Wilexis Alexander Acevedo Monasterios, alias ‘Wilexis’

Latin America

Wilexis Acevedo was for a long time one of Venezuela’s most wanted criminals and the leader of the mega-gang bearing his name, which controlled the José Félix Ribas neighborhood – the largest in the violent area of Petare, east of Caracas – since at least 2017.

He was wanted for multiple crimes, including extortion, kidnapping, robbery, and small-scale drug dealing. The Venezuelan government offered $150,000 for information on his whereabouts.

Despite numerous and constant operations against him, Wilexis managed to evade the authorities until January 2025, when he died in an alleged confrontation with the authorities.

History

Wilexis’ criminal career began around 2003 in the east of Caracas. Starting out on the lowest rungs of the criminal ladder, he gradually gained influence and expanded criminal activities until he formed a small gang dedicated to kidnappings, robberies, and contract killings. Over the following decade, the group consolidated its power, aided by the inaction of security forces and widespread impunity in the country.

Between 2015 and 2016, police operations in the Caracas neighborhood of Petare dismantled many of the major criminal groups operating in the area. Although Wilexis’ gang was affected, it managed to survive and strengthen its hold. By 2017, the gang had emerged as the dominant force in the José Félix Ribas neighborhood, with an estimated 120 to 200 members.

Multiple residents of the area, including local politicians and journalists interviewed by InSight Crime on condition of anonymity, claim that Wilexis’ rise was facilitated  by the mayor of Sucre municipality since 2017, José Vicente Rangel Ávalos.

From the moment he rose to power, Wilexis established a system of criminal governance based on assisting neighborhood residents. For the community, he became both judge and executioner, resolving local disputes. He imposed local policies, organized social events, gave gifts to children, and delivered boxes of government-subsidized food to struggling families. He also guaranteed security in the area, forbidding his members from stealing from locals.

In January 2019, the José Félix Ribas community protested against the government and was met with a violent crackdown by security forces. Wilexis’ gang confronted the police and, as a result, he was branded a public enemy by the government.

Wilexis’ control over the territory was first seriously threatened between April and May 2020. A rival criminal gang, led by Chistian Rene Tovar Uribe, alias “El Gusano,” began challenging his control of José Félix Ribas. Although several media outlets reported that Tovar had been sent to Petare from the Tocorón prison –  then controlled by the Tren de Aragua – there was no evidence to corroborate this version.

On May 6, 2020, in the midst of clashes with the rival gang, President Nicolás Maduro, without providing any evidence, accused Wilexis of collaborating with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and faking the conflict as a distraction to carry out Operation Gideon against the government. Maduro then ordered his arrest. 

After Maduro’s speech, the media outlet NTN24 received an audio recording from a man identifying himself as Wilexis Acevedo, denying the president’s accusations and claiming that he had no contact with the DEA, nor any interest in overthrowing the president. Despite his statements, security forces launched operations to track him down.

Two weeks later, a police commission killed El Gusano, ending the dispute. And although the operations against Wilexis continued, he managed to escape.

Wilexis returned to the José Félix Ribas neighborhood in July 2020, keeping a low profile until November of that year, when he was located in an operation by the police’s Special Action Forces (Fuerzas de Acciones Especiales – FAES). He was wounded but managed to escape once again.

After surviving the harsh persecution against him during 2020, Wilexis avoided drawing the attention for almost a year. However, a FAES officer stated in an interview with InSight Crime that in October 2021, Wilexis began an expansion campaign in surrounding areas, clashing with the small gangs that had thrived in his absence.

Wilexis made news again in 2024, amid protests triggered by the disputed results of the presidential elections. The regime linked him to the “little commandos” organized by opposition leader María Corina Machado after he once again defended local residents who protested against Nicolás Maduro.

Six months later, members of the Venezuelan Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations Corps (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas – CICPC) killed Wilexis during a police operation a few kilometers from José Félix Ribas.

Criminal Activities

Wilexis was wanted for multiple crimes, including extortion, kidnapping, robbery, and small-scale drug dealing. His gang primarily focused on extorting formal and informal traders in the area. It demanded protection payments in exchange for allowing businesses to continue operating, with fees collected weekly or monthly, depending on the agreement between the gang and the business owner.

At one point, kidnapping was one of the gang’s most thriving economies. Victims were abducted in Caracas or its outskirts and held in gang members’ houses within the neighborhood.

Geography

Petare, the parish located in the Sucre municipality of Miranda state, part of the Caracas metropolitan area, was strategic territory for Wilexis and his gang. Its high population density and maze-like alleys allowed them to evade police operations.

Wilexis exerted his strongest dominance in José Félix Ribas, the largest neighborhood of Petare,especially from zone 6 to 10. His gang also extended its presence to surrounding neighborhoods, such as Maca, Barrio Unión, La Bombilla, Simón Bolívar, and 24 de Marzo. Members of the Wilexis gang have also used the suburbs of Caracas, such as Los Teques, Guatire and Valles del Tuy, as a refuge, where police officers have located some of them.

Allies and Enemies

Wilexis’ main ally was the mayor of the Sucre municipality, José Vicente Rangel Ávalos, according to multiple residents of José Félix Ribas, local politicians, and journalists interviewed by InSight Crime on condition of anonymity. In May 2020, during the government persecution of Wilexis, Rangel Ávalos arranged for a meeting with Wilexis’ mediators to agree a ceasefire.

After the raids, Wilexis returned to José Félix Ribas and the mayor continued to support him, three independent sources told InSight Crime on condition of anonymity.

Among Wilexis’s main enemies was the Oswaldo Arenas Collective, the most important colectivo in the Sucre municipality, dedicated to extortion and the black market of basic goods. Wilexis managed to keep the members of this colectivo under control, banning its members from entering the José Félix Ribas, according to multiple sources consulted by InSight Crime.

Prospects

Despite becoming one of the primary targets of the Venezuelan regime, authorities faced significant difficulties in locating him. These challenges stemmed from his ability to win community support, police corruption, and the sheer size of Petare.Wilexis’ absence could spark a dispute between the small gangs in the area, each seeking to claim his territory, potentially increasing violence in the neighborhood. Colectivos, such as Oswaldo Arenas, which had been unable to establish influence in José Félix Ribas due to Wilexis’ dominance, may now attempt to seize control over illicit economies such as extortion. This could be facilitated by Maduro’s support for criminal groups that guarantee him social control over the communities.

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