Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro survived an assassination attempt by drone that interrupted a televised address, according to a government official.
Interior Minister Jorge Rodriguez said that Maduro was unharmed by “an attack” involved drones carrying explosives, according a Latin American media outlet. “Firefighters near the scene are disputing the government’s version of events,” according to the Associated Press.
The incident took place during a ceremony honoring the Venezuelan military, in the midst of a food shortage and political crisis that have drawn sanctions from the U.S.
“To the conscious Venezuela, we are going to bet for the good of our country, the hour of the economic recovery has come and we need…,” Maduro was saying, per the Orlando Sentinel, before the explosions interrupted the address.
Maduro has taken a number of actions to consolidate power and sideline his political opponents, most notably through a referendum to establish an assembly of his own allies to rewrite the constitution and circumvent the pre-existing legislature, which was controlled by the opposition. But Maduro also has admitted that his economic policies “have failed,” a rhetorical concession to the crisis that has led millions of Venezuelans to flee the country.
“Enough with the whining … we need to produce with or without (outside) aggression, with or without blockades, we need to make Venezuela an economic power,” Maduro said earlier this week, per France24. “No more whining, I want solutions, comrades!”
Maduro has drawn international condemnation, from governments and expatriate Venezuelans alike.
“I protest for truth, for the end of communism, and I am not with dictators,” Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera said last year. “To the people of the resistance, you are not alone.”
“Please do not do anything to my family,” Cabrera also said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regards Venezuela’s economic and political crisis as the “great[est] challenge” facing the region.
“The United States stands steadfast in support of the Venezuelan people and their efforts to return to democracy,” Pompeo said in June. “The Maduro regime’s efforts towards — to move towards unconstitutional government and its human rights abuses are now well known by all. All these actions have, among other ill consequences, resulted in an unconstitutional alteration of Venezuela’s constitutional order.”
