FABIOLA SANCHEZ
Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro called Wednesday for an investigation into a confusing shootout with police that left a well-connected government supporter and four others dead.
Police before dawn Tuesday raided a high-rise building occupied by presumed members of armed pro-government groups known as “collectives,” leading to a tense, eight-hour standoff that created panic and blocked traffic across several downtown blocks.
Among those killed was former policeman Jose Odreman, the outspoken leader of the 5th of March collective, one of a myriad of sometimes armed groups that provide social services and rally support for the government in poor neighborhoods.
Barely 90 minutes before he was killed, during a brief recess in shooting, Odreman spoke to Venezuelan media and blamed Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres for the bloodshed and held him personally accountable for any attempt on his life.
Fighting resumed when three police officers were taken hostage by individuals holed up in the high-rise Manfredi building.
It’s not clear why police raided the building where Odreman’s group and dozens of homeless families had taken shelter.
Officials jumped quickly to deny media speculation that the heavy show of force may be tied to an investigation into the gruesome murder last week of pro-government lawmaker Roberto Serra, a vocal defender of the collectives and who appeared alongside Odreman in photos that circulated on social media after the shootout. Other photos showed him posing beside the late President Hugo Chavez and with other senior figures.
Odreman’s cryptic remarks shortly before being killed added to the mystery. Asked on camera if the raid had anything to do with Serra’s murder, he replied: “The math doesn’t fail.”
Authorities were quick to dismiss any links, and even disputed Odreman’s credentials as a government loyalist, saying only that police were going after a criminal gang responsible for multiple homicides in greater Caracas.
Odreman’s aide was also killed during the shootout, but the identities of the three others killed are unknown.
For years, the socialist government has been reluctant to take on the loyalist gunmen and Maduro offered public praise for the irregulars after they were blamed for beating and intimidating protesters during a wave of unrest that rocked Venezuela early this year.
Maduro ordered an “exhaustive” investigation, according to a government statement. He was also expected later in the day to provide details on who plotted and carried out the murder of Serra. Many officials have already blamed opponents of the government.
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