FUGITIVE REBELS TAKEN DOWN IN DEADLY SHOOTOUT

Venezuelan special forces on Monday captured five members of a band led by a rebellious police officer who has been on the run since stealing a helicopter and launching grenades at government buildings in the nation’s capital last year, officials said.

It wasn’t clear if Oscar Perez himself had been killed or captured in the operation after more than six months on the lam. Two officers were killed and five seriously injured during a shootout with Perez and his comrades, the Ministry of Interior Relations said.

“The members of this terrorist cell who conducted armed resistance were taken down and five criminals captured and detained,” the statement said. In videos posted on Instagram, Perez has claimed that he is fighting for Venezuela’s freedom from a tyrannical government that is starving its people. He now has tens of thousands of followers.