Venezuela makes arrests, demands justice for ‘attempted massacre’

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s attorney general said Monday that investigators have identified the perpetrators of an alleged attack on President Nicolas Maduro during a weekend military event.

The suspects and their helpers are being investigated, as are international links, said Attorney General Tarek William Saab. “It was an attempted assassination and an attempted massacre, as the highest rungs of government and military were at the attack site,” he said.

Officials Sunday said six people had been arrested. On Monday, local media said secret service agents were searching a hotel in Caracas.

One of those arrested was involved in an attack on a military base in 2017, while another was jailed in 2014 after an antigovernment protest.

An unknown group, allegedly consisting of dissident soldiers, on Sunday claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter.

“We demonstrated that they are vulnerable, we did not reach our goal today, but it is a question of time,” the group, calling itself Soldados de Franelas, said.

Maduro, who was unharmed in the attack, said he was the target of explosives carried by drones set off Saturday at a military event in Caracas. The moment of the alleged assassination attempt was broadcast on live state television. Seven national guardsmen were critically injured, according to official statements.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said two drones, each carrying a kilogram of the explosive C-4, were used. “The explosive can cause damage within a radius of 50 meters,” Reverol said.

Former military officers expressed surprise about the circumstances of the incidents, saying a military parade had never taken place along the Avenida Bolivar street because of its poor security situation.

The reaction of security forces after the detonations were also unprofessional, former general Gonzalo Garcia Ordonez told El Nacional newspaper.

Critics have cast doubt on the official version of the attack, fearing it will be used by Maduro to tighten his grip.

“We warn that this confusing incident can be used as an excuse to do away with the constitutional right of the people to protest,” said the Frente Amplio opposition group.