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Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro survives drone assassination attempt Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro survives drone assassination attempt
(35 minutes later)
The Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, has survived an apparent assassination attempt involving drones that exploded close to him while he was speaking at an event in Caracas. Chaos has struck Venezuela following an apparent foiled assassination attempt against the country’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro.
State television showed Maduro abruptly cutting short his speech during a celebration of the National Guard’s 81st anniversary. Several drones armed with explosives were flown towards Maduro as he addressed a military parade in the capital Caracas on Saturday afternoon.
The hundreds of soldiers present were shown breaking ranks and scattering. The drones did not reach Maduro, though it is not clear if they were shot down or exploded prematurely. The president survived unharmed while seven people were injured in the attack, the country’s information minister said in a statement from the presidential palace.
#URGENTE #VIDEO Aparente explosión en acto donde estaba el presidente Nicolás Maduro genera confusión pic.twitter.com/NYi21vok7T “At exactly 5.41pm in the afternoon several explosions were heard,” Jorge Rodríguez said. “The investigation clearly reveals they came from drone-like devices that carried explosives.”
The Venezuelan information minister, Jorge Rodríguez, said there had been an “attack” against the president involving drones loaded with explosives. The panic was captured during a live broadcast of the parade and speech, with Maduro and other officials looking to the sky from the podium while talking about the economy. Loud bangs could be heard in the background. The audio then went out and the camera panned to scores of soldiers hurriedly scattering from formation, before the broadcast was abruptly cut.
Maduro was “fine” and continuing to work, he said. Rodríguez said seven National Guard soldiers were injured in the apparent attack. In a televised address following the attacks, Maduro called it an assassination attempt against him and said “everything points” to a right-wing plot.
“At exactly 5.41pm in the afternoon several explosions were heard,” Rodríguez said in a live address minutes after the incident. “The investigation clearly reveals they came from drone-like devices that carried explosives.” “This was an attempt to kill me,” he said. “Today they attempted to assassinate me.”
He accused the US and Colombia of seeking violence in Venezuela. The president said he believed the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, was responsible and that several financiers and planners of the attack lived in Florida.
A rebel Twitter feed claimed that two drones packed with C4 explosives had been detonated near the president before being shot down by snipers.A rebel Twitter feed claimed that two drones packed with C4 explosives had been detonated near the president before being shot down by snipers.
La operación era sobrevolar 2 drones cargados con C4 el objetivo el palco presidencial, francotiradores de la guardia de honor derribaron los drones antes de llegar al objetivo. Demostramos que son vulnerables, no se logró hoy pero es cuestión de tiempo. #MilitaresPatriotas pic.twitter.com/teIEwygN3SLa operación era sobrevolar 2 drones cargados con C4 el objetivo el palco presidencial, francotiradores de la guardia de honor derribaron los drones antes de llegar al objetivo. Demostramos que son vulnerables, no se logró hoy pero es cuestión de tiempo. #MilitaresPatriotas pic.twitter.com/teIEwygN3S
Maduro was standing next to his wife, Cilia Flores, and several high-ranking military officials for the event broadcast on radio and television. A video shows Flores wince and look up after a sound. Carlos Julio Rojas lives one block from the Avenida Bolivar, the central highway where the parade was taking place.
The soldiers lined up in ranks then begin running. The transmission was cut without explanation. “I heard two explosions,” he said. “I felt the walls of my house tremble and saw the soldiers run to the other side [of the street].”
Venezuela has been rocked by anti-government demonstrations in recent months that have seen more than 100 people killed. The opposition blames Maduro for chronic food and medicine shortages amid an economic collapse. Rojas added that military presence around the city centre has been ramped up since the incident.
Venezuela is living under the fifth year of a severe economic crisis that has sparked malnutrition, hyperinflation and mass emigration. Another eyewitness, who asked not to be named, was filming the chaos on his phone from outside the event’s picket barrier.
The South American country is an Opec member with vast oil reserves, but its once-thriving socialist economy has collapsed since the 2014 fall of oil prices. “I started recording with my phone what was happening around me … people running around … and a member of the National Guard approached me, took my phone and deleted the video,” the middle-aged man said.
Maduro replaced socialist former president Hugo Chávez after his death from cancer in 2013. Maduro, a former bus driver, won a new six-year term in May but his main rivals disavowed the election and alleged massive irregularities. Members of the media covering the event are said to have been detained, with Crónica Uno – a local independent website – announcing that its photographer was released hours after the chaos ensued.
Firefighters at the scene are disputing the government’s claim that the incident was an attack on Maduro’s life, claiming that it was instead caused by a simple gas tank explosion in a nearby apartment, the Associated Press reported.
Venezuela, which has the largest proven oil reserves on the planet, has been mired in economic and political turmoil for several years, triggered by low oil prices. The International Monetary Fund predicts inflation to reach 1m per cent by the end of the year, while shortages in basic goods and medicines are widespread.
Under the late Hugo Chávez, who ushered in Venezuela’s socialist revolution in 1999, a new constitution and numerous elections placed nearly all government institutions under the control of the ruling Socialist party. 
This concentration of power was aided by a feuding opposition which carried out ineffectual campaigns and electoral boycotts. After Chávez died of cancer in 2013, he was succeeded by Nicolás Maduro who is even less tolerant of dissent.
Growing political authoritarianism has coincided with greater state dominance over the economy. But expropriations, price controls and mismanagement have led to a 40% contraction of the economy in the past five years. 
Oil accounts for 96% of Venezuela’s export income but many foreign companies have been driven out and production has dropped to a 30-year low. 
The resulting fiscal crisis has prompted the government to print more money, which has led to hyperinflation and a collapse of the currency. 
It also means that the government can’t import enough food and medicine to meet demand. 
Maduro has rejected economic reforms out of loyalty to socialism and because many government officials are allegedly getting rich off the economic distortions – through exchange rate scams and by selling scarce food on the black market.
Maduro replaced socialist former president Hugo Chávez after his death from cancer in 2013. The former bus driver has moved to stamp out dissent, with recent anti-government demonstrations leaving more than 100 people killed. In July last year, he sidelined the opposition-led Congress and installed a new body stacked with loyalists.
He won a new six-year term in May but his main rivals disavowed the election and alleged massive irregularities.
Maduro says he is battling an “imperialist” plot to destroy socialism and take over Venezuela’s oil. Opponents accuse him of authoritarianism, saying he has destroyed a once-wealthy economy and ruthlessly crushed dissent.Maduro says he is battling an “imperialist” plot to destroy socialism and take over Venezuela’s oil. Opponents accuse him of authoritarianism, saying he has destroyed a once-wealthy economy and ruthlessly crushed dissent.
Last year, rogue police officer Óscar Pérez hijacked a helicopter and fired at government buildings in what he said was an action against a dictator. Pérez was hunted down and killed by Venezuelan forces.Last year, rogue police officer Óscar Pérez hijacked a helicopter and fired at government buildings in what he said was an action against a dictator. Pérez was hunted down and killed by Venezuelan forces.
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Nicolás MaduroNicolás Maduro
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