CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuela government said Monday that it has released a popular YouTube influencer who was arrested on suspicion of terrorism.
Country’s Police arrested the US-based video creator — whose full name is Oscar Alejandro Perez Martinez but goes by Oscar Alejandro — at the Caracas airport on Sunday as he was about to travel to the national park home to Angel Falls, Canaima. It’s the world’s tallest waterfall.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on X that the influencer has been released on condition he make himself available to prosecutors and the courts if they summon him.
According to the family, Perez Martinez had been accused of “activities related to terrorism.”
The Attorney General said the influencer was arrested over a video he posted on social media which, according to him, shows a “financial building” and “urges that it be blown up with explosives.”
He was referring to a video showing part of a building housing computer servers that are used by country’s banks.
Narrating the video, Perez Martinez says: “Get a load of this: If a bomb were thrown at this building, the whole national banking system would collapse.”
Perez Martinez has about 2 million subscribers on YouTube and over 580,000 followers on Instagram. His videos document his visits to tourist destinations around the world and his interactions with local people. He visited 28 countries.
After his release, Perez Martinez said he would explain what happened in the case on his social media feed.
“Friends, I am fine and I am free. In a few hours on YouTube I will explain what happened. Thanks to everyone for their support,” he said on X.
