DRAMATIC

Venezuela’s Rebel Helicopter Pilot Believed Killed in Police Siege

Ex action-movie star dropped grenades on troubled country’s supreme court last year.

A dissident Venezuelan police officer who gained fame last year after stealing a helicopter and attacking the country’s supreme court was reportedly killed Monday in a dramatic standoff with security forces. Oscar Perez, a former action-movie star, had been wanted by authorities since he and a group of rebels dropped grenades on the court building in Caracas last June amid widespread protests against President Nicolas Maduro. A Venezuelan government official speaking on the condition of anonymity told CNN that Perez was killed in Caracas on Monday after months on the run, though the government has yet to officially confirm his death. Maduro told lawmakers security forces had hunted down the “terrorist group that attacked the supreme court.” He said five members of the group were captured in Monday’s operation while an unspecified number of others “fell down.” Two police officers were killed and another five injured. Perez had posted a series of videos to Twitter purporting to show the standoff. “They don’t want us to surrender, they want us dead!” he said.