Venezuelan President, Mr. Nicolas Maduro survived an assassination attempt around 5:30 pm on Saturday while attending a military ceremony in the country. The ceremony which was aired on National TV was meant to celebrate the 81st anniversary of the country’s National Guard.
It was reported that drones were used to detonate explosions which caused pandemonium at a military ceremony where President Maduro was speaking on Saturday. The sound of the explosions made the first lady flinch and National Guard troops were seen scurrying around on National TV.
Low flying drones exploded mid-air and the President as well as the first lady ducked for cover as thousands of soldiers in a military parade suddenly started fleeing in a stampede as seen on pictures broadcast live to the country.
According to the communications minister Jorge Rodriguez, the attackers used several flying devices that were detonated near where the president was standing.
President Maduro who was unharmed blamed right wing elements as usual “To all of our friends in the world, I am fine, I am alive. The Bolivarian revolution keeps its path.”
He also blamed President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia as well as some unidentified Americans.
“All the investigations point to Bogotá. They have tried to kill me today.” He said on National TV around 9pm while flanked by his ministers and military chiefs.
Venezuela is currently going through one of the worst inflations (expected to reach one million percent this year) in history amidst an abundance of oil reserves. Mr. Maduro has presided over a spectacular economic collapse in Venezuela and Economists blame it all on decades of mismanagement under Mr. Maduro.
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The drone attack was the latest in a string of attempts in recent years to end the tenure of Mr. Maduro, who won a one sided election that was largely boycotted by the opposition earlier in May; this seemingly pyrrhic victory elongated his term until 2025.
The drone attack on Mr. Maduro is the first known assassination attempt on a president making use of drones.