Venezuelan Assassination Attempt

On Saturday, August 6^th, explosive-laden drones attempted to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at a military parade. Government sources have alleged that opposition leaders have conspired with individuals in Miami and Bogota, though they did not offer any specific evidence to support this claim. The attack comes in the wake of an economic and humanitarian crisis which has caused Maduro to become increasingly isolated from other foreign nations. In the aftermath of the attack, the Venezuelan government has arrested six people suspected of attempting to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.

Interior Minister Nester Reverol said that the assailants flew two drones packed with C-4 plastic explosives toward Maduro, his wife, and other top leaders that were attending a military event marking the 81^st anniversary of Venezuela’s National Guard.

With President Maduro suggesting that individuals in Miami were behind the assassination attempt, it prompted senior White House officials to deny any United States involvement in the attack. National Security Advisor John Bolton said, “I can say unequivocally there is no U.S. government involvement in this at all”. Maduro has also made the claim that this was an attempt by the far right to assassinate him, and that he will continue to steer Venezuela on a democratic, independent, socialist path, following in the footsteps of the Chavez revolution.

Maduro often blames the United States for the attempts on his life. The United States currently has sanctions against the Venezuelan government and has sanctioned him under the Office of Foreign Assets Control since July of 2017.

President Maduro has served since 2013 when he took over for former president Hugo Chavez. He was a close ally of the late Chavez, serving as his foreign minister and his vice president. He won a six year term in office shortly after the death of Hugo Chavez and went on to win second six-year term, despite his rival’s disavowing of the elections and alleging massive irregularities.

Maduro has held many events with the military, and he clings to their loyalty while the nation continues to struggle with crippling inflation and shortages of food, medicine and other basic needs. The attack does not appear to be staged by Maduro’s government to gain political power and he will most likely use this latest episode to remove the political rivals that he claims were behind the attacks.