{"id":258151,"date":"2026-06-07T13:38:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T13:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/258151\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T13:38:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T13:38:31","slug":"in-venezuela-the-debt-collector-is-the-devil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/258151\/","title":{"rendered":"In Venezuela, the Debt Collector Is the Devil"},"content":{"rendered":"

To reach Dr. Diablo\u2019s sanctum, I descended into the basement of a complex<\/a> of Brutalist towers, its concrete walls heavily stained by decades of vehicle exhaust and tropical humidity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome to Purgatory,\u201d proclaimed a sign above a commanding statue of a winged demon.<\/p>\n

Swords and antique pistols bedeck the shelves of the windowless room. An illustrated Bible on a book stand was opened to the Flemish Baroque artist Anthony van Dyck\u2019s painting<\/a> \u201cThe Brazen Serpent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to make a strong first impression,\u201d said Rodrigo Herrera, arguably Venezuela\u2019s best-known debt collector, as he splashed on some cologne.<\/p>\n

His premise is simple: Individuals and companies hire him to collect debts ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. As Dr. Diablo, he then uses public humiliation to pressure deadbeats into paying up. Many do after his \u201cAnti-Debtor Mobile Squad\u201d ambushes them, often at work.<\/p>\n

This entourage includes a pitchfork-wielding right-hand man clad as the devil; a female \u201cdiablita\u201d in demon horns, skintight pants and a sequined red boa; and Mr. Herrera himself in dark sunglasses, a black suit and a flame-adorned necktie.<\/p>\n

Such circuslike street tactics reflect the imaginative ways Venezuelans find to resolve disputes in a country where rule of law has been gutted by corruption and one-party rule.<\/p>\n

Debts are collected in other ways, and traditionally these methods often involve violence. But Mr. Herrera, 75, explicitly rejects physical intimidation, opting instead for something resembling performance art.<\/p>\n

Born in Ecuador, he emigrated to Caracas at age 20 in 1970, when Venezuela ranked among Latin America\u2019s richest nations. After obtaining a law degree, he said he saw Venezuela\u2019s legal system develop into a slow-moving \u201csewer reeking of corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Mr. Herrera said he also smelled a business opportunity in such impunity.<\/p>\n

He started his venture, called Dr. Diablo\u2019s, in the 1990s, when a crisis of confidence in Venezuela\u2019s institutions was opening the way for Hugo Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s rise to the presidency<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since then, Mr. Herrera has charged a commission of about 20 percent of the debts he is hired to collect.<\/p>\n

Inspiration for his devilish venture, he said, came from \u201cCurse of the Demon,\u201d a 1957 horror film<\/a> he saw as a boy. It stars Dana Andrews as an American who travels to London to debunk a satanic cult, only to find its powers are real.<\/p>\n

With a flair for the dramatic, the silver-haired Mr. Herrera has taken the prince of darkness routine to a whole other level.<\/p>\n

When his retinue headed out one afternoon in May to mortify a debtor, they strutted through the streets of Caracas in full regalia. \u201cIt\u2019s the devil!\u201d passers-by yelled, whipping out phones to take pictures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a lawyer and I know how the system works,\u201d said Ada Gallardo, 69, one observer. \u201cNo one trusts a judge. We need more people like Dr. Diablo to get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Herrera and his aides climbed into two flame-emblazoned, smoke-belching vintage pickup trucks, one a 1951 Ford F100, the other a souped-up 1955 Chevrolet Apache called El Demolidor.<\/p>\n

The only license plate on the back of The Demolisher was in English. It said, \u201cViagra: Spice up your life!\u201d<\/p>\n

The trucks wound their way through Caracas traffic, drawing more cheers. Then they arrived at their destination: a hardware store in the city center. Its owner, Mr. Herrera said, owed his client thousands of dollars for paint.<\/p>\n

Jaws dropped among bystanders as Dr. Diablo\u2019s posse approached the store. He politely asked to speak with the owner. Almost in a whisper, Mr. Herrera told the man he still had debts to pay.<\/p>\n

Visibly ruffled, the owner, Jos\u00e9 G\u00f3mez, insisted he was paying in installments. He showed his ledger. Mr. Herrera shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is absolutely ridiculous,\u201d said Mr. G\u00f3mez, 60. \u201cI work hard, I have diabetes, and now I have to deal with this kind of crap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Herrera left, but warned that he\u2019d be back if the debt remained unpaid.<\/p>\n

Away from the scene, Mr. Herrera insisted that such work isn\u2019t for the fainthearted. He always packs a gun for self-defense, and said he was largely successful getting his clients money they are owed.<\/p>\n

Years ago, when an oil boom lifted Venezuela\u2019s economy and people were spending freely and taking on greater debt, his company was thriving. Dozens of Dr. Diablo billboards decorated Caracas.<\/p>\n

One large U.S. law firm once hired him to successfully collect a $1.5 million debt, he reminisced. He walked around with three scantily clad diablitas in tow. A Great Dane, Dami\u00e1n, would accompany him on his rounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cDami\u00e1n\u2019s in heaven now,\u201d Mr. Herrera said.<\/p>\n

Business dried up when Venezuela\u2019s economy cratered a decade ago. Clients and debtors alike fled the country. The Covid-19 pandemic forced him to temporarily suspend operations. A leaking roof damaged his subterranean office.<\/p>\n

He recently decided to get back in the game. Mr. Herrera said he was now pinning his hopes on oil money pumping life back into the economy after U.S. forces deposed Venezuela\u2019s former leader earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOil generates spending and spending generates debt,\u201d he explained. \u201cBrother, even the devil has to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To reach Dr. Diablo\u2019s sanctum, I descended into the basement of a complex of Brutalist towers, its concrete…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[42467,80608,81886,9,11,10,7318],"class_list":["post-258151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-caracas-venezuela","tag-collectors-and-collections","tag-credit-and-debt","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-venezuela"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}