The National Police have arrested on Thursday, 25 September, at least two more young men from the Añaza gang, reportedly linked to the kidnapping and murder of Alberto González, which occurred at the end of July in Tenerife.
The operation remains ongoing and further arrests in the coming hours cannot be ruled out. In relation to these events, Moisés Baute, a kickboxing fighter, Aarón Vargas, a businessman, and Jonathan Martín, a nightclub bouncer, all from Tenerife, are already in provisional custody.
Extreme Violence
The extreme violence used in the kidnapping and murder of Alberto González—who was assaulted with hammers—shocked many in Tenerife. Furthermore, the circumstances surrounding the initial arrests have garnered significant media attention across Spain.
National Police Headquarters in Tres de Mayo, the capital of Tenerife. / El Día
Moisés Baute—alias Moi The Ears—and Jonathan Martín—alias The Fat One—surrendered in the early hours of 30 July at the National Police station on the Tres de Mayo avenue in Santa Cruz. They arrived in a vehicle that contained Alberto González’s corpse in the boot. They also transported another young man, a friend of Alberto known as León, who had also been abducted and left badly injured.
The third detainee, Aarón Vargas—alias The Poop—was arrested three days later on 1 August, after the first two turned themselves in. Baute, Martín, and Vargas have been transferred to prisons on the Peninsula after initially being placed in Tenerife II due to fears of retaliation from other inmates at the prison located in El Rosario, Tenerife.
58 Days Later
Exactly 58 days after Baute and Martín surrendered, new arrests have taken place. The Homicide Group of the National Police of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is continuing the investigation, and the judge overseeing the case at the Judicial Court Number 2 of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has decided to continue keeping the details of the inquiry confidential.
Añaza Gang
The investigators were clear from the outset that the three initial detainees must have required assistance from other members of the same Añaza gang to carry out such a complex operation as kidnapping two people—Alberto González and León—for three days, resulting in the alleged murder of the former from the injuries sustained and the serious wounding of the latter, who managed to survive the beatings and required hospitalisation. The National Police is still searching for at least two more young men believed to be members of this group due to their alleged involvement in these events.
As the investigation has progressed, the agents have been able to outline the timeline of the main events leading to the arrest and preventive detention without bail of Aarón Vargas, Moisés Baute, and Jonathan Martín, currently under investigation for the crimes of homicide or murder (pending the outcome of the investigation), aggravated injury, and illegal detention and against moral integrity.
They are joined by at least two other young men detained this Thursday, who have not yet been presented before a judge and are being held at the National Police station on Tres de Mayo. However, more arrests may happen in the coming hours.
How It All Started
Everything ignited last April, according to the main hypothesis of the Police. During a music festival held in southern Tenerife, Alberto had a confrontation with members of the Añaza gang. This altercation continued in a nightclub in the island’s main tourist area. Alberto sustained injuries due to a knife attack by a member of the opposing group, with whom he already had a longstanding rivalry.
This conflict escalated into a series of threats that intensified further. On Monday, 28 July, an acquaintance of Albertito, as the victim was known in El Cardonal, set up a meeting in the parking lot of a supermarket in El Tablero, a neighbourhood in Santa Cruz. The young man arrived with his friend León in a vehicle.
However, when Alberto and León arrived at the parking lot, they found that members of the rival gang were waiting for them, presumably Moisés Baute and Jonathan Martín. As soon as they saw them arrive, they knew they had been set up.
A Three-Day Kidnapping
The Homicide agents believe that it was during this encounter in the parking lot that the Añaza gang kidnapped Alberto and León, forced them into a vehicle, and began beating them to restrain them. They would be moved between several residences during the kidnapping, at least one located in Güímar and another in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood of Santa María del Mar.
Of the three sent to prison, the first to be transferred to a penitentiary on the mainland for security reasons was Moisés Baute, specifically on 5 September. The other two, Aarón Vargas and Jonathan Martín, were moved on 16 September.
The extensive criminal history of these three young men, which includes robberies from drug traffickers—known in criminal jargon as turnarounds—complicated their stay in Tenerife II, to the extent that the authorities at the El Rosario facility reported they lacked the means to guarantee the safety of these three individuals.
Pending Accounts
In every unit of the Tenerife prison, there are inmates who would have pending matters with this group, making it difficult to ensure the safety of Aarón Vargas, Moisés Baute, and Jonathan Martín—The Fat One. As a result, the judge requested an exceptional relocation of these three young men to differing prisons on the mainland, which was carried out in two waves.
