Operation Aurora Member Rescued
Operation Aurora, the group behind an attack and raid on the Luepa military base in Bolivar State in December have successfully rescued one of their members that was captured.
Darwin Balaguera in Colombia in 2019
Darwin Balaguera is a former Venezuelan National Guard (GNB) soldier who defected in February 23rd 2019, during the humanitarian aid attempted deliveries in Cúcuta.
Balaguera was shot while trying to escape after the raid on the Luepa base in December, he was subsequently captured as the bullet had broken Balagueras Femur in his right leg. He spent 17 days in a military hospital in Bolivar where he required blood transfusions after he had been initially denied medical treatment for 6 hours after his capture.
He was then moved to Caracas to the Dr Carlos Avelo military hospital where he was placed under the guard of the DGCIM. They didn’t have enough resources to fix his leg but thanks to donations from aid organisations and family they were able to get enough resources and equipment to be able to insert a metal rod in his leg to fix his broken femur.
Operation Aurora received information that Balaguera was going to be moved to Ramo Verde Military prison so they expedited their plans to rescue him from Caracas.
Sometime on the 18/19 of June the rescue plan was put in place. Balaguera (who still can’t walk unaided) was able to rappel out of his hospital room on the 6th floor of the Military hospital down to the ground, where he was met by a group of people who drove him to the Los Llanos region, where he crossed into Colombia. (Balaguera has since listed his location as ‘Cúcuta’). He also says he’s now doing the necessary paperwork due to his unconventional entry into Colombia.
Darwin Balaguera in a video after his rescue shows that he still has metal clamps attached to his leg and a walking stick.
Darwin Balaguera was living in Colombia with his family members before Operation Aurora took place in December.
Balaguera also stated that he received help from active Venezuelan soldiers to escape Venezuela and he says that those who helped are ‘part of the resistance and want to follow the legacy of Oscar Perez’.
This is incredibly embarrassing for Maduro, Padrino and DGCIM head, Hernandez Dala. A high security military prisoner was able to escape from Central Caracas and make it across the border in Colombia while the Venezuelan Army was still searching around the hospital for Balaguera.
The fact that no official statement has been released from the Venezuelan Military proves that Balagueras escape was a complete success.
On Saturday June 20th. DGCIM agente entered the military hospital on the 6th floor and detained hospital staff, security and other patients to interrogate them about Balagueras escape.
I previously wrote about Balaguera and Operation Aurora in December, you can read it here
A little extra photo from Operation Aurora from December of them in a ditch. Lying down asleep is Jose Rodriguez, leader of Operation Aurora. He leads Operation Aurora along with Josue Hidalgo, both men were part of the La Espada De Dios group who attempted to overthrow Maduro. Both men managed to escape Ramo Verde at different times with Rodriguez even being involved in Josue Hidalgos escape.
