A man believed to have flown in a helicopter and dropped two grenades on Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, June 27, has released a five-part video manifesto urging his fellow citizens to fight “against tyranny.”
The video series was uploaded to the Instagram account of Oscar Perez, who describes himself as a member of the Cuerpo de Investigaciones Cientificas, Penales y Criminalisticas (CICPC), Venezuela’s intelligence and investigative organization. Perez is flanked by men carrying assault rifles and speaks into the camera, calling his countrymen “nationalists, patriots and institutionalists” who need to rise against an “evil government.”
“We have two options: to be judged tomorrow by our conscience and the people, or from today to rid ourselves of this corrupt government,” Perez says, after demanding the immediate resignation of President Nicolas Maduro. “We are warriors of God and our mission is to live at the service of the people. Viva Venezuela.”
According to reports from El Nacional and El Universal, Perez dropped at least one grenade on the Supreme Court building in Caracas from a helicopter bearing a banner that read “350 freedom”. Article 350 of Venezuela’s constitution allows the Venezuelan people to “disown any regime, legislation or authority that violates democratic values, principles and guarantees or encroaches upon human rights.”
Maduro immediately condemned the incident, calling it a “terrorist attack and an armed coup” against the country. Credit: Instagram/oscarperezgv via Storyful