“Pranes” in the
Major League

Tito had a new girlfriend and was about to sign his new prospect. When he thought his lucky break had come, he crossed paths with Tren de Aragua.

“The pranes heard that one of Alviarez Alecio’s prospects was about to be signed. Since the physical trainer refused to pay a percentage, two chamos (young boys) were sent to do the job. The motorcycle and the guns used by the murderers had been provided from Tocoron,” added the official, based on the police report stored on his mobile.

Baseball is considered Venezuela’s national sport. “About six million children practice it and this is a significant figure,” said Aracelis Leon, president of the Venezuelan Baseball Federation (FVB, for its Spanish acronym), the number is similar to the amount of children in the country’s school system.

Baseball has given Venezuela its greatest sports athletes: Alfonso “Chico” Carrasquel, Andres Galarraga, Oswaldo Guillen or Jose Altuve. The activity used to be a social mobility mechanism, it was a passport out of poverty and into a millionaire business that keeps growing.

“Nowadays, this is the most lucrative business (academies and signings) in Venezuela. Although it has its expenses,” asserted one of the managers of the Carlos Alfonso Guillen academy, one of the most luxurious and successful. Owned by Carlos Alfonso Guillen, a former Major League player, who was the president of the Tigres de Aragua professional team and the director of the Regional Sports Institute of the office of the governor of Aragua.

In only six years, the amount of players that were paid millionaire signing bonuses increased fourfold. In 2015, three ball players where signed for more than USD $1 million and by 2022 the number had increased to sixteen. No prospects were signed in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021, fourteen ball players were signed with record amounts paid. While 2022 has been the year with the highest amount of players who have signed millionaire contracts: sixteen players so far..

Between July 2nd, 2015 and January 15th, 2022, 69 young Venezuelans were signed for more than USD $1 million with a team in the Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States, and over 2,000 —an average of 350 per year— were signed for amounts ranging between US$ 10,000 to $ 990,000. The highest bonus paid to a Venezuelan player was for US$ 4,2 million in 2016, the recordholder is Kevin Maitan.

Alviarez Alecio had also wagered on baseball. As the coach, agent and manager of an academy, he was aware that he could keep 40 or 50% of his pupils’ bonus in dollars. A dozen experts, academy employees and prospects’ mothers interviewed for this research confirm that the percentages demanded by academies help compensate an annual investment of approximately US$10,000 per talent.

The signing of one of his prospects was finally arranged in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, signings were halted in 2020 so this process was delayed until January 15th.

The ball player only got US$ 10,000 and did not classify in the millionaires’ elite, according to the Minor League Baseball (MiLB) website, he plays in the Dominican Summer League (DSL) in the Dominican Republic, the first step to get to the Major League.

Tito was murdered before he could get his corresponding share of US$ 4,000 or US$ 5,000. On July 10th, 2020, at 2:00 p.m., his phone rang and he went outside his humble half-built house. Two hitmen were waiting for him, they shot him several times, grabbed his mobile phone and fled.

The investigators’ telephone call analysis showed that the last incoming call to Alviarez Alecio was from Jesus Eduardo Ramos Fragachan, alias “Loro”, a member of Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that has branched out to eleven states in Venezuela and seven countries in Latin America.

“This man (Ramos Fragachan) was in charge of collecting the extortions, he was in Ureña (in Tachira, in the border with Colombia). He threatened the physical trainer and demanded to pay for the player’s signing, even though the deal had not taken place yet. Agreements between the pranes and the academies are in place, they must pay between 3 and 10% per signed player,” stated the police officer.

Ramos Fragachan was arrested in Ecuador in late 2020 for extorting merchants, transporters and Venezuelan migrants in Tulcan, a town in the border crossing. He led a group of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua, which presumably founded a cell of this criminal organization in that country. He was charged with unlawful association, he accepted the charges and was sentenced to a year in prison. He was released early due to a crisis in the Ecuadorian penitentiary system. His whereabouts are unknown. He is not in Interpol’s most wanted list, and his debt with the Venezuelan justice for the murder of the physical trainer is pending.

Both material authors of Tito’s crime died in alleged clashes with law enforcement but at different times.

A family member of the physical trainer identified one of the murderers as “a person from a neighborhood with connections to the prison (controlled from Tocoron).” However, he was unaware of the relationship between Alviarez Alecio’s murder and the prospect’s signing. “We don’t know. It has been said it had to do with a woman,” he added, citing the initial version printed by the press.

But a neighbor did recall the episode of the signing. He stated the prospect’s name (left out of this investigation for his safety) and the team that signed him.

After the murder of the physical trainer, the Jose Casanova Godoy stadium was intervened by the community council (a government-promoted neighborhood regulation system,) one of the managers of the sports facility described, although he could not give the reason why.

Regarding this case, Roberto Briceño Leon, director of Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia (OVV, for its Spanish acronym) and an expert in the matter, analyzed the move played by the pranes and identified an initial modality of extortion.

“When the pranes demand a percentage of each player’s signing they are implementing a new business modality. These groups dabble in more sophisticated business modalities. If someone is doing ok, they will want in, they will take a piece of the cake,” the expert asserted.

The pranes, mostly linked with mega-gangs, lead organized crime organizations. Tren de Aragua in particular has diversified its criminal portfolio into at least twenty activities and has crossed over to transnational crime. Over the phone, the former partner of a member of this organization’s pran said that the crime bosses in the prison are “vigilant of those who are signed” because they keep a percentage and use it “to help low-resource academies,” she added. The question is: Which academies? And who owns them?

Academies Under Threat

Venezuela has 195 academies registered in the Venezuelan Association of Baseball Agents (Avab), and hundreds more operate independently. These are private organizations that recruit and train children and teenagers with enough potential to make it to the Major League. They also act as intermediaries and manage prospects’ contracting and signing. (Details in Second Base)

For this investigation, the team of ARI and CONNECTAS visited more than 25 academies in five of the country’s states: Aragua, Carabobo, Lara, Miranda and Anzoategui, everywhere —except in Miranda— they found coercion, threats by the pranes and security services being “offered” to facilities and its employees.

Months after attacking several car dealerships in Barquisimeto (capital of the state of Lara) with grenades, Josue Angel Santana Peña’s gang, alias “Santanita”, started making contact with the owners of three important baseball academies with the aim of extorting them.

In January 2021, the Special Action Forces (FAES, for its Spanish acronym) of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB for its Spanish acronym) arrested Frandy de Jesus Mujica, an alleged member of a dangerous criminal organization based in the state of Lara, 370 kilometers away from Caracas.

When Mujica was arrested, he was under investigation for presumably being part of a series of attacks to car dealerships that had taken place in 2020 in Barquisimeto. Alias “Santanita”, the leader of Mujica’s organization, claimed to be the attacker. The objective was to force car dealers to pay the extortion money through fear and intimidation.

Mujica’s mobile phone had photographs, personal information and videos of the vehicle of the owner of one of the most important baseball academies in Lara, who was also a member of the Avab.

Two months before this finding, officials from the Extortion and Kidnapping National Command (CONAS, for its Spanish acronym) of the Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela (GNB, for its Spanish acronym) were informally alerted by Montero’s bodyguards about a series of threatening calls and messages that had been sent to the businessman.

CONAS investigators immediately connected both events and concluded that the “Santanita” gang had planned to attack the owners of some of the most renown baseball academies in the state of Lara. That is why Mujica and his group were following the businessman.

“I went through that in December 2020, two other academies as well. I lived that for almost three months… Telephone threats, threats via WhatsApp, with pictures of my family, my children. They send you photos of weaponry, grenades… in the end nothing happened (thank God) and here we are,” confessed the owner of an academy for this investigation.

“They wanted to take the (academies’) money, just as they took the car dealerships’. The amounts demanded started at US$ 100,000,” mentioned a CONAS official, who asked for anonymity.

The justification is that baseball academies are companies or production units with financial resources. Therefore they are not exempt of the “tax” demanded by the “Santanita” gang to businesspeople in Lara.

The three organizations being harassed are among Lara’s most important, they contribute 25% of the country’s prospects each year, per calculations of two agents who were interviewed for this feature.

One of these academies was founded in 1995, since its creation, it has signed more than 200 prospects, nine in the Major League. "People often think we have a gold mine, or a bank, because we work with these players, but the reality is that we invest more than we get (income),” the businessman added.

Threats aimed at this businessman and other two academies were via phone calls and WhatsApp messages, with photographs of family members, grenades and weaponry to intimidate them. The businessman mentioned that the extortionists did not identify themselves with a specific gang, and an official with the Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigation Service Corps (CICPC, for its Spanish acronym) affirmed that the calls had been made from the state of Aragua.

This revelation concurs with police investigations that have found that “Santanita” could be responsible for the threats to academies and connect this criminal with Tren de Aragua.

Additionally, a report by the PNB (illustrating the hierarchies and connections of mega-gangs) available to this investigation, identifies alias “Santanita” as one of the ringleaders of Aragua’s mega-gang, led by Hector Guerrero, alias “Niño Guerrero”.

Referring to the outcome of his case, the businessman explained: “Nothing happened. We handled the situation with the government agencies, they provided significant support (…). It came down to threats and nothing else, thank God we can relax now”.

The owners of Lara’s other two academies were also contacted by ARI and CONNECTAS. They confirmed that they received threats and extorsions, but they decided not to comment further, they asked for the anonymity of their organizations. One said that the “Santanita” gang had done it and added that they notified CONAS. The incident did not go beyond threats.

This case places the epicenter of the extortions to baseball academies in Tocoron. A scout, the sports manager of a Major League team and sports journalists claim that the connection between this prison and some academies goes back to 2016, when the food crisis in Venezuela worsened and the pranes became suppliers of these sports organizations. This was confirmed by a pran’s former partner. It is not a secret that groceries flooded the penitentiary whereas they were scarce in supermarkets. (Details in HOME)

Again, the epicenter of the extortions to baseball academies is located in Tocoron. Nevertheless, the pranes in this prison are not the only ones trying to hit a home run with the signings’ business. The leaders of Judicial Boarding Institution of Carabobo (also known as Tocuyito) and the Agroproductive Center of Barcelona (also known as Puente Ayala) are at bat, waiting for a great pitch.(Go to Third Base)

Extortion Money for Territorial Control

Most new academies were created prior to 2015. The Avab was constituted in 2018 with the intention to organize and protect those who started a business that had started being cannibalized. However, these academies lack control and regulation, a fact that has fostered some irregularities and favored the pranes’ wrongdoing.

In Carabobo, academies have faced “the curse” of extorsions. Several people in the baseball business mentioned the case of Academy X. “The owner was being extorted and he decided not to pay. They were asking for US$ 100,000, then the number went down to US$ 50,000,” the manager of another academy said; just as others who were contacted for this investigation, he asked to remain anonymous.

The owner of Academy X was contacted by ARI but he refrained from making comments: “Thank you very much for your interest, but with all due respect, I can’t give you that information,” he replied over the phone.

Carabobo is the base of operations of the Nestor Richardi Sequera Campos gang, alias “Richardi”, the main pran at Tocuyito. The inmate is a sports fan, which is why he doesn’t “mess with ball players.”

The situation in the state of Anzoategui, located in the eastern region of the country, is grimmer. A commissioner of the CICPC, a sports journalist and employees of several academies guaranteed that extortions come from the Puente Ayala prison, but also from law enforcement agencies.

“There are many rumors running around, but when you begin looking into it, people deny the rumors or claim to ignore the details. Reliable sources tell me that most academies pay extortion money: some pay criminal groups and others pay police officers for protection,” an expert sports communicator stated; he also asked for anonymity.

The main criminal group in the region is based in Puente Ayala, in the city of Barcelona, Anzoategui, and it is run by the pran Junior Yegues, who is in charge of the extortions.

“In 2019 I went to see some players in Puerto La Cruz (Anzoategui), a man approached me in one of the stadiums to offer security by the pranes in the local prison. They said if I paid, they would take care of me and nothing would happen to me. I politely refused,” revealed a scout who has been working for the Major League organizations for eight years.(Details in Third Base)

A commissioner of the CICPC in Anzoategui claims that there is a solid suspicion of extortion cases affecting baseball academies. “We have tried to investigate, but we have not been able to document cases that allow us to verify this information. We have heard about extortions involving police officers of the State’s own investigation services,” he remarked.

Based on interviews conducted for this feature, there are at least three reasons that explain why extortions complaints are not filed with the police: the victims are afraid to accuse and suffer retaliation by the pranes; academy owners fear risking the business that provides for them; it is likely for some academies to have agreements with the pranes (out of fear or searching for security) and they pay with their silence.

These reasons could account for the fact that most people interviewed for this research insisted on anonymity.

The stories of Lara, Carabobo and Anzoategui fit into extortion is associated with territorial control, explains an official of the Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM, for its Spanish acronym) in Aragua.

“Organized crime groups contact the academies because they are based on areas within their control,” the official investigating these criminal groups added.

That is why some academies operate in military facilities, seeking protection. An organization’s baseball players trained in the Aviation Logistics Base at Aragua (Baragua), according to someone in the military, it belongs to Major League player Miguel Cabrera, or to his dad.

A manager in the academy confirmed this version and added that the name of the organization was Miguel Cabrera. He explained that the initiative was recent and that it belonged to the father of a Major League player and to a partner. He mentioned that they operated in the military base until December 2021, among other reasons, they argued it was a matter of security. They assume that being there makes it easy to get rid of the pranes, although some stories collected by this investigation show that criminals are not intimidated by this.

Pertaining to the academy that is named after him, Miguel Cabrera, the most outstanding Venezuelan baseball player in the Major League, clarified that he was not related to any school whatsoever. “According to them, I have several academies. But I don’t,” he replied in a brief conversation via WhatsApp.

Roberto Briceño, director of Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia (OVV), agrees that the cases of extortion are associated with territorial control and come with a promise of security and protection. “A while ago, I was informed about a protection fee to allow academies in Valencia (Carabobo) to operate. Somehow I guarantee no one will hurt you and the boys will be alright. I protect you from myself. And also from petty thieves and minor criminal groups.”

In these cases, extortion money is the tax that allows them to operate in a territory controlled by mega-gangs, the pranes or the police. “It is possible that owners or managers of some academies feel fine about paying an extortion. They are not aware of the fact that they are being robbed. Their prospects are young teens and a risk is entailed, that is why their safety matters. It is a protection that the Venezuelan state is not in the condition to provide, so they substitute the protection functions of the state”, the expert asserted.

“Showcase”, “buscones” and “debt buyers”

In an interview conducted for this investigation, Aracelis Leon, president of the FVB, examined the outlook of Venezuelan minor leagues and affirmed that a change has been evident since 2005, the moment in which Major League farm teams began leaving the county.

“While some have focused on a training program for three or four players, others attempt to capture more talent by creating academies,” she explained.

Leon addressed the way in which academies and scouts work. “There is no clear guideline in the Sports Law on this matter. Players’ agents and scouts must be registered in the National Sports Institute (IND, for its Spanish acronym), but many aren’t. The IND has not issued a license for academies. These organizations may partner with the Federation, but they are free to work because the regional institutes issue the permits to use the (State) stadiums. We have been observing since 2018 and we have partnered with 50 of 200 academies in Venezuela,” she added.

This somewhat anarchic dynamic has paired up with new practices and unknown plays.

On August 22nd, 2020, a video that showed four men with guns threatening the owner, employees and several prospects of one of the most important baseball academies in the country went viral in social networks; shaking the relaxed, playful and festive atmosphere of Venezuelan baseball to the ground.

The target was former player Alexis Quiroz and his academy AQ Sport Agency located in the capital of the state of Aragua. Criminals were heard saying “...He doesn’t want to give us what we are asking for” and warning: “If he (Quiroz) doesn’t give us an answer we are going to have to come and get you (employees, recently-signed players and family members”). This exemplifies how hard the pranes can hit.

Yes, pranes, because based on the type of guns they are carrying, the version that claims that the men in the video could be police officers or military members is not credible. In Venezuela, criminals and law enforcement agencies use the same models of guns: AK-103, 9mm pistols and old FAL rifles, more common among the organized crime groups.

On August 12th, ten days prior, two of Quiroz’ bodyguards were attacked from a moving vehicle in Maracay. One was injured, he was a police officer in Aragua. These events had never been revealed before.

It seemed to be a case of extortion, the likely connection of the pranes with academies in the context of prospects’ signings turned into gossip in the baseball world.

Quiroz’ academy is considered one of the most successful in the country. Between 2014 (the year it was founded) and 2022, it has signed 23 prospects. The names include Josue Briceño, Wilman Diaz, Martin Jimenez, Junior Marin, Carlos Arcila, Luis Medina and Diego Cartaya. All of their bonuses have exceeded US$ 100,000.

Although that fact alone constituted an obvious interest for the pranes, it was not the attack’s motive.

Quiroz had negotiated US $2,69 million to sign one of his prospects. The agreement was arranged on January 15th, 2021, five months after the attacks (when the signing process was open.) The prospect had been brought to AQ Sport Agency by an independent scout, also known as “buscon” (lookers).

“He (Quiroz) offered the “buscon” around 20% (US $539,000) of what the player got for his signing. But the signing was for several million, when he made the calculations he realized that it is different to give 20% of US $10,000 than 20% of almost US $3 million. Besides, half of the bonus almost always goes to the player and his family. That is when he started having second thoughts,” an employee of AQ Sport Agency declared on August 2021 in an activity to relaunch the academy, which had been closed since the attacks.

The “buscon” who Quiroz negotiated with was not a pran, yet after knowing about the prospect’s agreement —although it had not been signed— the man began demanding the promised percentage. Since he didn’t get an answer to his liking, he proceeded to “sell” his rights to the amount indebted by the former player. That is how the “Niño Guerrero”, leader of Tren de Aragua and pran at Tocoron, became Quiroz’ creditor.

“Our version is that the “buscon” sold his debt to the pranes, contacting people in the prison to collect his debt. If they managed to do it, they (the pranes) would get part of the money. That is when the threats, attacks to the bodyguards and the video going viral happened”, a former commissioner of the CICPC explained, he had been informally assigned to the case because a complaint was never filed. “An investigation didn’t take place. They just let it go.”

Alexis Quiroz and his family left the country after the video went viral. The academy remained closed for almost a year and the prospects trained in other facilities. An employee of the organization guaranteed that it was operating normally after being relaunched.

However, academies have received videos with similar threats against other businesspeople, and the pranes have been asked to collect pending debts.

A Venezuelan businessperson that sets up showcases for scouts of major league teams in Colombia to see the players was threatened in a video in August 2021. Footage shows four men with guns aiming at a handwritten poster that read 7/8/2021 and the businessman’s name while making their requests.

They demanded the payment of a “collaboration” fee and mentioned Colombian cities in which he organizes showcases: Cartagena, Medellin and Bogota. Although the video didn’t go viral in social networks, it did circulate in academies’ employees and personnel’s chats. ARI had access to the audiovisual material and uncovered what was behind this new crime.

“The businessman organized a showcase in Medellin and the owner of an academy in Zulia was taking some of his players. He paid around US $200 per player, then he got COVID-19 and asked to get his money back. The organizer agreed to return the money but then began making up excuses. Time passed and he didn’t pay, so the owner of the academy contacted the pranes to make that video and have him pay the debt,” added another event organizer and academy owner who knows the parties.

This case, as the others before it, was let go. The businessman still organizes events in Zulia; the threats went under the rug. He was contacted for this investigation via social media, but he denies being the man being threatened in the video.

Showcases are public events. A registration fee per player ranging between US $100 and US $250 is required to participate. Young baseball players are divided into teams and they play games for two or three days to display their offense and defense skills. These activities are arranged by some academies or by people whose business is limited to setting up the show.

Insecurity and Major League farm teams and scouts leaving the country has motivated some Venezuelan businesspeople to move the showcases to Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Panama.

But last year these events had to be taken back to Venezuela due to travel restrictions deriving from the pandemic, migration limitations and the cost of traveling abroad with the prospects.

Businesspeople are trying to convince the scouts that it is safe to come to Venezuela to see the prospects. In 2021, more than a dozen showcases took place mostly in Carabobo and Aragua. But the pranes are now playing in fielding positions.

A person interviewed affirmed that organizers need the pranes’ authorization to conduct the showcases in a stadium or even in military facilities within their territory, or else they are contacted from prisons to be threatened and extorted.

That person said that while in a showcase, emissaries are sent from Tocoron to assist with security and logistics. Moreover, they volunteer to help businesspeople to collect debts from people linked with the event who are late with the registration fee or any other concept.

For Roberto Briceño, this type of debt collection also constitutes extortion. “The predator-type crime turns into mafia-style crime, crime that sells security. The mafia provides a protecting extortion, the individual doesn’t consider it as theft but as service. In reality, extortion is theft in installments. A service is offered with the efficiency that the State fails to deliver,” the expert said.

His analysis goes beyond and gives the pranes another position in the field. “Pranes may also act as financiers or venture capitalists. That is why they are in charge of collecting. They offer capital, something that banks stopped doing. In that case, the pranes act as banks should,” the director of OVV mentioned. (Details in Third Base)

Even though many academies are owned by individuals that have a traditional baseball background and by players and former players in the Major League, the identity of the owners and investors of the majority of academies is unknown. Some are managed by young trainers who failed to make it to the Major League but that know the business. This research was able to identify that police and military members also own academies.

However, little is known about how some of these organizations (especially those created in the last two years) are funded. Some people interviewed are unaware or are not allowed to reveal the name of the owner of the academy they work at, due to safety concerns.

This interaction or integration of the pranes with the legal world may as well be making Major League money cross the line fair into the foul area and fund organized crime. In some academies it is likely that they act as benefactors or partners to launder money from illicit activities.

“When a company engaged in a legal activity agrees to pay an extortion, it may be in breach the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) and the FCPA Act (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), as well as the Venezuelan legislation,” warned Jesus Loreto, an expert in criminal law.

The RICO Act was one of the instruments used by authorities in the United States in the Fifa Gate investigation.

Lawyer Loreto added: “When Tren de Aragua threatens academies the way you are describing here, they incur in more than just kidnapping or extortion, they also incur in business obstruction per the Law Against Organized Crime and Terrorism Funding. The penetration of mafias in professional sports is one of the most grave and profitable issues associated with organized crime.”

Based on the severity of this investigation’s findings, on October 7th, 2021, ARI sent an e-mail to two representatives of the MLB requesting an interview on the topic. They didn’t reply. On Tuesday, January 24th, 2022, another request was sent to interview the communications vice-president of the US league; no answer was received as of the moment of the publication of this investigation.

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*ARI and Connectas’ teams that conducted this investigation are in possession of precise data (names, dates and places) and testimonies that support the mentioned cases. Nevertheless, it was not published with the intention of protecting the victims and the people who kindly decided to share their stories.

*This investigation had to be modified on the day of its publication, February 10th, 2022, to remove the names and protect the identity of two of the sources. Just one hour after the feature was published, they received several alert calls.

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*ARI and Connectas’ teams that conducted this investigation are in possession of precise data (names, dates and places) and testimonies that support the mentioned cases. Nevertheless, it was not published with the intention of protecting the victims and the people who kindly decided to share their stories.

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*ARI and Connectas’ teams that conducted this investigation are in possession of precise data (names, dates and places) and testimonies that support the mentioned cases. Nevertheless, it was not published with the intention of protecting the victims and the people who kindly decided to share their stories.

First Inning September 2nd, 2004
Major League player’s Ugueth Urbina’s Mother Kidnapped

An armed group kidnapped Maura Villarreal, pitcher Ugueth Urbina’s mother, he plays for the Detroit Tigers. Criminals entered a family farm in Valles del Tuy, outside Caracas, took the woman and held her hostage for more than five months. She was released on February 18th, 2005 in a mountainous area in the state of Bolivar, 550 kilometers away from the capital of Venezuela.

The police’s hypothesis is that the kidnapping was an extortion involving the Colombian guerrilla. Alias “Chigüiro”, a member of the FARC, was arrested for this crime; this guerrilla group demobilized in 2016.

There were rumors about a possible vengeance of members in criminal groups against the Major League player.

Second Inning March 27th, 2007
Ugueth Urbina: From Major League Player to Pran?

Major League player Uguet Urbina was convicted to 14 years and 4 months in prison for the crime of frustrated homicide against seven of his employees on March 27th, 2007. In October 2005, the former player hit, tortured and tried to burn several men alive, they all worked for him in a farm and the events unfolded when he realized that one of his firearms was missing.

Employees reported that Urbina and two others committed the attack. The pitcher was arrested in 2005, initially sent to the prison of Los Teques, then to the prison of El Rodeo, and lastly to the General Penitentiary of Venezuela (PGV, for its Spanish acronym), which is now closed.

Before being imprisoned he played for six Major League teams: Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies.

When he was in PGV, located in the state of Guarico, he was in charge of a vegetable and food stall inside the prison. Those who frequently visited the prison expressed that he had significant power and leadership among his mates.

Some asserted that he had become a pran, but there is no evidence to support this claim. Urbina was given a benefit and was released early from prison.

In 2016, he acted as mediator to solve a conflict between the inmates at PGV at the request of the Minister of Penitentiary Services.

Third Inning November 9th, 2009
Major League Player Victor Zambrano’s Mother Kidnapped

Elizabeth Mendez Zambrano, mother of player Victor Zambrano, was kidnapped by armed men when she was at a farm outside Maracay, capital of the state of Aragua.

Days before, one of the player’s cousins had been kidnapped and murdered, whether the two events were related or not is unknown.

On November 11th, two days after the kidnapping, Mendez Zambrano was safely rescued by law enforcement.

Zambrano played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Mets, Toronto and Baltimore.

Fourth Inning June 2nd, 2009
Yorbit Torrealba’s Son Kidnapping

Colorado Rockies’ player Yorvit Torrealba’s 11-year-old son was kidnapped along with his uncle, after school in Guarenas, state of Miranda.

Authorities reported that the victims were released two days later, on June 4th, because of the pressure exercised by the police. The captors demanded a ransom of almost US $500,000

Inning 5 November 9th, 2011
Major League player’s Wilson Ramos Kidnapping

Ramos is the first and only Venezuelan player to have been kidnapped. When he was kidnapped he played for the Washington Nationals in the Major League and for Tigres de Aragua in the Venezuelan League.

Four armed men took him from his mother’s house in Valencia, state of Carabobo. He was released a day later because of the pressure exerted by the police, official versions state that ransom was not paid.

At that point, most Venezuelan Major League players hired bodyguard services to guarantee their safety and their families’.

Sixth Inning July 11th, 2017
Miguel Cabrera Claims Being Extorted

"I’m tired of paying extortion money, they say they’ll kidnap my mother, I don’t know if they are police officers, crooks (...). Please don’t hurt my family. I beg you,” condemned Miguel Cabrera in a video, he is the most outstanding player in the Major League.

In the message, the baseball player (born in the state of Aragua,) discussed other topics and confirmed that his family still resides in Venezuela, and that he had to pay extortions to guarantee their safety.

Seventh Inning February 8th, 2018
Pitcher Elias Diaz’s Mother Kidnapping

Ana Soto, mother of Pittsburg Pirates’ player Elias Diaz, was subdued by an armed group in her residence in the municipality of San Francisco, state of Zulia, in the country’s western area.

On February 11th, three days after the kidnapping, she was rescued by the judicial police. Investigators concluded that several police officers participated in the crime, including one who was a neighbor of the victim.

Eight Inning 2016-2018
Donations by Pranes to Academies

Some academies considered a relationship with the pranes as the only means to have access to essential food during the years of extreme scarcity in Venezuela (2016-2018), people related to baseball explained in interviews for this feature.

The former partner of a pran at Tocoron confirmed this version over the telephone. “They help academies a lot. But it is more like a Robin Hood type of mission. They are on the lookout to see who gets signed and then charge a commission that is used to help low-resource academies. There are many academies here and that is how they keep afloat. They bring young talents from other states and they need to feed them protein and stuff. How does the academy sustain itself?,” he explained.

Most academies train and lodge the prospects to strictly control them and follow-up on the details of their training as Major League players. Each case averages sixty teenagers who need to be specially fed. (DETAILS IN FIRST BASE)

Ninth Inning August 12 and 22nd, 2020
Threat and Attack to Alexis Quiroz

In August 2020, former baseball player and owner of the AQ Sport Agency, Alexis Quiroz, was the victim of threats and an attack that had been allegedly organized by the pranes at Tocoron.

His bodyguards were attacked first in front of his residence in Maracay and then, four armed men threatened him on a video that went public. Law enforcement officers described how a creditor of Quiroz contacted the pranes to collect some money from the player. (DETAILS IN FIRST BASE)

Yes, the pranes, because the version that claims that the men in the video were police officers or militaries is not supported. In Venezuela, criminals and law enforcement officers use the same model of weapons: AK-103, 9 mm pistols and the old FAL, more common with pranes and mega-gangs.

Extrainning April, 2021
The Stadium at Tocoron

In April 2021, a video showing a spectacular baseball stadium went viral on social networks. The field had artificial grass and high-power lights, but most surprisingly, it was inside the prison of Tocoron.

“Many of the luceros de la alta –pranes’ lieutenants– wanted to be players. They were building a stadium there, I think it is done. It was where high-performers would train because it was the best field,” the former partner of a pran said in a conversation days before the stadium was inaugurated.

Although building a stadium is not a crime, it would be interesting to understand what resources and permits are required to build such an infrastructure inside a prison.