17 hours ago
Horrifying moment Venezuelan influencer films his own assassination on TikTok live stream - after he criticised feared gang boss
This is the horrifying moment a Venezuelan influencer is shot dead on a TikTok live stream after naming high-profile gang members who were allegedly extorting him.
A woman wailing and the sounds of gunfire could be heard as Jesus Sarmiento, who has 87,000 followers on TikTok, was murdered by armed men who broke into his home.
'They shot me, they shot me,' the 25-year-old muttered in the video broadcasted on Sunday, with blood visible on the floor.
Two men with guns then appear around the corner, seem to shoot him twice as the footage captures a scuffle and then the live-stream ends abruptly.
Spanish newspaper El Pais has reported that family members said he was shot at least nine times.
The woman, Mr Sarmiento's mother, was heard banging on a door and screaming for help throughout - it is said she was also shot in the abdomen but survived.
The computer programmer was also heard desperately calling for help from Sebin intelligence officers and repeatedly sharing his address.
The shocking attack came hours after he had spammed his social media with dozens of accusations against officials for being involved with gangs.
Two men with guns appear around the corner, seem to shoot the influencer twice as the footage captures a scuffle and then the live-stream ends abruptly
This included high-ranking government officials like Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Aragua Governor Johana Sánchez.
He also posted that corrupt police officers were extorting him, as well as members of the Tren del Llano and Tren de Aragua gangs, including its feared leader, Hector Rutherford Guerrero Flores, dubbed the 'Niño Guerrero' or 'warrior boy'.
Mr Flores, who is one of the country's most wanted criminals, has been on the run since 2023 after a huge military operation disrupted his operations coming out of Tocoron prison.
The government has maintained that the Tren de Aragua - which the United States considers a 'terrorist' organisation - has already been dismantled and denies its existence.
Minister Cabello - who Mr Sacriemento accused - insisted earlier this year that the gang was now 'nothing more than an urban legend', with its leaders based in Columbia.
Threats were also allegedly coming from La Morita prison, a Bolivarian Police detention centre, where he had recently spent 15 days himself, according to his social media account.
El Tiempo reported that this because several complaints had been made against two of his ex-partners over harassment and threats.
Mr Sarmiento appeared to be on his way to court in Maracay to follow up on these threats when he filmed his posts. Each video was tagged with the usernames of law enforcement agencies.
'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.
The Venezuelan prosecutor's office said it has launched an investigation into the live streamed murder and acknowledged that the influencer had publicly criticised the threats he was receiving.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab said that the Public Prosecutor's Office 'has been tasked with investigating, identifying, and punishing those responsible for the assassination of Jesus Sarmiento'.
Mr Sarmiento had 'denounced the threats he was receiving from members of GEDOS (Structured Organised Crime Group) and alleged police officers,' the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Alleged Tren de Aragua members were rounded up in their hundreds and hauled to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Centre from the US earlier this year under the Alien Enemies Act.
President Trump had said the gang, which has been linked to kidnapping, extortion, organised crime and contract killings, was invading the US and decided to speed up the deportation process.
The controversial move was met with a flurry of protests and lawsuits, with some alleged deportees being given 12 hours notice and others not being allowed to have their case judged in court.
President Nayib Bukele, in a meeting in February with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, offered to house prisoners from the United States in his country.
The iron-fisted leader has seen soaring popularity in his Latin American country for a successful crackdown on criminal gangs, but has faced criticism from human rights groups.
Rubio said in a separate statement that 'hundreds of violent criminals were sent out of our country.'
Tren de Aragua is believed to have crossed into the US through the Mexico-US border during 2022, mixed in with the the thousands of South American migrants seeking asylum.
Since then, the gang has spread to at least half of America's states.
In May, the murder of a young influencer during a live stream in Jalisco, in western Mexico, shocked the country.
Authorities insisted there was no 'evidence' that the murder was linked to organised crime, and prosecutors opened an investigation for 'femicide.'
