CARACAS – Venezuelan authorities confirmed Tuesday that a hero of the exiled opposition was killed during a raid in Caracas' El Junquito neighborhood Monday night.
Oscar Perez, a highly trained police officer who belonged to an elite unit, was among a group of rebels who raised their weapons against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime when they stole a helicopter and attacked government buildings in June.
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Interior Minister Nestor Reverol confirmed Tuesday that security forces killed Perez and seven others when they surrounded a hideout. Reverol referred to Perez and the others as a "terrorist cell." Perez said on Instagram that there were women and children in the home.
Venezuela's deposed chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz, a former Chavista, released a statement Tuesday, saying the fatal siege was an extrajudicial execution and evidence that Maduro's government's "culture of death" is violating human rights.
"The world was able to see in real time how this young man surrendered and displayed his disposition to turn himself, which was ignored by the security forces, because the order was to kill him," Ortega Diaz said. "If Oscar Perez's actions constitute to crimes, it was up to an impartial justice to determine it."
Ortega Diaz, who left the country, asked the United Nations and the international criminal court to consider the evidence. She also asked members of the military to follow in Perez's steps and fight to restore Venezuela's democracy.
Venezuelans in South Florida followed Perez's last 15 videos on Instagram, in which he said they were trying to negotiate their surrender and the protection of the civilians who were in the house. He also urged Venezuelans to continue their fight for freedom.