Gilber Caro, Venezuelan politician, arrested after hit-and-run – NBC 6 South Florida

A Venezuelan politician was arrested after allegedly leaving the scene of a three-vehicle crash in Miami on Monday morning that left a man dead and a woman injured.

Gilber Caro, a Venezuelan politician and three-time political prisoner, was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident at around 3:40 a.m. on Monday.

According to a police report, 50-year-old Caro was driving a 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe westbound on 8th Street toward Southwest 42nd Avenue when the victim, who was driving a 2013 Hyundai Sonata, ran a red light.

The Sonata collided with a third vehicle and a palm tree, the report said. Images from the scene of the accident showed that the vehicles were badly damaged.

The City of Miami Fire Department responded to the scene and found the 29-year-old man who was driving the Sonata dead, while the woman who was driving the third car was taken to Coral Gables Hospital in stable condition.

Miami police on Tuesday identified the slain driver as Junior Eugene.

Caro fled the scene on foot, leaving the victim and his vehicle behind, police said. Caro did not render any assistance or call for backup before fleeing, the report said.

A few hours after the accident, at about 7 a.m., Caro contacted the registered owner of the Chevrolet Tahoe he was driving and informed her that he had been involved in the accident that had occurred the same day and that also involved her vehicle, the report said.

Caro asked them to call 911 and he was arrested at 9:20 a.m. before being taken to jail.

The police report states that Caro is a Venezuelan citizen but has an address in Miami.

The Venezuelan political party Voluntad Popular published an article about his arrest on its “X” account.

“We have been informed that Gilber Caro, former political prisoner and deputy elected in 2015, was involved in a traffic accident in the United States in the last hours and is in the custody of the authorities there following the incident,” the post said. “As events are still unfolding, we are awaiting further information on the case, knowing that the United States is a country where the rule of law and due process prevail to resolve incidents. We will keep you informed of any news on the case.”