CARACAS: The United States on Sunday denied involvement as Nicolas Maduro blamed the opposition and Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos for an alleged “assassination” attempt on the Venezuela president.
Venezuela’s far-left government said seven soldiers were wounded by the alleged attack using explosive-laden drones during a military parade in Caracas on Saturday.
Maduro pointed the finger at outgoing Colombian President Santos and “the ultra-right wing,” a term he uses to describe domestic opposition, as a mysterious rebel group claimed responsibility.
US national security adviser John Bolton insisted there was “no US government involvement” and even suggested that the incident could have been “a pretext set up by the regime itself.”
Venezuela has already reacted to Saturday’s events with a series of arrests as Attorney General Tarek William Saab, who was also present at the parade, warning: “There will be a ruthless punishment.”
Saab said the names of those arrested would be revealed on Monday.
Once safely entrenched back in the presidential palace, Maduro barked out a defiant message to his detractors in a national address.
“Justice! Maximum punishment! And there will be no forgiveness,” he warned, sparking fears of an anti-opposition offensive in a country already reportedly holding some 248 political prisoners.
“I am fine, I am alive, and after this attack I’m more determined than ever to follow the path of the revolution,” added the successor to the late author of Venezuela’s socialist revolution, Hugo Chavez.
State television images showed Maduro looking up disconcertedly in the middle of a speech, having heard a bang, before members of the country’s National Guard lined up in the parade suddenly scattered.
“It was an attack to kill me, they tried to assassinate me,” Maduro said.
Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez said there was “an explosive charge... detonated close to the presidential podium” and in several other spots along the parade held in central Caracas. Saab told CNN he saw a drone filming the event explode.
No drones could be seen in the television broadcast, which showed bodyguards jumping in front of Maduro to protect him with flexible ballistic shields. The broadcast was quickly cut.
Meanwhile, a policeman who requested anonymity told AFP that drones may have been released from a nearby apartment that suffered a fire after one exploded. However, other accounts attributed the fire to the accidental explosion of a gas cylinder.
Late on Saturday, a civilian and military rebel group calling itself the “National Movement of Soldiers in T-shirts” claimed responsibility in a statement passed to US-based opposition journalist Patricia Poleo, who read it on her YouTube channel.
“We cannot tolerate that the population is suffering from hunger, that the sick do not have medicine, that the currency has no value, or that the education system neither educates nor teaches, only indoctrinating communism,” said the statement, accusing the regime of having “made public office an obscene way to get rich.”
Maduro, though, blamed neighboring Colombia: “I have no doubt that the name Juan Manuel Santos is behind this attack.”
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US denies role as Venezuela’s Maduro blames ‘assassination’ attempt on Colombia
US denies role as Venezuela’s Maduro blames ‘assassination’ attempt on Colombia
- Seven soldiers were wounded by the alleged attack using explosive-laden drones during a military parade in Caracas
FBI foils Daesh-inspired New Year’s Eve attack plot
- Christian Sturdivant,18, charged with attempting to provide material support to foreign terrorist organization
- Investigators say he shared plans for the attack with an undercover FBI employee
CHARLOTTE, United States: The FBI said Friday it disrupted a New Year’s Eve attack plot targeting a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina, arresting an 18-year-old man who authorities say pledged loyalty to the Daesh group.
Christian Sturdivant was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization after investigators say he shared plans for the attack with an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant.
Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained in custody after a federal court appearance Friday. An attorney representing him Friday did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Another hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.
The alleged attack would have taken place one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a US citizen and Army veteran who had proclaimed his support for Daesh on social media.
The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice and equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.
Searches of Sturdivant’s home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for an attack with knives and a hammer, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle said at a news conference Friday.
“He was willing to sacrifice himself,” Barnacle said.
US Attorney for western North Carolina Russ Ferguson said the planned attack in Mint Hill, a bedroom community near Charlotte, targeted “places that we go every day and don’t think that we may be harmed.”
Worried he might attempt violence before New Year’s Eve, the FBI placed Sturdivant under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, Ferguson said. Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he left his home with weapons, he said. “At no point was the public in harm’s way.”
The fact that Sturdivant encountered two undercover officers while allegedly planning the attack should reassure the public, Ferguson said. He declined to identify the grocery store and restaurant cited in the complaint, citing the ongoing investigation.
If convicted, Sturdivant faces up to 20 years in prison, according to court documents.
An FBI affidavit says the investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of Daesh, including imagery that appeared to promote violence. The account’s display name referenced Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the extremist group.
Some experts argue that Daesh is powerful today partly as a brand, inspiring both militant groups and individuals in attacks that the group itself may have no real role in.
The affidavit says Sturdivant had been on the FBI’s radar in January 2022, when he was a minor, after officials learned that he had been in contact with a person in Europe the FBI says was an Daesh member, and had received instructions to dress in black, knock on people’s doors and commit attacks with a hammer.
At that time, Sturdivant did actually set out for a neighbor’s house armed with a hammer and a knife but was restrained by his grandfather, the affidavit says.
The FBI in Los Angeles last month announced the disruption of a separate New Year’s Eve plot, arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group who federal officials said planned to bomb multiple sites in southern California.
Other Daesh-inspired attacks over the past decade include a 2015 shooting rampage by a husband-and-wife team who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, and a 2016 massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman who fatally shot 49 people.
Christian Sturdivant was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization after investigators say he shared plans for the attack with an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant.
Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained in custody after a federal court appearance Friday. An attorney representing him Friday did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Another hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.
The alleged attack would have taken place one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a US citizen and Army veteran who had proclaimed his support for Daesh on social media.
The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice and equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.
Searches of Sturdivant’s home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for an attack with knives and a hammer, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle said at a news conference Friday.
“He was willing to sacrifice himself,” Barnacle said.
US Attorney for western North Carolina Russ Ferguson said the planned attack in Mint Hill, a bedroom community near Charlotte, targeted “places that we go every day and don’t think that we may be harmed.”
Worried he might attempt violence before New Year’s Eve, the FBI placed Sturdivant under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, Ferguson said. Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he left his home with weapons, he said. “At no point was the public in harm’s way.”
The fact that Sturdivant encountered two undercover officers while allegedly planning the attack should reassure the public, Ferguson said. He declined to identify the grocery store and restaurant cited in the complaint, citing the ongoing investigation.
If convicted, Sturdivant faces up to 20 years in prison, according to court documents.
An FBI affidavit says the investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of Daesh, including imagery that appeared to promote violence. The account’s display name referenced Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the extremist group.
Some experts argue that Daesh is powerful today partly as a brand, inspiring both militant groups and individuals in attacks that the group itself may have no real role in.
The affidavit says Sturdivant had been on the FBI’s radar in January 2022, when he was a minor, after officials learned that he had been in contact with a person in Europe the FBI says was an Daesh member, and had received instructions to dress in black, knock on people’s doors and commit attacks with a hammer.
At that time, Sturdivant did actually set out for a neighbor’s house armed with a hammer and a knife but was restrained by his grandfather, the affidavit says.
The FBI in Los Angeles last month announced the disruption of a separate New Year’s Eve plot, arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group who federal officials said planned to bomb multiple sites in southern California.
Other Daesh-inspired attacks over the past decade include a 2015 shooting rampage by a husband-and-wife team who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, and a 2016 massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman who fatally shot 49 people.
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