“Venezuela,
they don’t want us to turn ourselves in. They literally want to kill us, they
just told us (so)…stay strong,” said Oscar Perez in one of the seven videos he
posted to Instagram on January 15. Mr. Perez and his rebel group, who had been
hiding out in a small house in the Caracas neighborhood of El Junqito were
surrounded by police. After exchanging gunfire for nine hours, two policemen
were killed; five rebels were captured while seven others lay dead; including Oscar
Perez. The next day, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol
proclaimed that a “terrorist cell” had been “dismantled”. The millions who saw
the whole episode play out live on social media however, felt they witnessed
something else; an extrajudicial mass killing.
