Deadly siege of rebels transfixes Venezuela
Ex-action hero says troops out to kill him as officials claim they had dismantled ‘terrorist group’
In a deadly shoot-out on Monday that transfixed Venezuela, security forces surrounded the Caracas hideout of a rebel band led by a rogue helicopter pilot who was once an action movie actor and is now the government’s most-wanted man.
“They don’t want us to surrender, they want us dead!” the rebel leader, Oscar Perez, shouts in one of a series of videos posted on Twitter that showed him bloodied and under siege.
In a statement on Monday, Venezuelan officials said they had dismantled what they called a dangerous terrorist group, saying five members had been captured. Two police officers were killed and five were injured, they said.
Photos posted on social media sites that were said to have been leaked from the scene of the firefight showed what were believed to be the bodies of dead rebels.
On Monday, Venezuelans were glued to the unfolding events on social media. In the morning, Perez announced that his location had been discovered. Then he began releasing a series of videos.
“We’re negotiating with the officials and the prosecutors,” he says calmly into the camera in one of the first messages, appearing in a dark room. Other rebels can be heard in the background shouting into phones.
A video attributed to Perez’s mother was posted on Twitter in which she pleaded with the government to allow him to surrender.
But the firefight continued. “They’re throwing grenade after grenade,” he said, his face bloodied as he crouched behind an oven with his rifle. “They’re shooting at us. Venezuelans: Freedom forever!”
In one of the last messages, Perez appears exhausted. His face is covered with blood and he is panting. The sounds of gunshots ring in the background.
“They don’t want us to surrender,” he says.