BY RYAN DUFFY
PHOTOS BY SANTIAGO STELLEY

Three of the statues of Ismael Sanchez at his shrine in the Cementerio General del Sur in Caracas. That notch in his mouth is for cigarettes and joints.

Right outside Ismael’s shrine, a smaller plot features a large statue of Miguelito, known as El Pelón (“Baldy”). One of Ismael’s caretakers told us that he didn’t know much about him, except that he used to rob people too. After a pause, he added, “I don’t think he did anything good for humanity.” Another popular shrine, a couple of feet away from Ismael’s, contains statues of other members of the Holy Thugs court like Freddy and Ratón (“The Mouse”). Watch The Vice Guide to Travel this month on VBS.TV for the further adventures of Ismael Sanchez and his gang of saintly criminals/crimey saints.