Two police officers and several “terrorists” have been killed in an operation to capture a helicopter pilot accused of leading an armed rebellion in Venezuela last year, officials say.
Venezuelan forces surrounded a house in the town of El Junquito, near the capital, Caracas, as they targeted the “cell” linked to pilot Oscar Pérez.
The authorities said they had arrested five people who they accuse of being part of a criminal group.
It is unclear what became of Mr Pérez.
Prominent government member Diosdado Caballo tweeted that Mr Pérez had opened fire on police.
Mr Pérez was wanted after he used a stolen helicopter to throw grenades at government buildings on 27 June.
In footage posted on social media on Monday, Mr Perez said he had offered to turn himself in but that he believed authorities were initially trying to kill him rather than negotiate his surrender.
“They’re shooting at us with RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades],” he said.
“There are civilians inside here. We said we’d turn ourselves in, but they don’t want to let us turn ourselves in. They want to kill us,” Mr Pérez added.
He then describes how those at the property with him were forced to “crouch down”, adding: “Now we’re negotiating.”
He ended the video, which he uploaded to the photo sharing site Instagram, with a message for the people of Venezuela, who he urged not to “lose hope”.
Who is Oscar Pérez?
Mr Pérez was on the run after launching a helicopter attack on the Venezuelan Supreme Court…