Maduro escapes unhurt after 'assassination' attempt

President says local factions, foreign govts responsible

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro escaped unharmed from what he claimed was an attempted assassination using explosive drones on Saturday.

The attack happened during a speech being given by Maduro to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the country's National Guard when the drones exploded near the president and his wife.

Venezuelan State television showed Maduro looking up in the middle of a speech after hearing a loud noise, before members of the country's National Guard lined up in the parade suddenly scattered.

Seven National Guard soldiers were injured and rushed to hospital, but the president was not hurt, according to Venezuelan Minister of Communication Jorge Rodriguez.

Maduro later described the attack as an assassination attempt in a televised address to the nation.

He blamed the attack on far-right factions in Venezuela, the Colombian government and conspirators in the United States.

"I have no doubt that the name (Colombian President) Juan Manuel Santos is behind this attack," Maduro said.

He added investigations suggested the incident's financiers "live in the United States, in the state of Florida. I hope that President Donald Trump is ready to fight these terrorist groups".

Tang Jun, who is an expert in Latin American studies at the Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, said Maduro's accusation toward Santos without accurate evidence will only make the tense relations between the two countries more fractious.

Maduro said in June that Venezuela's opposition "has the backing of a handful of traitors there in Bogota (the capital of Colombia)", adding that his country was "besieged by the northern empire" - the US.

However, the Colombian Foreign Ministry on Sunday refuted Maduro's accusation, saying in a statement that "the claims that the Colombian leader could be responsible for a supposed assassination of the Venezuelan president sound absurd and lack basis".

Group statement

The AFP reported that a civilian and military rebel group calling itself the "National Movement of Soldiers in Shirts" claimed responsibility for the explosion, according to a statement posted by the group on social media.

The group accused the government failed to achieve the greatest amount of happiness possible as "the population is suffering from hunger, that the sick do not have medicine, that the currency has no value, or that the education system neither educates or teaches".

Tang said it is still unclear whether the attack was planned and implemented by the group as the incident is still under investigation. But he said "at least one thing is sure" from the attack, which is the domestic conflict in Venezuela has been intensified to a certain extent.

Xinhua and Reuters contributed to this story.

panmengqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/06/2018 page12)