Context : Suzaku and Chandra X-ray observations detected a new cluster of galaxies , Suzaku J1759 - 3450 , at a redshift z = 0.13 .
It is located behind the Milky Way , and the high Galactic dust extinction renders it nearly invisible at optical wavelengths .

Aims : We attempt here to confirm the galaxy cluster with near-infrared imaging observations , and to characterize its central member galaxies .

Methods : Images from the VVV survey were used to detect candidate member galaxies of Suzaku J1759 - 3450 within the central region of the cluster , up to 350 kpc from the X-ray peak emission .
Color-magnitude and color-color diagrams and morphology criteria allowed us to select the galaxies among the numerous foreground sources .

Results : Fifteen candidate cluster members were found very close to a modeled red-sequence at the redshift of the cluster .
Five members are extremely bright , and one is possibly a cD galaxy .
The asymmetry in the spatial distribution of the galaxies respect to the X-ray peak emission is an indicator of that this cluster is still suffering a virialization process .

Conclusions : Our investigation of Suzaku J1759 - 3450 demonstrates the potential of the VVV Survey to study the hidden population of galaxies in the Zone of Avoidance .