On the 4th of August 2018, while giving a speech in an outdoor event in Caracas to mark the 81st anniversary of the country’s National Guard, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was targeted by an explosive drone in a failed assassination attempt.
The incident took place amidst a huge crowd of onlookers, soldiers and officials. Two explosive-laden drones flew towards the President while he gave the speech and exploded in mid-air. The entire incident sparked panic and chaos among the soldiers and the standing crowd fled in fear after an announcement was made. This resulted in a stampede situation and seven soldiers sustained minor injuries.
The assassination attempt, however, was a failure as the drones burst in mid-air and President Maduro was rendered harmless. As soon as the blasts occurred a group of men dressed in black, the President’s security personnel, rushed in to shield him and escort him to safety. The first lady, the Venezuelan President’s wife Cilia Flores, also present at the scene alongside Nicolas Maduro flinched fearfully as she witnessed the drone exploding in mid-air.
The Venezuelan military knocked off one of the drones electronically and another one crashed into an apartment building two blocks away from where the President addressed hundreds of troops. According to Interior Minister Nestor Reverol, one drone was supposed to explode above the President and another in front of him. Six arrests have also been made in connection with the attack.
The events occurred at around 5:30 P.M and later that evening the President announced his good health and blamed his opponents who supposedly conspired with individuals from Miami, Bogota and Colombia to carry out the assassination attempt. Maduro also holds the U.S accountable for supporting his opponents and thereby fueling the ill-fated event.
However, both the Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and John Bolton, Trump’s security advisor dismissed his claims as it lacks solid evidence.
What led to the attack?
Venezuela is struggling with a devastating economic crisis which is said to be far more worse than the Great Depression of America in the 1930s.
The inflation rate is predicted to hit 13,000 percent. There is a severe shortage of food, medicine and many basic amenities for the citizens. The crime rates are touching the skies and over 600,000 refugees from Venezuela have crossed over to Colombia and Brazil. The Western and democratic nations view the Venezuelan President as a corrupt dictator who is responsible for the downfall of his country and the suffering of his people. Maduro has banned the popular opposition parties from even contesting in elections and has the media under strict control. Soon after his re-election, the Trump administration imposed heavy economic sanctions on Venezuela.
There have been quite a few assaults carried out on the Venezuelan State and on the President in the past as well but none of them were performed with this nature or audacity.
Watch how the turn of events took place:
