Former Venezuelan political prisoner arrested in Miami after fatal hit-and-run car crash, police say

MIAMI (AP) — A Venezuelan opposition member and former political prisoner has been arrested in Miami after he fled the scene of a deadly crash, police said.

Gilber Caro, 50, was charged Monday with leaving the scene of a crash that killed a man, according to an arrest report from Miami police. Caro is a member of former opposition leader Juan Guaido’s party, Voluntad Popular. Caro was among a group of opposition lawmakers and politicians who were forgiven and released from prison in Venezuela in 2020.

According to Miami police, Caro was driving an SUV early Monday morning when he collided with a car at a major intersection. Crash investigators determined the other vehicle ran a red light and the driver died at the scene. Caro left the area on foot without rendering aid, police said.

Hours after the crash, Caro called the registered owner of the vehicle he was driving, officials said. He told the owner he had been in an accident and to call 911. Caro was arrested about two hours later.

Jail records show Caro was being held in a Miami-Dade jail on an immigration hold. Online court records did not list a defense attorney, but showed he was represented by the public defender’s office at Tuesday’s bond hearing. Officials at the public defender’s office did not know whether they would continue to represent Caro and had no immediate comment.

Venezuela’s main opposition parties managed to rally behind a single candidate in July’s presidential election after years of division and election boycotts that thwarted their ambitions to overthrow the ruling party. The parties were represented by former diplomat Edmundo González, who ran against President Nicolás Maduro.

Electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared Maduro the winner but never released voting results supporting his victory. Meanwhile, the opposition claimed that González defeated Maduro by a 2-to-1 margin and presented as evidence voting results from more than 80% of electronic voting machines used in the July 28 election.

Late Monday evening, a judge issued an arrest warrant for González.