2.1.3. Pranes, sindicatos and sistemas

Pranes445 are prison‑based gangs that originate and operate from within Venezuela’s penitentiary system.446 Empowered and tolerated by authorities, they have exercised de facto control over numerous prisons, coordinating extortion, drug trafficking, and other criminal activities through inmate‑run hierarchical structures.447 At the end of 2023, the government launched security operations aimed at dismantling the pranato system; however, most top criminal leaders escaped without resistance and relocated to continue their activities elsewhere.448 Following these raids, the pranato has reportedly been weakened and partially co‑opted by police and military officials, who now charge fees in exchange for benefits such as smuggling drugs, mobile phones, and packages into prison facilities.449

Sindicatos originated as construction‑sector unions450 but have since evolved into powerful armed groups that now control illegal mining operations.451 Together with pranes, they oversee extensive criminal networks known as sistemas.452 These structures, some comprising 'hundreds' of members, engage in extortion of mined gold, illegal mining, fuel and drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, and widespread extortion of local businesses.453 In El Callao, Bolívar state, for example, vendors reportedly pay monthly fees of 100 USD, while processing mills surrender 20 % of their gold as payment.454 Their operations have also expanded into Guyana, where they raid mining camps and extort river traffic.455

Las Claritas is one of the most powerful and long‑standing sindicatos involved in illegal mining in Bolívar state.456 It is the only major group that has avoided security‑force crackdowns, reportedly due to agreements with elements of the state.457 Las Claritas controls key mining areas, organises extraction operations, extorts miners and traders, and enforces strict authority over nearby towns, imposing its own rules and punishments.458 On 17 February 2025, a sindicato launched an attack on Guyanese forces along the Cuyuni River in the Essequibo region, wounding six Guyanese soldiers; Venezuelan authorities dismissed reports of the attack as 'fake news'.459

Sistemas maintain control through a combination of violence and selective philanthropy, using both executions and community projects to secure local loyalty.460 A newer armed group, the Hugo Chávez Frías Organisation, also known as the Socio‑Revolutionary Movement, reportedly composed of former Colombian guerrillas and new recruits, has also begun charging payments from those travelling along the Cuyuni River into mining areas on both sides of the border.461