Venezuela’s Most-Wanted Rebel Shared His Story, Just Before Death
With Mr. Pérez out of the public eye, the government painted a picture of a dangerous rebel band
that it said tried to kill people that day at the Supreme Court.
that They were the ones trafficking the drugs,
Mr. Pérez, killed last Monday by government forces, had spent his final years starring in spectacular
narratives — sometimes as a hero on the movie screen, other times as a real-life rebel.
Mr. Pérez said he blamed Mr. Maduro and his administration for what had befallen
Venezuela: the shortages, the corruption and the country’s rising crime.
Mr. Pérez said the movie also showed the kind of police force that he wished had existed in Venezuela: Mug shots displayed on high-tech screens.
There were clear skies above Caracas when the explosions sounded: They were from stun grenades thrown out of the helicopter,
and they were meant to generate attention without causing harm, Mr. Pérez said.
that Later that morning, Venezuela’s govern
Mr. Pérez said he had long thought of using a helicopter to make his dissent known.
Near the funeral, a man flew a kite that said "Liberty." Mr. Pérez was an actor, a detective and an insurgent.
But the reality he lived as the country’s economy collapsed was much different, Mr. Pérez said.
