CARACAS (Reuters) - Rogue Venezuelan helicopter pilot Oscar Perez was killed in a police operation on Monday along with six other members of a “terrorist cell”, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said on Tuesday.

Reporting by Caracas newsroom, writing by Brian EllsworthEditing by Chizu Nomiyama </s> Rogue Venezuelan helicopter pilot Oscar Perez was killed in a police operation on Monday along with six other anti-government militants, the interior minister said on Tuesday, spurring opposition complaints of human rights violations.

Perez, a photogenic former police officer who once starred in an action film, last year used a hijacked helicopter to attack government buildings and stole weapons from a military base in what he called a rebellion against President Nicolas Maduro.

He appeared with a bloody face in nearly a dozen Instagram videos early on Monday, saying he was surrounded by authorities shooting at him with grenade launchers even though he was promising to surrender.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said seven “terrorists” including Perez were killed in the operation outside Caracas along with two police officers involved in the raid.

“In the face of an attack that put the lives of security officials at risk, the attacking group was neutralised using established protocols, with the unfortunate result of seven dead terrorists,” Reverol said in a televised broadcast.

Perez rose to fame in June after allegedly hijacking a police helicopter, flying over Caracas’ centre and firing shots at and lobbing grenades on the Interior Ministry and the Supreme Court.

He claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was to fight what he said was a tyrannical government. He went into hiding afterward, but frequently appeared in videos that circulated on social media calling for resistance to Maduro.

The government described him as a “fanatic, extremist terrorist” and had been carrying out a manhunt for him since last June.

Critics initially questioned whether Perez’ attacks were staged in cahoots with the government to justify a further crackdown on the opposition.

But his death prompted an outcry over what critics called an extrajudicial killing and turned him into a martyr for hard-line foes of Maduro.

“We saw a group of civilians surrendering but, despite that, they were massacred,” said lawmaker Delsa Solorzano, who said the opposition-run congress would investigate Perez’ “execution.”

Venezuela is suffering an unprecedented economic crisis that has left its once-prosperous citizens suffering from rising malnutrition and preventable diseases. Foods and medicine are increasingly out of people’s reach because they are not available at supermarkets or are too expensive.

Maduro says the country is the victim of an “economic war” led by political adversaries and fuelled by economic sanctions levied by the government of US President Donald Trump. </s> Oscar Perez, a Venezuelan police pilot accused of stealing a helicopter and using it to attack the country’s Supreme Court in June, was killed Monday in Caracas, a government official told CNN.

The high-ranking member of the Venezuelan government asked to remain anonymous. CNN has not been able to independently confirm Perez’s death.

But, in a Monday speech to lawmakers, President Nicolas Maduro described an operation to hunt down the “terrorist group that attacked the Supreme Court.” Maduro said the targeted group was preparing a car bomb attack against the embassy of an unnamed country.

As a result of the operation, part of the terrorist group “fell down” and five people were arrested, he said, without detailing how many died or who they were. Two officers were killed in the siege, he said.

“Everyone who embarks on the path of terrorism and takes up arms against the republic — against the people — will get their response in due time from our armed forces and from our police forces. They should not doubt that,” he said.

According to a statement from the country’s Interior Ministry, heavily armed men from a “terrorist cell” opened fire on police and attempted to detonate a vehicle full of explosives, state broadcaster VTV reported.

The Interior Ministry said two officers were killed and five injured, and five people from the “terrorist cell” were arrested, VTV reported. Authorities have not released the names of those killed or captured.

The encounter took place in the western Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito.

Earlier Monday, Perez posted videos on social media saying his group was under attack. In the video, Perez holds a rifle and speaks to the camera with what appears to be blood on his face.

“We are not shooting and they keep attacking us,” Perez says. “We are trying to negotiate because there are innocent people here, there are civilians … they literally want to kill us.”

Perez, an officer in the country’s investigative police force, is known for leading a helicopter attack against the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court in June. The helicopter circled the city as Perez and his group, Equilibrio Nacional (National Balance), attacked the buildings with grenades and gunfire. No one was injured.

Perez disappeared after the incident and was declared a fugitive by President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

“It is better to go out and fight for a new future than to die kneeling to this regime,” Perez said in an interview with CNN en Español that aired Friday.

The rebel pilot had earned the moniker of Venezuelan Rambo, according to the Los Angeles Times. </s> CARACAS (REUTERS) - Rogue Venezuelan helicopter pilot Oscar Perez was killed in a police operation on Monday along with six other members of a "terrorist cell," the interior minister said on Tuesday (Jan 16), spurring opposition complaints of human rights violations.

Perez, a photogenic ex police officer who once starred in an action film, last year used a stolen helicopter to attack government buildings and stole weapons from a military base in what he called a rebellion against President Nicolas Maduro.

He appeared with a bloody face in nearly a dozen Instagram videos early on Monday, saying he was surrounded by authorities shooting at him with grenade launchers even though he was promising to surrender.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol in a press conference said seven "terrorists" including Perez were killed in the operation outside Caracas along with two police officers involved in the raid.

He said Perez's group had attacked first and that officials had acted in self-defence.

Maduro's socialist government has described Perez as a"fanatic, extremist terrorist" and had been carrying out a manhunt for him since last June.

Government critics initially questioned whether Perez'attacks were staged in cahoots with the government to justify a further crackdown on the opposition.

But his death prompted an outcry over what critics called an extrajudicial killing and turned him into a martyr for hard-line foes of Maduro.

"Honour and glory to those brave citizens who gave their life for their ideals," tweeted former Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma, now in exile in Spain after himself being jailed on charges of leading a coup against Maduro. </s> CARACAS, VENEZUELA (CBSMiami/CNN) — A Venezuelan police pilot accused of stealing a helicopter to attack the country’s Supreme Court in June was killed Monday, a government official said.

The high-ranking member of the Venezuelan government asked to remain anonymous. CNN has not been able to independently confirm Oscar Perez’s death.

But, in a Monday speech to lawmakers, President Nicolas Maduro described an operation to hunt down the “terrorist group that attacked the Supreme Court.” Maduro said the targeted group was preparing a car bomb attack against the embassy of an unnamed country.

As a result of the operation, part of the terrorist group “fell down” and five people were arrested, he said, without detailing how many died or who they were. Two officers were killed in the siege, he said.

“Everyone who embarks on the path of terrorism and takes up arms against the republic — against the people — will get their response in due time from our armed forces and from our police forces. They should not doubt that,” he said.

According to a statement from the country’s Interior Ministry, heavily armed men from a “terrorist cell” opened fire on police and attempted to detonate a vehicle full of explosives, state broadcaster VTV reported.

The Interior Ministry said two officers were killed and five injured, and five people from the “terrorist cell” were arrested, VTV reported. Authorities have not released the names of those killed or captured.

The encounter took place in the western Caracas neighborhood of El Junquito.

Earlier Monday, Perez posted videos on social media saying his group was under attack. In the video, Perez holds a rifle and speaks to the camera with what appears to be blood on his face.

“We are not shooting and they keep attacking us,” Perez says. “We are trying to negotiate because there are innocent people here, there are civilians … they literally want to kill us.”

Perez, an officer in the country’s investigative police force, is known for leading a helicopter attack against the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court in June. The helicopter circled the city as Perez and his group, Equilibrio Nacional (National Balance), attacked the buildings with grenades and gunfire. No one was injured.

Perez disappeared after the incident and was declared a fugitive by President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

“It is better to go out and fight for a new future than to die kneeling to this regime,” Perez said in an interview with CNN en Español that aired Friday. </s> Venezuelan authorities say they’ve succeeded in hunting and killing a rebellious police officer accused of carrying out a helicopter and grenade attack against the government last year.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said Tuesday that the officer, 36-year-old Oscar Perez, was killed along with six other members of a “terrorist cell” during a shootout with government forces Monday. Two police officers were also reportedly killed in the shootout.

Perez became internationally known in June when he staged the brazen helicopter attack in Caracas, according to The Associated Press. He’s since been a fugitive, posting videos calling for an uprising against what he called Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s tyrannical government.

The New York-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) — a group founded in 2005 by Venezuelan film producer Thor Halvorssen Mendoza — called the operation an “extrajudicial killing … by Venezuelan security forces.”

In a statement on its website, the HRF claimed Venezuelan state security operatives cornered Perez and his allies at their hideout in the El Junquito neighborhood near Caracas.

“Despite repeated pleas of surrender by Perez and those in his group, government forces opened fire against them with anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades and sniper rifles,” the statement said. “Prior to his death, Perez uploaded videos of the assault on his hideout and his pleas for surrender to social media.”

Mr. Halvorssen Mendoza was quoted in the statement as saying the operation against Mr. Perez was “proof … that Nicolas Maduro is a ruthless dictator.” </s> Caracas (CNN) Oscar Perez, a Venezuelan police pilot accused of stealing a helicopter and using it to attack the country's Supreme Court in June, was killed Monday in Caracas, a government official told CNN.

The high-ranking member of the Venezuelan government asked to remain anonymous. CNN has not been able to independently confirm Perez's death.

But, in a Monday speech to lawmakers, President Nicolas Maduro described an operation to hunt down the "terrorist group that attacked the Supreme Court." Maduro said the targeted group was preparing a car bomb attack against the embassy of an unnamed country.

As a result of the operation, part of the terrorist group "fell down" and five people were arrested, he said, without detailing how many died or who they were. Two officers were killed in the siege, he said.

"Everyone who embarks on the path of terrorism and takes up arms against the republic -- against the people -- will get their response in due time from our armed forces and from our police forces. They should not doubt that," he said.

Read More </s> Venezuelan police have killed a former police officer who had been on the run after stealing a helicopter and attacking government buildings six months ago, according to officials.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol confirmed on Twitter on Tuesday that Oscar Perez was killed with six accomplices in a gun battle near the capital, Caracas, on Monday.

Six members of Perez's group, who Reverol called members of a "terrorist cell", were arrested by police.

Two police officers were also killed in the operation.

In June 2017, Perez and several unidentified accomplices used a stolen helicopter to launch four grenades at the Supreme Tribunal in Caracas, before shooting at the interior ministry with firearms.

On Monday, an elite Venezuelan police force located Perez and his allies in El Junquito, on the outskirts of Caracas.

During the raid, Perez posted several videos of himself online showing injuries from a clash between him and the authorities.

In some of the Instagram videos, shots can be heard.

"They are firing at us with grenade launchers. We said we are going to surrender, but they do not want to let us surrender. They want to kill us," a bloodied Perez said.

However, Venezuelan authorities said the polices forces came under attack by Perez's group as they were negotiating a surrender, claiming the group tried to detonate a vehicle loaded with explosives.

People in El Junquito took to the streets to show their support of Perez, who became Venezuela's most wanted man after the helicopter attack.

Shortly after that incident, Perez declared that he belonged to an uprising of members of the security forces who were fed up with President Nicolas Maduro's administration.

The Venezuelan authorities later issued an arrest warrant in which he was accused of a "terrorist attack". </s> Several people, including two police officers, were killed in an operation to capture a helicopter pilot who bombed Venezuela’s Supreme Court during anti-government protests last year, the interior ministry said Monday.

A ministry statement said members of a “terrorist cell” were killed in a fierce gunbattle, and five were captured, but did not say whether the pilot, Oscar Perez, was among the dead or detained.

At the height of street protests against President Nicolas Maduro last June, Perez and unidentified accomplices flew over Caracas in a police helicopter and dropped four grenades on the Supreme Court before opening fire on the interior ministry. There were no casualties.

Perez has been on the run since Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant through Interpol after accusing him of a “terrorist attack.”

The 36-year-old former elite police officer and actor has regularly taunted the government during his time in hiding, saying he was fighting against Maduro’s “tyranny” and the “narco-dictatorship.”

He urged Venezuelans “not to lose heart. Fight, take to the streets, it is time we are free.”

Two weeks after the attack on the Supreme Court, Perez — at the time Venezuela’s most-wanted man — turned up at a Caracas ceremony to commemorate those who had died in the wave of anti-government protests.

In all, 125 people were killed between April and July as authorities used force to put down protests to unseat Maduro.

Eventually, the protests fizzled out and the socialist president prevailed, despite a staggering crisis caused by falling oil prices, spiralling inflation and corruption.

“These terrorists, who were heavily armed with high-caliber weapons, opened fire on the officials responsible for their capture,” the interior ministry statement said.

It said those who resisted had been killed.

The police were “attacked violently” when they were negotiating the surrender of Perez’s group, it said, adding that they had “tried to detonate a vehicle loaded with explosives.”

AFP journalists trying to reach the area saw an army tank, special forces and ambulances rush to the scene.

Perez said in a video released on Twitter earlier Monday that he and his companions were surrounded and pinned down by police marksmen on a roadway at El Junquito on the outskirts of Caracas.

“They are firing at us with grenade launchers. We said we are going to surrender but they do not want to let us surrender. They want to kill us,” a bloodied Perez said in one of several dramatic videos posted online.

Perez, a former elite police officer, is seen with other men in one of the videos, some of them armed.

He said they were being besieged by snipers.

“We will die standing up defending our land, never kneeling before the tyrants,” another of Perez’s messages said.

Vice president of the ruling Socialist party, Diosdado Cabello, said on Twitter the Police Special Action Force (FAES) had launched the operation to arrest Perez.

He said the security forces had “responded with fire” when two officers were wounded in the operation.

Iris Varela, Venezuela’s minister with responsibility for prisons, rejoiced at the news that police had finally cornered Perez “like a rat.”

“What a coward now that he has been caught like a rat. Where is the courage he had to attack military units, kill and injure officers and steal weapons?” she wrote on Twitter.

In December, Perez claimed responsibility for an attack on a military base in the country’s north, in which weapons were seized.

Perez said in a message to his children that his fight against the government was dedicated to them and to the children of Venezuela, suffering the worst of the food and medicine shortages caused by the economic crisis.

Perez, blond and blue-eyed, was well known to Venezuelans even before his attack on the Supreme Court — as an actor. He starred in the film “Muerte Suspendida” (Suspended Death), an action movie based on the true story of the kidnapping of a Portuguese businessman in Caracas.
Two police officers and several gunmen are killed near Caracas in an operation to capture Óscar Pérez, the rogue pilot responsible for the Caracas helicopter incident on June 27, 2017, according to the Venezuelan government. Five people have also been arrested.