Overview

• Jesús Sarmiento, who had nearly 80,000 TikTok followers, was killed by two armed men who broke into his Maracay home and opened fire during a livestream.
• In the video, his mother was heard screaming and later sustained an abdominal wound while the attack unfolded.
• Sarmiento had used his platform to expose alleged collusion between police and criminal groups and to denounce threats from the Tren de Aragua gang.
• Despite the official investigation by the 69th Prosecutor’s Office Against Organized Crime, no arrests have been reported.
• The U.S. State Department is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of Tren de Aragua leader Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero.