When the first acts of violence did not result in a ransom payment, the group decided to escalate…