The Venezuelan prosecutor’s office said Monday it has launched an investigation into the livestreamed murder of a popular TikTok user who had denounced the Tren de Aragua criminal gang and allegedly corrupt police officials.
Jesus Sarmiento, who had nearly 80,000 followers on TikTok, was murdered over the weekend by armed men who broke into the residence where he was staying.
In the video shared on social media, a woman banging on a door and screaming for help can be heard in the background.
“They shot me, they shot me,” Sarmiento says, as blood is visible on the floor. Two armed men appear briefly before the stream ends.
“Attorney General Tarek William Saab announces that the Public Prosecutor’s Office… has been tasked with investigating, identifying, and punishing those responsible for the assassination of Jesus Sarmiento,” the prosecutor’s office announced on Instagram on Monday.
Sarmiento had “denounced the threats he was receiving from members of GEDOS (Structured Organized Crime Group) and alleged police officers,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
In his TikTok posts, Sarmiento spoke about the leader of the Tren de Aragua, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero, who is one of the country’s most wanted criminals known by the alias “Nino Guerrero.” The U.S. State Department has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
The Venezuelan government has maintained that the Tren de Aragua — which the U.S. considers a “terrorist” organization — has already been dismantled and denies its existence.
Sarmiento shared photos and videos of alleged members of the gang and denounced the “extortion” by police officers.
“I was kidnapped by… DAET — the police’s Directorate of Strategic and Tactical Actions,” he stated in one of his final videos.
“We are overrun with delinquent officials who work with common criminals,” he added.
Sarmiento’s murder marks the latest in a string of deadly attacks on popular social media figures.
Earlier this month, Pakistani police said 17-year-old TikTok star Sana Yousaf was shot dead by a man who had repeatedly contacted her online.
And last month, the murder of a young influencer during a livestream in Jalisco, in western Mexico, shocked the country. Authorities insisted there was no “evidence” that the murder of 23-year-old Valeria Márquez was linked to organized crime, and prosecutors opened an investigation for “femicide.”
