CARACAS: Venezuelan leftist President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday that “terrorists” had broken into a National Guard unit over the weekend and stolen weapons, the latest sign of volatility in the oil-rich country convulsed by a profound economic crisis.
A former Venezuelan police officer who spectacularly attacked his country’s supreme court six months ago is claiming to be behind the theft.
Oscar Perez, an ex-police helicopter pilot, said on Twitter late Monday he led “an impeccable tactical operation in which we recovered these weapons of the people, for the people.”
He posted videos he said were recorded during the robbery that occurred in Laguneta de La Montana, in northern Miranda state next to Caracas. They showed him and a small group of masked men taunting what looked like a number of gagged soldiers.
A Venezuelan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that a group of men wearing uniforms stole 26 Kalashnikov assault rifles and three pistols, along with ammunition, from an army base early Monday.
Perez gained notoriety for a June 27 attack in Caracas, in which he and other men aboard a police helicopter threw four grenades at the supreme court and shot at the interior ministry, without causing casualties.
Venezuela’s government, led by President Nicolas Maduro, issued an Interpol alert requesting the arrest of Perez over that “terrorist attack.”
“Behind all these attacks is the government of the United States,” Maduro charged in remarks carried on state media, saying it was “organised from Miami.”
Maduro has repeatedly blamed the United States for Venezuela’s woes, saying Washington is trying to strangle the country with sanctions.
In one of the videos posted on Twitter on Monday, Perez called for Venezuela’s armed forces to “restore legal order” by bringing in a “transitional government” to replace Maduro’s.
Venezuela is in the grip of a long-running political and economic crisis. Despite international isolation, broad unpopularity and scarce food and medicine in the country, Maduro has strengthened his hold on power by sidelining the opposition and excluding it from recent local and state elections.
“You yourselves are dying of hunger. Why have you not done anything, given you have weapons? Why do you keep protecting these drug-trafficking dictators?” the assailants shout at gagged soldiers crouching on the floor of what appears to be a bathroom.
“Soon we’ll win the war ... so that Venezuela can be free,” says Perez, under the cover of a black balaclava.
His Twitter account later posted a purported summary by authorities of the attack. The summary says some 49 armed men stole around 26 Kalashnikov AK-103’s and over 3,000 munitions for the rifles, as well as pistols, in Miranda state near Caracas during the early hours of Monday.
Reuters was not able to independently confirm details of the attack. The Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
An action film star who portrays himself as a James Bond cum-Rambo figure on social media, Perez has added surreal twists to Venezuela’s long-running political drama.
He rose to fame in June after hijacking a police helicopter flying over Caracas’ centre. He fired shots at and lobbed grenades on the Interior Ministry and the Supreme Court to fight what he said was a tyrannical government. He went into hiding after the attack, only to pop up two weeks later at an opposition vigil for anti-government protesters killed during demonstrations that rocked the country earlier this year.
Perez’s latest offensive highlights instability in Venezuela, an Opec member state heaving under malnutrition, disease and the world’s steepest inflation rate. The opposition has long appealed to the military, historically a powerbroker in Venezuela, for help.
Maduro on Tuesday denounced the attackers, whom he did not name, as “terrorists” sent by his ideological enemy the United States.
“Wherever they appear, I’ve told the armed forces: Fire at the terrorist groups!” he said during a speech on state television, as he blamed opposition groups in Miami for orchestrating the raid.
“Do these people think they can attack a unit of the armed forces to steal some guns and threaten democracy and that that’s going to be tolerated? Zero tolerance!” Maduro said.
The military has played a key role in government since Chavez — himself a former military officer — took office in 1999 promising to bring greater equality to Venezuela, home to the world’s largest oil reserves.
The top brass continues to publicly profess loyalty to Maduro’s government. Critics say juicy government contracts, corruption and contraband mean that many military officials want Maduro to stay in office and fear persecution should the opposition take power.
Discontent is higher among lower-tier officials, who are often sent to control rowdy protests and are paid the equivalent of just a handful of US dollars a month.
