Myndighederne efterforsker drabet på Sabino Romero, der var en markant forkæmper for tilbagegivelse af den fædrene jord til Yukpa stammen, som lever nær grænsen til nabolandet Colombia.
Mr Romero was shot dead on Sunday when two masked gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on his vehicle on the El Tukuko motorway in the western state of Zulia.
Earlier video footage shows the leader saying that land owners had hired gangsters and put a bounty (pris) on Mr. Romero´s life.
“As I understand it, they paid 100.000 bolivars (more than 15.000 US dollar) in Zulia, and here in Caracas they paid more money to come for me,” he says on the video, shown on Venezuelan TV.
Minister of Information Ernesto Villegas said initial investigations confirmed a link between the killing and the struggle for land rights. No-one has yet been arrested.
Mr Romero fought for the demarcation of Yukpa lands in the Perija mountains, near the border with Colombia.
He was frequently at odds with land owners who occupied the area some years ago. The land is also frequently taken over by illegal miners and coca growers.
In 2011, the government signed off (afsatte) more than 15.000 hectares for the Yukpa-tribe.
