| Dorangel Vargas | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | El comegente, the Hannibal Lecter of the Andes |
| Born | 1957 (age 54–55) |
| Killings | |
| Number of victims: | 10+ |
| Span of killings | 1997–1999 |
| Country | Venezuela |
| Date apprehended | February 1999 |
Dorangel Vargas (born 1957),[1] known as "El comegente" and the "Hannibal Lecter of the Andes",[2] is a serial killer and cannibal in Venezuela. He was a homeless man who used to hunt passersby at a park in the city of San Cristobal, Táchira State. Once he was caught, he confessed to killing and eating at least 10 men in a period of two years preceding his arrest in 1999.
Dubbed the "Hannibal Lecter of the Andes" by the local press, Vargas claims to have eaten up to 10 men in two years. He was arrested in February 1999, in the city of San Cristobal, near to the Colombian border.
"Sure I eat people," Vargas told reporters. "Anyone can eat human flesh, but you have to wash and garnish it well to avoid diseases... I only eat the parts with muscles, particularly thighs and calves which are my favorite ... I make a very tasty stew with the tongue and I use the eyes to make a nutritious and healthy soup." Vargas said he prefers the taste of men to women and will not eat hands, feet or testicles, "although I've been on the point of trying them on various occasions." He said he rejected overweight men because they had too much cholesterol, and the elderly were spared because their flesh "is contaminated and very tough."
However, notwithstanding the large number of bones found buried around his shack, many doubt the veracity of his story. Press reports claim that he preyed on homeless men and laborers whom he clubbed to death with a metal tube, but Vargas said he was "given" the bodies by various people, including the police. Some locals speculate that Vargas may be being used as a scapegoat for a ring of human organ traffickers. Congress said it planned to investigate reports that Vargas is a former mental hospital patient who was arrested on similar charges four years ago but released shortly afterward.