For years, they appeared to be little more than a string of isolated burglaries in exclusive neighbourhoods in the United States. However, as time went by, investigators discovered that many shared the same hallmarks: crews composed mostly of Chilean citizens who travelled to different countries to burgle luxury homes before returning home with the proceeds.
The phenomenon, known as “criminal tourism,” is no longer confined to the United States. Similar cases have been recorded in Canada and parts of Europe, including a series of high-profile burglaries in Cheshire’s so-called “Golden Triangle,” the preferred home of Premier League stars and British celebrities south of Manchester.
More recently in Argentina, the investigation into the burglary of former tennis player Juan Martín del Potro’s home led to the arrest of four Chilean nationals: Eduardo Gallardo Espinoza, Esteban Escobar Cartes, Ignacio Zúñiga Cartes and Bastián Jiménez Freraut. The latter two have Interpol red notices against them for being part of a gang accused of burgling the homes of NFL and NBA stars.
To better understand how these groups operate, Perfil interviewed Detective Jesús Bonilla of the Major Crimes Squad at the Nassau County Police Department on Long Island. Bonilla has spent years investigating the networks and has taken part in dozens of arrests. According to him, one of the biggest surprises in this case was discovering that these gangs do not respond to a traditional structure.
The term “criminal tourism” emerged after Chile joined the US Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) programme, which allows its citizens to enter the country without a visa for up to 90 days.
Organisation without bosses
When Bonilla began to interrogate the members of these organisations, he expected to uncover a traditional criminal hierarchy, a top-down pyramid structure, with a leader who gave orders.
Instead, he heard the same answer time and again.
“I’d always ask them who their boss was. And they all answered the same way: ‘There’s no boss here. We all work together, like a family,’” he said.
As Bonilla explained, each group works independently, though there is a key figure: someone already installed in the country where they operate who facilitates all the logistics needed for newcomers.
“There’s one who already has the connections to move around, hire cars, rent an apartment via [the platform] Airbnb and get buyers for the stolen goods. When a new group arrives, that person welcomes them and instructs them,” said the detective.
The crews may work together for several months before splitting up. According to Bonilla, that is precisely what has allowed the phenomenon to spread so rapidly.
“That lad has already learned all the tricks. Then he calls others from Chile and tells them: ‘Come over here, I’ll welcome you in.’ And hence another gang is born,” he said.
In Bonilla’s view, dismantling one crew does not necessarily solve the problem. Every cell works as an informal school where members learn the method, generate contacts and then go independent, creating a sort of “criminal franchise.”
He said this model enabled the phenomenon to spread rapidly beyond California, where similar burglaries first attracted investigators’ attention before 2017, to states including New York, Texas, Illinois, Florida and North Carolina.
“I’ve travelled in search of them to several places. When they get caught, they say: ‘I didn’t think you’d come all this way to arrest me,’” he recalled.
Del Potro’s case, Bonilla believes, was an “anomaly.” The groups may have seen an opportunity to enter the country before travelling again.
“Argentina is usually a gateway for them because they cross the border using forged documents before travelling on to the United States, Mexico or Canada,” he said.
Bonilla added that investigators had, on multiple occasions, found Chilean suspects using forged Argentine driving licences and identity documents to rent vehicles and accommodation.
‘They’re kids, even children’
Another pattern detected by the Long Island detective is that most of the members of these gangs are very young.
“They’re kids, even underage. They usually range from 15 to 30 years of age,” he stated.
The profile matches that of the two suspects wanted by the FBI in connection with the Del Potro burglary in Tandil: Ignacio Zúñiga Cartes is 21, while Bastián Jiménez Freraut is 28.
Bonilla said many of those arrested describe burglary as a family trade.
“Their uncle robbed, their father robbed, their brother robbed. In the neighbourhoods they come from, that’s the career.”
According to the detective, that environment turns successful burglars into role models for the next generation.
“Those rolling in cash become a sort of saint for them, though I don’t like to use that word. They buy a home for their mother, a car and the entire neighbourhood looks up to them,” he explained.
Bonilla also pointed out that, unlike more experienced criminals, these youngsters seek something more than money – they like to showcase their plunder.
“They are fascinated by social media. They like to show everything they do. They post photos of gold chains, jewels, watches, everything they stole,” he said.
He cited the burglary of the home of Kansas City Chiefs American football plyer Travis Kelce, husband of singer Taylor Swift, who lost around US$20,000 in cash, jewellery, a luxury watch and the jersey he wore in his first Super Bowl in a break-in.
“There are so many cases like that one. They include copycat crimes in their dynamics and methods; there’s plenty of competition among the thieves, they want to become famous.”
How they choose their victims
Bonilla said that most of the hits involve a similar prior level of planning and intelligence, especially when they are famous athletes or celebrities.
If a player posts photographs or videos of their home, swimming pool or luxury watches on Instagram or TikTok, or even gives a television interview filmed at home, the next step is identifying the property using geolocation and mapping tools.
“They showed me how they did it. They went on Google Maps or a similar app, they looked for the home and found it,” he said.
Once they have identified the property, the burglars wait for the right moment to strike.
“They do their homework, just like us in the police stalk them in our cars. They watch the movements, the changing of the guard for several days; they prefer it when homes are in a hilly or wooded area or in a golf course, making their getaway easier,” said the detective.
In the case of professional athletes, the gangs also study publicly available competition schedules to determine when their targets will be away from home.
Besides Kelce, investigators say the same modus operandi has been used in burglaries targeting Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and NBA players Luka Doncic, Ja Morant and Bobby Portis. In every case, the victims were away competing when their homes were broken into.
