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<div class="header reader-header" style="display: block;"
dir="ltr"> <font size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13976">https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13976</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Venezuela’s President Maduro Survives
Assassination Attack On Live TV</h1>
Six arrests have already been made in the dramatic foiled
terrorist attack.</div>
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<p>Merida, August 5, 2018 (<a
href="http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/"><u>venezuelanalysis.com</u></a>)
– Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has
survived an attempt against his life whilst
speaking on live TV during a military
celebration in Caracas.</p>
<p>The attack occurred during the
81st-anniversary parade of the National
Guard in Bolivar Avenue in the centre of
Caracas on Saturday.</p>
<h2>What happened?</h2>
<p>Towards the end of the parade, various
industrial <a
href="https://store.dji.com/product/matrice-600-pro?from=search-result-v2&position=0"><u>DJIM600
drones</u></a> – costing US $5000 each
and more commonly used to carry cinematic
cameras – loaded with C4 explosives were
shot down by snipers at 5.41pm, causing two
explosions just metres away from the
president, his wife, and the minister of
defence. Maduro was addressing the nation on
live television broadcast at the time.</p>
<p>Following the explosions, panicked crowds
ran from the parade as the presidential
bodyguards covered Maduro and his entourage
before rushing them away from the scene.</p>
<p>Neither the president nor his entourage
were injured in the attack, but it has been
reported that seven members of the National
Guard received emergency medical care for
injuries, with three remaining in a serious
condition. No fatalities have been reported.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A short time later, the vice-president for
communication, Jorge Rodriguez, addressed
the nation to confirm the detail of the
incident and the health of the president. He
was followed by a live statement from
President Maduro a short time later.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>“They have tried to kill me today, and
everything points towards the right wing
forces, the Venezuela ultra-right in
alliance with the Colombian ultra-right, and
the name of [out-going Colombia President]
Juan Manuel Santos is behind this
assassination attempt… the first elements of
the investigation point towards Bogota,” he
stated. He also suggested the attempt had
been financed from Miami, U.S.A.</p>
<p>Santos has recently made public statements
suggesting that the mandate of Maduro is
close to coming to an end. Following
Maduro’s accusations, the Colombian foreign
office issued a statement describing the
Venezuelan president’s finger-pointing as
“absurd” and “baseless.”</p>
<p>US authorities were also quick to <a
href="http://www.eluniversal.com/politica/16871/eeuu-niega-su-implicacion-en-el-presunto-ataque-contra-nicolas-maduro"><u>distance
themselves</u></a> from the attack, with
White House security advisor John Bolton
saying “Without a doubt there wasn't any
participation from the US government in the
absolute.”</p>
<p>On Sunday, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol
confirmed that following the search of a
number of Caracas hotels, six citizens
accused of being the “material and
intellectual authors” of the terrorist
attack have been arrested “within Venezuelan
and abroad.” Two of those have a criminal
record or were being sought by authorities
for their roles in the 2014 anti-government
street violence, he elaborated. Significant
evidence was confiscated, and more arrests
are expected.</p>
<p>Grassroots organisations – both Venezuelan
and in other parts of the world – as well as<a
href="http://www.eluniversal.com/politica/16862/gobiernos-de-distintos-paises-se-solidarizan-con-maduro-luego-de-intento-fallido-de-magnicidio">
<u>allied governments</u></a> were quick
to express their solidarity with Maduro
following the foiled attack. The Venezuelan
armed forces also issued a statement <u><a
href="http://cadenaser.com/ser/2018/08/05/internacional/1533483550_537196.html">confirm</a>ing</u>
their “absolute loyalty” to the president
shortly after. </p>
<p>Opposition groups have played down the
attack, with some even claiming that it was
staged by the government.</p>
<h3>Who is behind this assassination attempt?</h3>
<p>An anti-government grouping calling itself
‘Soldiers in T-Shirts’ has claimed
responsibility for the attack, called
Operation Fenix, through their<a
href="https://twitter.com/soldadodfranela?lang=es"><u>
Twitter account</u></a> and a<a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxQkJuOB4PQ">
<u>statement</u></a> which was read at
8.30pm by Miami-based private news network
Factors of Power.</p>
<p>“The operation was to fly two drones
carrying C4 explosive to the presidential
platform, presidential guard snipers shot
them down before they arrived at their
objective. We showed that they [the
government] are vulnerable, today we didn’t
achieve it but it’s only a question of
time,” reads one tweet.</p>
<div>
<blockquote data-lang="en">
<p>La operación era sobrevolar 2 drones
cargados con C4 el objetivo el palco
presidencial, francotiradores de la
guardia de honor derribaron los drones
antes de llegar al objetivo.<br>
Demostramos que son vulnerables, no se
logró hoy pero es cuestión de tiempo. <a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MilitaresPatriotas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MilitaresPatriotas</a>
<a href="https://t.co/teIEwygN3S">pic.twitter.com/teIEwygN3S</a></p>
<p>— Soldados de Franelas
(@soldadoDfranela) <a
href="https://twitter.com/soldadoDfranela/status/1025880632084320259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August
4, 2018</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is unknown who is behind the
organisation, which seems to have been
formed in March 2014 during the period of
violent anti-government street violence in
Venezuela. At the time of writing, their <a
href="http://soldadosdefranela.com/"><u>website
</u></a>was down.</p>
<p>According to their Twitter account, the
group is a combination of “military and
civilian patriots loyal to the people of
Venezuela” and “rebels for the cause of
liberty.” They also claim to be
“Bolivarian,” however no evidence of their
roots in either the armed forces or the
wider population is provided. It is
equally unknown if they are based in
Venezuela or abroad.</p>
<p>The public statement was read by
Miami-based journalist Patricia Poleo,
herself an outspoken critic of the
government of Maduro who has been<a
href="https://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/n87933.html">
<u>formally accused</u></a> of being
involved in the 2004 assassination of
anti-corruption police investigator Danilo
Anderson.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The statement claims that the
assassination attempt looked to “restore
the constitutional order,” which,
according to them, has been broken by the
current government.</p>
<p>Whilst not expressing affinity to any
political grouping, the statement echoed
many claims made by right-wing
politicians, such as the supposed efforts
of the government to sew “communism” in
Venezuelan schools. The group also called
for respect for the opposition-led
National Assembly and for “true and free”
elections, echoing ultra-rightist
criticisms of the recent May 20
presidential elections.</p>
<p>Finally, they repeat language used during
the 2014 and 2017 street violence by
calling for “everyone to take to the
streets” in order to “take power,” and for
the installation of a “transition
government.”</p>
<p>Amid national uncertainty, the country
remains in a state of calm on Sunday, with
only some very small and isolated
responses to the call to the streets by
the anti-government grouping.</p>
<p>Previous to the assassination attempt,
the group tweeted threatening messages
that “time will show us to be right and we
will make them pay” in reference to the
Venezuelan government.</p>
<p>At 6.06pm Saturday, only minutes after
the attack, they retweeted their earlier
Twitter message which claimed that “time
has run out” for the democratically
elected government of President Maduro.</p>
<div>
<blockquote data-lang="en">
<p>Dicen que el tiempo todo lo dice,
todo lo cobra o todo lo paga, en este
caso el tiempo nos dará la razón y
pasará la factura más cara que la vida
puede cobrarles a quienes tanto daño
han hecho a este noble pueblo, no les
alcanzará lo robado para pagar tanta
miseria y maldad.<a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MNSF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MNSF</a>
<a href="https://t.co/DxwK1O9tgU">pic.twitter.com/DxwK1O9tgU</a></p>
<p>— Soldados de Franelas
(@soldadoDfranela) <a
href="https://twitter.com/soldadoDfranela/status/1025541460559646721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August
4, 2018</a></p>
</blockquote>
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