6 arrested over alleged drone attack on Venezuela’s Maduro

Venezuelan authorities said Sunday that they have detained six people allegedly connected to what President Nicolás Maduro claimed was an assassination attempt, and what other leaders have deemed a terrorist attack.

The Associated Press reported that the six individuals are suspected of packing two drones with explosives, which exploded during a speech Maduro was giving at a military ceremony on Saturday.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Néstor Luis Reverol said more arrests could follow in the incident, which he called a terrorist attack, according to the AP.

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Reverol said security disabled one drone that was headed toward the stage where Maduro was speaking, while another crashed into a nearby building and exploded. 

Video of the scene shows Maduro speaking, followed by two explosions. Bodyguards quickly move to shield Maudro, while troops that were lined up in the street scattered.

Maduro on Saturday seemed to blame Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, while also suggesting those behind the attacks live in the United States.

President Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” where he denied any U.S. involvement in the incident. He added that all Americans located at the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela are safe and secure.

Bolton noted that Maduro has a history of baselessly blaming Santos and the U.S. for incidents in Venezuela.

“If the government of Venezuela has hard information that they want to present to us that would show a potential violation of U.S. criminal law, we’ll take a serious look at it,” he said. “But in the meantime, I think what we really should focus on is the corruption and the oppression of the Maduro regime in Venezuela.”

.@AmbJohnBolton on the apparent “assassination attempt” on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro: “There was no U.S. government involvement in this at all.” pic.twitter.com/9yIZZt7Rog

— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) August 5, 2018

The U.S. has ratcheted up pressure on the Maduro regime in recent months, particularly around the time of his reelection. The U.S. decried the vote in May as a “sham.”

One day after the election, the Trump administration levied sanctions that blunted Venezuela’s ability to liquidate assets and prevented Americans from carrying out certain financial transactions with the Venezuelan government.