Drone attack leaves Venezuela on edge
6 arrested over failed bid to kill Maduro
CARACAS: Authorities detained six people suspected of using explosives-laden drones in a failed bid to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, officials said on Sunday, in what one witness described as a terrifying attack that shook her apartment building.
The government alleged that opposition factions conspired with assailants in Miami and Bogota, although they offered no specific evidence. Opposition leaders decried Mr Maduro for broadly singling out his political opponents, and they warned he may use it to further suppress his critics.
The thwarted attack comes as Venezuela is reeling from a worsening economic and humanitarian crisis and as Mr Maduro has grown increasingly isolated. Foreign nations, including the United States, are slapping economic sanctions against a growing list of high-ranking officials and decrying his government as an autocratic regime.
The assailants flew two drones each packed with 1 kilogramme of C-4 plastic explosive toward Mr Maduro, his wife and other top leaders as he spoke on Saturday evening at an event celebrating the 81st anniversary of the National Guard, said Interior Minister Nestor Reverol. One of the drones was to explode above the president while the other was to detonate directly in front of him, he added.
But the military managed to knock one of the drones off-course electronically and the other crashed into apartment building two blocks away from where Mr Maduro was speaking to the hundreds of troops, Mr Reverol said.
“We have six terrorists and assassins detained,’’ Mr Reverol said. “In the next hours there could be more arrests.’’
Of those arrested, Mr Reverol said two had previous run-ins with the government, although he did not give their names or say what charges they faced. One took part in the 2014 protests that rocked the nation as it descended into an economic crisis that is now worse than the Great Depression. The other had a warrant out for his arrest for participating in an attack on a military barracks.
Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, appearing on state television on Sunday, said the attackers were aiming to decapitate Venezuela’s entire top leadership along with Mr Maduro.
Investigators continued searching a blackened apartment building near the site while also seizing vehicles and raiding more than one hotel where they said they had found “film evidence’’.
Two witnesses who live in nearby apartment buildings said they saw a drone hovering over a residential street on Saturday evening and then heard an explosion.
One witness showed reporters cell phone video of a drone crashing into a building. He said the drone fell to the ground, exploded, and ignited a fire.
Another witness, Mairum Gonzalez, described running in panic to her fifthfloor balcony, where she heard the second explosion and saw smoke rising.
“It was so strong the building shook,’’ she said. “It terrified me.’’
A little-known group calling itself Soldiers in T-shirts claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it planned to fly two drones loaded with explosives at the president but soldiers shot them down. The authenticity of the message could not be independently verified, and the organisation did not respond to a message from the AP.
“It was not successful today, but it is just a matter of time,’’ the group said in a tweet.
Mr Maduro said the incident had left him convinced of the military’s support and undeterred in carrying forward the torch of Chavez’s revolution.
“Venezuela will continue on the democratic and independent path,’’ he said.
Analysts believe Mr Maduro still holds the military’s support but said the images broadcast live on television Saturday nonetheless made him appear vulnerable.
“Seeing trained soldiers fleeing in apparent panic and disarray before an explosion strongly contrasts with the idea of monolithic control and loyalty of security forces that Mr Maduro prides himself on,’’ New York-based Torino Capital investment firm noted.
It was not the first time Mr Maduro’s government has come under attack.
Amid near-daily protests last year, a rogue police officer flew a stolen helicopter over the capital and launched grenades at several government buildings.