Lima, Peru — For years, Víctor Sono Neira was trapped in a cycle of dependancy and crime, working as a global pickpocket. His life was stuffed with robberies, escapes, and clashes with the regulation. Nevertheless, in an surprising flip, he determined to reside on the streets of Lima, Peru’s Historic Heart in the hunt for a brand new goal.
Right this moment, at 72 years outdated, Víctor is a dwelling testimony of change. He resides on the Sembrando Esperanza shelter within the district of Villa María del Triunfo, a house for susceptible individuals in conditions of abandonment. Though he faces well being points similar to diabetes and hypertension, his each day routine consists of studying, reflection, and religious accompaniment.
“How is it attainable {that a} man as unhealthy, outdated, and felony as I used to be, who made so many errors and even took the lives of others, might be so beloved by God? Why me? Who am I?” Víctor displays in an interview with Peru Stories.
Born in Lima on October 5, 1952, his story is marked by a previous of extra and violence. The scars on his pores and skin bear witness to that point: bullet wounds from robberies and police chases, knife cuts from scrappy streetfights, and accidents that almost value him his life. Regardless of accumulating wealth via illicit actions, right now he owns no materials possessions and lives trusting in what he calls “Windfall.”
Over time, Víctor has discovered solace in spirituality. A devotee of the Lord of Miracles (a revered picture of Christ in Peru, celebrated with huge processions in October), he has devoted his time to prayer and reflection. “I really feel that Jesus is right here, proper beside me, sitting with me. God is current, speaking to us, chatting with me via my brothers,” he says.
For Víctor, his story is not only one in every of repentance however of a steady seek for which means. “I’ve to simply accept God’s mercy, even when it’s onerous for me… I’m cussed, I argue with God like a son does along with his father. However that’s what He likes: to see how, regardless of all the things, I like Him extra every day. He’s my life,” he states.
Right this moment, his testimony is a reminder that change is feasible, even in probably the most troublesome circumstances. Dealing with his current with gratitude and willpower, Víctor strikes ahead, satisfied that his story can encourage others in search of a second probability.
From a humble childhood to the primary theft that marked his life
Víctor grew up within the Rímac district of Lima in a humble house along with his grandmother after being deserted by his mom, whom he by no means met. Her absence left a void in his life that also echoes inside him. He lived in a small home along with his uncles and grandfather in an atmosphere of hardship. Moreover, his mom’s sister handed away in Barcelona, abandoning three younger kids with whom he shared a mattress.
Throughout his childhood, he studied at María Jesús College, a Christian-oriented day college, and later at Filomeno College. He recurrently attended San Lázaro Church, the place he obtained breakfast and spiritual instruction. “Again then, all the things revolved across the Lord of Miracles and Saint Rose of Lima. I might go to Saint Martin de Porres at his church in Caquetá, additionally to have breakfast. That was my world,” he remembers.
Nevertheless, poverty and the affect of his environment formed his destiny. From a younger age, he helped his grandmother by washing garments for the military and started frequenting a neighborhood tavern the place pickpockets gathered. “There have been no medication, however there was alcohol. On the nook of the home, there was a resort the place you possibly can watch the prostitutes via the window. All of the little children would stand there at night time to look. And all of that calls you in. I noticed how they pulled out stolen wallets within the tavern and counted the cash. They weren’t robbers; they had been pickpockets,” he recounts.
His first theft occurred spontaneously, influenced by what he noticed on daily basis. Whereas using the tram, he noticed how pickpockets skillfully extracted cash with out being observed and determined to mimic them. “After we left college to purchase fruit, I might slip my hand into pockets and take cash,” he remembers. On one event, he managed to get 100 Peruvian soles, a sum that deeply impacted him. “I went loopy,” he confesses, although concern quickly overwhelmed him.
Over time, his atmosphere led him additional into crime. He admired the well-dressed males within the tavern and his personal uncles, who spent their wages on ingesting and trendy clothes. “I noticed the garments they’d, and I appreciated them. They had been well-dressed, elegant. I needed that,” Víctor explains.
At that time, he determined to go away college and began working as a shoeshiner in Lima’s Plaza de Armas. “Every little thing I earned, I gave to my grandmother, who saved it with out spending it,” he says. There, he met different kids who additionally shined sneakers however had been concerned in felony actions. At some point, he watched some women skillfully opening outdated purses. That was when he determined to take the following step and immerse himself on the earth that might finally form his future.
Víctor’s path as a global pickpocket and financial institution robber
At 11 years outdated, Víctor stole from the spouse of a diplomat in Plaza de Acho bullring. He was arrested and despatched to a juvenile detention middle for practically three years. By then, his mindset was already formed by crime. “The children I frolicked with weren’t simply anybody. I began dressing properly. However I additionally noticed how a few of them purchased homes for his or her moms,” he remembers.
This was the start of his travels. Alongside along with his group, he moved via Cusco, Trujillo, and different cities in the hunt for different individuals’s wallets. Ultimately, the migration of pickpockets took him even additional: Brazil, Chile, and at last Argentina in 1969, when he was 15 years outdated. “I had by no means seen so many {dollars} in my life,” he remembers. With that fortune, he purchased a home for his mom in Lima.
Crime took him even farther. He traveled to Italy with simply $100 and, inside days, had made hundreds. Later, he arrived in Mexico, the place he joined the gang “Los Angelitos,” which specialised in financial institution robberies and stealing briefcases on bikes. Throughout one heist, he was shot within the neck and declared lifeless on the morgue. “They later found I used to be nonetheless alive,” he recounts.
For years, he dedicated crimes in Mexico, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, and Malaysia, the place he spent two years in jail. He traveled simply, bribing customs brokers and airport officers. Regardless of all the things, he by no means deserted his religion. “I at all times carried a picture of the Lord of Miracles and saint playing cards with me. I might go to Mass after which exit to steal,” he confesses.
The start of Víctor’s fall
Víctor’s story reached a turning level when he returned to Lima. By then, he was married to Julia, however their relationship started to deteriorate attributable to his indifference. Whereas he targeted on serving to his neighbors and noticed himself as “the daddy of the neighborhood,” his marriage took a backseat. Over time, his lack of consideration to his spouse severely strained their bond.
On the similar time, Víctor grew to become concerned in a violent incident that would depart a long-lasting affect on his life. He remembers being caught in an armed confrontation within the district of Surquillo whereas being pursued by the police. “My automotive crashed right into a ravine and crumpled like an accordion. As soon as once more, I ended up within the morgue,” he says. “How may I’ve survived? God will need to have willed it that approach.” Because of the accident, he was paralyzed for a time.
The chases, robberies, and shootouts continued, however his scenario worsened when Julia determined to go away him. “That’s when my downfall started,” he admits. After the breakup, he began ingesting excessively.
In 1986, at 34 years outdated, he agreed to participate within the theft of the pharmaceutical firm Química Suiza, a heist that shortly grew to become a media sensation. “The theft went unsuitable, and I used to be sentenced to 25 years and a day in jail, although I really spent 30 years behind bars,” he says. In jail, he developed an dependancy to medicines and abused varied substances. “It was horrible—I used to be moved from one jail to a different throughout Peru,” he remembers.
These years in confinement had been a darkish interval, marked by medication, rage, and helplessness. “I came upon my father had hanged himself. I felt horrible, overwhelmed by issues,” he says with unhappiness.
A cry for rescue
“I couldn’t take it anymore, I simply couldn’t take it. I used to be saying to God, ‘Lord, get me out, buddy. And I’m by no means coming again right here, Dad. However get me out of right here, outdated man.’” That’s how Víctor started to cry out to God, in search of a approach out of his lifetime of confinement, dependancy, and struggling.
After being transferred to a pavilion inside the jail, he met two nuns who grew to become a pleasant serving to hand. “I virtually began dwelling within the chapel. It was a brand new chapter for me. It was the eighties,” he remembers. Though this new path was not with out relapses—throughout which he resumed ingesting and utilizing medication—one thing inside him started to alter.
After reviewing his case, the jail authorities decided that he had already served extra time than was essential. That’s how he left jail and his life started to alter. “Inside, I not needed to steal or do medication. However want… You realize, that drives you to do issues. However it wasn’t like earlier than. My thoughts had modified. I used to be already completely different, I used to be already nearer to the Lord of Miracles,” he mirrored.
After leaving jail, he determined to reside on the road in order that his kids may have a greater life, away from his addictions. “I needed the lady caring for them to be glad. She was already dwelling with one other associate, so I broke the household dependency,” he explains.
For years, Víctor survived on the streets and scavenged meals from the trash. It was in that scenario that he started to obtain meals from the Nazarenas Carmelites, who run the Church of the Nazarenas. “Since so many individuals sat on the bench close to the monastery, at some point I made a decision to remain for the night time. That grew to become my routine. Later, I additionally joined an Alcoholics Nameless group,” he relates.
To earn a dwelling, he began promoting candies on the buses. Throughout that course of, his mentor on the rehabilitation middle, Tuto, requested him a query that marked a turning level: “Do you wish to go away this behind, Víctor? Do you wish to cease crying?” Then he suggested him, “For those who actually wish to transfer ahead, you will need to first cleanse your inside self. Do away with all that particles you carry inside: the hatred, the anger, the resentment, the manipulation, the lies… all these flaws. As a result of your downside isn’t on the market—it’s inside you.”
As he obtained help and solidarity on the streets, Víctor started to alter. “I thank the bottom for letting me sleep. I thank the rain for laundry me. Even on chilly nights, I discovered to see all the things in a different way,” he says.
Over time, he by no means stopped attending the Church of the Nazarenas and have become a part of the neighborhood that each October pays homage to the Lord of Miracles. One morning, upon waking, he discovered a spiritual behavior from the Brotherhood beside him, left by a Carmelite sister. From then on, he joined the custom of carrying the picture within the processions.
Later, one of many overseers of the Brotherhood invited him to serve in a social eating corridor. “He took me to assist individuals who had been homeless, alcoholics, all of them. I began serving individuals like me. I discovered to scrub my brothers’ toes,” he concludes.
A brand new starting at Casa de Todos and Sembrando Esperanza
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Víctor’s life took a brand new flip. The Plaza de Acho grew to become a refuge for homeless individuals, giving rise to the Casa de Todos venture. “The perfect years of my life had been but to return. I began serving to with nice enthusiasm to construct that place, and I even grew to become the general public face of the venture,” he remembers. Greater than only a roof over his head, he discovered a goal there.
Nevertheless, after the pandemic, he returned to the streets. It was then that he obtained a brand new alternative on the Sembrando Esperanza house—an area devoted to the care of the aged and other people with disabilities. There, he was welcomed with open arms and started to serve others with dedication.
Via Jenny, the house’s director, and different neighborhood members, Víctor began to see his expertise from a brand new perspective. “On this home, you solely want to go searching to see tales of overcoming. I by no means imagined I might find yourself right here. Most of the individuals who reside on this place live proof that it’s at all times attainable to maneuver ahead,” he shares, his voice stuffed with emotion.
Víctor and his new perspective on life
Within the house the place he now resides, Víctor has discovered an area of peace and private progress. Among the many achievements he values most, he proudly mentions his kids: “God labored a miracle with my kids… Certainly one of my daughters is a police captain. The opposite is a physician.”
But he nonetheless carries a deep longing—to reconnect along with his mom. “I wish to meet my mom. That’s the solely ache I carry now. That’s why this outdated man is so stuffed with anger, as a result of I really feel like one thing is lacking… Generally I feel that if I proceed dwelling on the streets, maybe destiny will grant me the prospect to see her once I die. That’s my longing,” he confesses.
Víctor acknowledges that his life hasn’t been simple and that he has made errors, however he nonetheless wonders why he continues on. “I’m similar to anybody else, with errors, flaws, and difficulties in my life. However I don’t know why I’m nonetheless alive, I don’t know why it’s me,” he displays.
Right this moment, he’s grateful for each little element of his day-to-day life. “My mission is easy: care for my laundry, take care of my brothers, my little garments, deal with them properly. Sit on the desk and joke with the others, with the outdated of us. Go to the hospital with them—that’s my life,” he states merely.
And as somebody who has skilled each loss and the harshness of avenue life, but in addition hope, Víctor values the best issues. “The best present life typically offers me is just having my 50 cents—those that enable me to purchase the newspaper on daily basis, regardless that typically I don’t have them. However there’s at all times somebody who seems to assist me.”
His story continues to resonate as an affidavit of resilience, exhibiting that even within the hardest moments, there may be at all times a chance to rebuild.
