Helicopter attack fugitive is killed in shoot-out

OFFICIALS in Venezuela confirmed yesterday that a rebellious police officer who led a helicopter attack in Caracas last year was killed in a shoot-out with security forces.

Oscar Pérez was among seven rebels who died on Monday fighting against police and soldiers in a small mountain community outside of Caracas, Nestor Reverol, the Interior Minister, said. Two police officers were killed and eight others gravely injured, he said.

Opposition lawmakers and human rights groups called for an investigation into the deaths after video images showed Pérez shouting over gunfire that they wished to surrender. “We’re going to turn ourselves in!” Pérez said in the video.

A former action-movie star and pilot, Pérez leapt into the spotlight in June, when he stole a helicopter and used it to lob grenades and fire at government buildings. Nobody was killed in the attack. Pérez, 36, became a fugitive, posting videos on Instagram calling on Venezuelans to take to the streets against what he called President Nicolas Maduro’s tyrannical government.