Venezuela Influencer Who Criticised Gangs, Police Shot Dead On Livestream

Officials in Venezuela have launched an investigation into the death of a 25-year-old TikTok influencer who was allegedly killed while on a livestream by armed men. According to CBS News, Jesus Sarmiento, who had nearly 80,000 followers on TikTok, was killed on Sunday in his home, located in the north-central Venezuelan city of Maracay. His death was captured on a TikTok livestream, which was later reshared by other TikTok users and went viral in the country. 

In the clip, a woman could be reportedly heard screaming and banging on a door as two armed gunmen rounded the corner and shot the man. "They shot me, they shot me," Sarmiento says, as blood is visible on the floor, as per CBS News. 

Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced on Instagram in a translated post that the prosecutor's office has been tasked with investigating the death of 25-year-old TikTok influencer and identifying and punishing those involved.

According to the outlet, Sarmiento's death comes after he had publicly denounced officials who allegedly colluded with local criminal organisations and committed other acts of corruption. In one of his posts, the 25-year-old 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 Venezuelan government has maintained that the Tren de Aragua, which the US considers a "terrorist" organisation, has already been dismantled and denies its existence.

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However, on TikTok, Sarmiento shared photos and videos of alleged members of the gang and denounced the "extortion" by police officers. According to People, he also stated that he was being threatened by gangs, including "El Tren de Aragua" and "El Tren del Llano".

"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 family claimed that over the weekend, the 25-year-old had been shot at least nine times by the gunmen, and the woman who was also heard screaming in the clip, who was identified as the influencer's mother, was wounded in the abdomen. 

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