José Dorángel Vargas Gomez, also known as Dorángel Vargas or the infamous “People Eater,” has gained notoriety as one of Venezuela’s most notorious criminals. His dark narrative unfolds from a troubled upbringing in rural Mérida to gruesome street murders and, later, a harrowing prison uprising resulting in fatalities and reports of cannibalism.
Born on May 14, 1957, in the remote village of Caño Zancudo, Mérida, Vargas was raised in a modest farming family with ties to the Venezuelan Liberation Forces. Local accounts suggest that Vargas was believed to be under the influence of malevolent forces from a young age. He received limited formal education, only completing schooling up to the sixth grade.
In his youth, Vargas distanced himself from his family and led a transient lifestyle, engaging in petty criminal activities such as theft of livestock, establishing a pattern of opportunistic offenses.
His first significant encounter with the law occurred in 1995 when he murdered a fellow transient, Baltazar Cruz Moreno, and consumed parts of the body.
Following this incident, Vargas was institutionalized at the Peribeca Psychiatric Rehabilitation Institute for two years, where he underwent treatment and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Despite concerns over his violent tendencies, he was eventually released.
In the late 1990s, Vargas returned to the streets, this time in San Cristóbal, Táchira state, where he embarked on a spree of murders between November 1998 and January 1999 along the Torbes River and in Parque 12 de Febrero.
His victims were typically healthy men, including laborers, athletes, and occasional inebriates, whom he bludgeoned to death using a metal tube or rocks. Allegedly, he had specific criteria for his victims, avoiding targeting women, children, the elderly, and overweight individuals due to his selective preferences for flesh quality.
After killing his victims, Vargas dismembered their bodies, consuming some parts, cooking others, or storing them in containers. The remains of his victims were found near a park in February 1999, leading to the discovery of more bodies, along with containers of human flesh and organs, and severed body parts in a shack where Vargas resided. He confessed to murdering and consuming at least ten men during this period.
Following his apprehension, Vargas garnered national attention, earning the moniker “The Hannibal Lecter of the Andes,” drawing parallels to the fictional cannibal character.
Psychological evaluations determined that Vargas suffered from paranoid schizophrenia with psychopathic inclinations, rendering him legally nonaccountable under Venezuela’s justice system. Due to the lack of appropriate psychiatric facilities, he was placed in a secure prison in Táchira to prevent further violence.
Despite being incarcerated, Vargas’s violent tendencies persisted. In October 2016, a month-long disturbance at the Táchira Detention Center escalated into a deadly riot, where two inmates were brutally murdered and parts of their bodies were reportedly fed to others.
Vargas, notorious for his cannibalistic past, was allegedly recruited by a gang within the prison to carry out the dismemberments. Witness testimonies and investigations provided substantial evidence supporting the gruesome allegations.
Currently, Vargas remains isolated in Táchira, closely monitored due to his volatile and unpredictable behavior. He has openly discussed his crimes, showing no remorse and even expressing a desire to bury the victims.