On the night of 4th August Saturday when Venezuela president Nicolas Maduro was delivering a speech on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the national army in Caracas, an alleged drone attack aimed for Maduro’s assassination occurred. As per communication minister Jorge Rodriguez report, two drones loaded with explosives went off near the president’s stand. Seconds later there was a second explosion”.It was planned to fly two explosives-laden drones at president Maduro. One of the drones was knocked electronically by the Venezuelan military and the second drone was reported to be crashed about two blocks away (into an apartment building)from the place Maduro was delivering his speech to hundreds of troops. The security officers failed the assassination attempt of intriguers surrounding Maduro immediately with bulletproof shields. Maduro said, “That drone came after me. But there was a shield of love that always protects us. I am sure will live for many more years”.As per the report, seven soldiers got injured in this alleged assassination attempt. Nicolas Maduro accused Colombia of the alleged attack. He said, “no doubt Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was behind this attack”. But Colombian government denied for involvement in this alleged attack. Venezuelan cops made six arrests after this alleged Maduro assassination attempt. There may be more arrests in future as per Interior minister Nestor Reverol's report, the six arrested people had expressed anti-government sentiment in the past and that two of them had histories of criminal activity. Reverol said that all six people arrested have been charged with terrorism and assassination. Maduro said, “The investigation will get to the bottom of this. No matters who falls”.The Venezuelan government alleges that Maduro's political opponents conspired with individuals in Miami and Bogota, Colombia to try to kill Nicolas Maduro. The government has not given any evidence to support their claim. It should be noted that Maduro's administration has drawn widespread condemnation from many nations worldwide for violating human rights in his country. Opposition leaders believe that Maduro is using the alleged attack in his favour for disgracing his critics and enemy. It should be noted that Maduro is portrayed by the US and other democratic countries as a corrupt person. He imposes strict control on his people and on the press. Apart from it, his re-election as a president to a six-year term in the month of May was viewed as a rigged farce.
Currently, Venezuela is in an economic crisis. There are shortages of food and medicine with an increase in crime rate. In the future, there may be a greater government crackdown on Maduro's opponents due to the alleged assassination attempt. On Wednesday 8 August, the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of opposition leader Julio Borges and Juan Requesens(detained by police a day earlier) in connection with an alleged assassination attempt against president Nicolas Maduro. Afterwards, Julio Borges denied claims that he was a part of an alleged bid to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro. Julio Borges, the former head of Venezuela's national assembly said, “It's incredible how Nicolas Maduro makes a victim of himself when it is he who is responsible for the exodus of millions of Venezuelans.”Now the recent news on this alleged attack is that European Union(EU) has called for a “comprehensive and transparent investigation” into a drone “assassination” bid on president Nicolas Maduro.
WHO IS NICOLAS MADURO?
Born on 23rd November 1962, Nicolas Maduro is the Venezuelan politician who has served as the 63rd president of Venezuela since 2013. He used to be a bus driver in the starting days of his working life. He began his political career in the 1980s, by becoming an unofficial trade-unionist representing the bus drivers of Caracas Metro System. After the demise of the then president Hugo Chavez due to cancer on 5th March 2013, Maduro took over the powers and responsibilities of the president. A special election was held on 14th April 2013 to elect a new president. Maduro as the candidate of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela emerged as the winner of the elections with 50.62% of the votes. He was inaugurated formally on 19th April 2013. On 20th May 2018, Maduro was re-elected as the president of Venezuela. It was also reported in past that he was a follower of Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba.
Written by :- AJAY KUMAR
College :- Delhi Technological University.