Shivangi Sinha
Netflix’s ‘High End: The Watch Theft Ring’ (originally titled ‘Alta gama: El caso relojes’) examines how Chilean investigators managed to uncover one of the largest jewelry theft networks operating in the country. Among the documentary’s particularly revealing interviews is that of Carla Venegas, daughter of Estrella Dinamarca, who has been accused of being one of the central figures behind the operation. Carla reflected on her childhood, her understanding of her mother’s jewelry business, and what she knew about how it worked. She also offered insight into the extent of her awareness of the alleged criminal activities surrounding it.
Carla Venegas Was With Her Mother When They Were Stopped at Santiago Airport
Carla Venegas was still a child when her mother moved with her from Malloa to Santiago to start afresh. Estrella raised Carla and her two siblings, Cristián Belén Venegas Dinamarca and Juan Carlos Venegas Dinamarca, as a single mother. Carla recalled that her mother’s jewelry business began to take shape at her school, where Estrella started making personalized name-tag necklaces for children before eventually opening her own shop. Growing up, Carla said she witnessed several petty thieves approaching the store to sell jewelry to her mother.
Carla recounted some particularly striking incidents in which people would conceal jewelry inside their mouths before spitting the pieces out onto the shop counter. Carla recalled accompanying her mother on numerous international trips, something she never considered unusual and never thought to question. She also remembered occasions when Estrella would leave her and her siblings alone for a couple of days, but said she never asked where her mother went or what she was doing.
At times, Carla said she, her siblings and some of Estrella’s business associates would travel together as a family. According to her, these trips also made it easier to distribute jewelry across different bags and pass themselves off as an ordinary family wearing the pieces. In 2017, Carla accompanied her mother on one such return journey when they were stopped by authorities and a substantial quantity of jewelry was discovered. She recalled how Estrella managed to talk her way out of the situation, but neither of them anticipated the investigation that would eventually follow.
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Carla Venegas is Standing in Her Mother’s Support Even Today
Carla said in the documentary that she had spoken to Marco Antonio López, better known as Parived, on several occasions, including, allegedly, about business matters. She accused him of issuing bad cheques to her mother and recalled being shocked when they reportedly failed to clear. In January 2023, when Chilean authorities carried out simultaneous searches at several properties, Carla’s home was among those raided. Although she faced some charges in connection with the case, she was not placed in pretrial detention. In May 2023, she and her siblings became subjects of a lawsuit filed by Chile’s tax authority (SII) over the alleged clandestine trade in stolen goods.
In the documentary, Carla explained that she is required to report to and sign in at a local administrative office as part of the proceedings. She considers this an unfair punishment, particularly because she believes those more responsible have faced neither imprisonment nor similar restrictions. She has stood by her mother throughout the ordeal, but reflected on how jewelry, which she had always associated with something beautiful, has come to represent something deeply troubling in their lives.
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