Óscar Alberto Pérez (7 April 1981 – 15 January 2018) was a Venezuelan rebel leader and ÓscarAlbertoPéan investigator for the CICPC, Venezuela's investigative agency. He was also an actor in a film to promote the role of detectives in the CICPC. He is better known for being responsible for the Caracas helicopter incident during the 2017 Venezuelan protests and the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis. His killing in the El Junquito raid received worldwide attention by the media and the political establishment, and was met with accusations of extrajudicial killing.
Early life
Óscar Pérez was born in 1981 and lived most of his childhood and teenage years in the suburbs of Caracas in a middle-class neighborhood. Óscar Pérez' mother is Aminta Rosa Perez, a former government employee.
Career
Pérez began his law enforcement career in 2000. He mainly served as an investigator for Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas (CICPC), Venezuela's criminal investigations and forensic services organization. He later became a member of the Brigada de Acciones Especiales (BAE), being a highly trained weapon specialist and the chief of helicopter operations for CICPC. He would often demonstrate his weapon skills on social media.
Following a 2012 raid while working for CICPC, Pérez was asked by a 10-year-old boy if his guns were real. When he asked the boy what they wanted to be when they grew up, the child replied "I want to be a pran because I will have a lot of money, nice women and the respect of the whole neighborhood". Following this encounter he decided to make a change in Venezuela, raising awareness and partaking in various charities with his foundation GV33 Moral y Luces.
Pérez would later approach Venezuelan filmmaker Óscar Rivas about creating a movie to improve values among those in Venezuela's law enforcement agencies. In 2015, Muerte Suspendida was released to the public, with Pérez serving as a protagonist, CICPC agent Efraín Robles, while also co-producing the film with information and equipment provided by CICPC. Pérez stated that he accepted the role because he believed in justice for Venezuela and that he wanted "people to fall in love with police work in Venezuela and to feel proud". Rivas stated that Pérez "was born with a goal in life, which is to support people in need. He always did positive things. ... He made several short films to raise awareness ... to recover the values that are lost in our country. This is the work that Óscar has been doing". After Muerte Suspendida became Venezuela's second-highest-grossing movie in 2015, a second movie was going to be created, though there were not enough resources in the country.
Rebellion movement
2017 Caracas helicopter attack
For years, Venezuela has suffered from a political and economic crisis following the presidency of Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. While working as a law enforcement agent, Pérez stated that he witnessed deep levels of corruption within the Bolivarian government's structure, experiencing the collaboration between state authorities and pro-government gangs known as colectivos in acts of theft and extortion while also observing the movement of cocaine by government officials with full impunity, singling out Néstor Reverol as an official who hampered his investigations into the matters.
Pérez expressed in interviews how he had thought about incorporating his helicopter skills in a protest for some time. Finally in mid-June 2017, Pérez's brother was murdered near Carabobo Park in Caracas. It was determined that his brother was stabbed to death for the theft of his cell phone. On the afternoon of 27 June 2017, a video was released showing men with assault rifles flanking Óscar Pérez, stating that "We are nationalists, patriots and institutionalists. This fight is not with the rest of the state forces, it is against the tyranny of this government".
Hours after the video was released, Pérez was seen piloting a CICPC helicopter over the Baruta Municipality. Non-lethal stun grenades were thrown from the helicopter onto the Supreme Tribunal of Justice building while blank firearm cartridges were fired near the Interior Ministry building to draw attention to his message; a banner on the helicopter read "350 Liberty", a reference to Article 350 of the constitution which states that "The people of Venezuela… shall disown any regime, legislation or authority that violates democratic values, principles and guarantees or encroaches upon human rights". Pérez later explained his actions, saying: