Former Venezuelan political prisoner arrested after fatal hit-and-run accident in Miami, police said

MIAMI (AP) — A Venezuelan opposition leader and former political prisoner was arrested in Miami after fleeing the scene of a fatal car crash, police said.

Gilber Caro, 50, was charged Monday with leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death, according to a Miami police arrest report. Caro is a member of former opposition leader Juan Guaidó's Voluntad Popular party. Caro was among a group of opposition lawmakers and politicians who were pardoned 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 had disregarded a red light and the driver died at the scene. Caro left the scene on foot without rendering aid, police said.

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

Caro was being held at the Miami-Dade Jail, jail records show. Online court records did not list a defense attorney, but they showed he was represented by the public defender's office during a bail hearing Tuesday. Officials at the public defender's office did not know if they would continue to represent Caro and did not comment on the case.

Venezuela's main opposition parties agreed on a single candidate for July's presidential election after years of divisions and electoral boycotts derailed their ambitions to topple 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 vote tallies to support his claim of victory. Meanwhile, the opposition claimed González defeated Maduro by a 2-1 margin, presenting as evidence vote tallies from more than 80% of the electronic voting machines used in the July 28 election.

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