Caracas Chronicles

When stories started circulating yesterday about some random dude on a CICPC helicopter ineffectually dropping grenades near the Supreme Tribunal, I didn’t know what to think at first.

Soon, his beyond-ludicrous rebellion video hit YouTube, and my instinct swung all the way to False Flag. The video looks like a two-bit parody of what an underpaid TeleSUR intern thinks the opposition looks and sounds like:

Complete with bizarre cardboard cut-out coupsters and weird ass lighting, the whole thing is silly. This is not what a real rebellion looks like

Soon, we found out the Chopper Coupster’s name: Oscar Pérez.

His profession: cop/two-bit tropical action thriller actor. 

Odd.

Then somebody pointed me to his amazing — amazing — Instagram and I …I…well, have a look for yourself:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPd1LyTBdqO/?taken-by=oscarperezgv&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQG3wHElJ1w/?taken-by=oscarperezgv&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNSrzQnh-K9/?taken-by=oscarperezgv&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLcPug_h1rR/?taken-by=oscarperezgv&hl=en

Who the hell is this crazy person?! Who Instagrams crap like this?!??

Now I’m leaning more to just “random lunatic…”

SiBCI just can’t believe its own luck. The Chopper Coupster episode, in all its glorious surrealism, comes just as the regime needed to draw attention away from its latest power grabs: a decision hollowing out the Prosecutor General’s office of most of its powers, and a straight-up assault on parliament by its own armed civilian colectivos.

Lots and lots of crazy things happening out there, folks. And guys like Oscar Pérez will only sprinkle on more crazy.