Rocket Launchers and Bitcoin Mining Machines Seized

Yesterday, amidst a stash of heavy weaponry, Venezuelan authorities have been shocked to find Bitcoin mining machines throughout a raid on the Tocoron jail. The seizure was a part of a major crackdown on the Tren de Aragua gang, infamous for utilizing the jail as their base in Latin America.

The federal government launched an official assertion noting that a powerful 11,000 troops stormed the jail within the state of Aragua to sort out the nation’s dominant prison group. And whereas weaponry was a major discovery, the seizing of Bitcoin miners turned a speaking level after movies emerged on social media platforms showcasing rooms full of these machines.

There have been bitcoin miners in one of the vital harmful locations in Venezuela👀

Not too long ago, we noticed an intervention in Tocorón, one of the vital recognized jails within the nation, wherein the criminals have been in management.

Moreover all of the bizarre issues that they’d, they even had some bitcoin… pic.twitter.com/xEfZfj9NJN

— Javier ₿astardo 🏴‍☠️ (@criptobastardo) September 22, 2023

Apparently, for a number of years, this jail has been underneath prison rule. A lot in order that it boasted of facilities comparable to a mini zoo and a swimming pool, a stark distinction to the overall fame of Venezuelan prisons being perilous and overpopulated.

The fearsome Tren de Aragua gang, liable for a variety of crimes, from extortion and drug trafficking to human trafficking inside Venezuela and past its borders, turned the goal of Venezuelan officers for the primary time throughout this operation.

Venezuala’s Dire Economic system Motivates the Use of Bitcoin

The rationale for the gang’s curiosity in Bitcoin mining may stem from Venezuela’s financial situations. The nation has been grappling with hyperinflation. But, its electrical energy market, which is closely sponsored, nearly nullifies energy prices. This makes Bitcoin mining a lovely and doubtlessly profitable endeavor, extra so than in lots of different nations.

Miners make use of ASICs (Software-Particular Built-in Circuits), superior computer systems, to sort out mathematical issues related to Bitcoin’s proof-of-work consensus algorithm. This course of is energy-consuming, however it’s additionally rewarding as miners obtain new cryptocurrency. In a report from Coin Metrics earlier this 12 months, it was famous that Bitcoin miners raked in $184 million in transaction charges over three months.

Nevertheless, there’s a twist within the story. The AFP video report identified that lots of the confiscated machines resembled older fashions of Bitmain’s Antminers, leaving us to invest in regards to the profitability of the gang’s operation.

This isn’t a standalone incident. Solely a fortnight in the past, police in Chile found a drug trafficking group in Santiago working a Bitcoin mining setup.

A profitable operation that allowed us to strike a blow in opposition to prison teams

Venezuela hasn’t been form to cryptocurrency miners currently, particularly with recurrent energy outages. A momentary ban on crypto mining has almost obliterated an business that was as soon as endorsed within the nation, as reported by Bloomberg Línea in June. This clampdown started in March after a corruption investigation revealed crypto wallets have been doubtlessly funneling funds from the state’s oil firm, PDVSA. Moreover, in 2019, President Nicolas Maduro expressed intentions to assist the nationwide cryptocurrency, the petro, with oil reserves.

Nevertheless, it seems that the ban had the sudden impact of bringing the mining enterprise underground, underneath the management of gangs.

Rounding again to the current raid, Remigio Ceballos, the Inside and Justice Minister, knowledgeable the media that 4 jail guards have been detained underneath suspicions of aiding the criminals. Whereas 1,600 inmates have been shifted elsewhere post-raid, a number of seized the chaos as a possibility to flee. Ceballos make clear the grim actuality behind the jail partitions: gang leaders subjugated fellow inmates, primarily treating them as slaves. The huge array of confiscated objects included explosives, sniper rifles, bullets, machine gun ammo, rocket launchers, and grenades.

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