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Venezuela lawmakers pursue opposition after alleged assassination bid
CARACAS, Aug 8, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Venezuela’s all-powerful constituent
assembly is launching proceedings Wednesday to try opposition lawmakers over
an alleged drone attack on President Nicolas Maduro that was denounced by
exiled opposition leader Julio Borges as a staged “farce”.
Constituent Assembly chief Diosdado Cabello called the session to strip the
lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity so they could face trial for the
alleged and failed bid to kill the president.
“When justice comes, it hits hard,” Cabello said.
Maduro and his government said the president had been targeted by two
flying drones each carrying a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of powerful C-4
explosives.
But details of Saturday’s incident remain unclear, with conflicting
information coming from various sources.
The Maduro administration said Colombia — including ex-president Juan
Manuel Santos, who ended his term Tuesday — had collaborated on the attack
with the “ultra far-right” Venezuelan opposition, including Borges, and it
was financed by unnamed figures in the US state of Florida.
No evidence was given to support the allegations, which have worsened
already fraught ties between Caracas and Bogota.
In a television and radio address, Maduro simultaneously accused opposition
legislator Juan Requesens and Borges of having plotted a drone
“assassination” attempt on the Socialist leader over the weekend.
Borges hit back on Tuesday night, calling the attack a staged “farce.”
“Neither the country nor the world believe you when it comes to this farce
of an attack, we all know that it was staged to persecute and repress those
of us who oppose your dictatorship,” he wrote on Twitter.
The president said several raids were underway as part of investigations.
Borges is one of the most prominent figures of the Venezuelan opposition
and like Requesens is a member of the Primero Justicia (Justice First) party
of former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles.
MORE/MR/ 1145 hrs
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Primero Justicia said Requesens and his sister Rafaela were “arrested and
hit” in a sweep by the SEBIN national intelligence service unit. Rafaela was
later released.
“All the statements (of detained suspects) point to Julio Borges, who lives
in a mansion in Bogota protected by the outgoing government of Colombia, we
know he has the cowardice to participate in this type of events,” Maduro
said.
He also railed against Requesens, describing him as one of his “craziest
and most psychopathic” adversaries.
– ‘Increased political persecution’ –
Earlier, Requesens delivered a fiery speech in which he promised to keep
pushing to get Maduro out of power.
“We are going to get Nicolas Maduro to leave in order to get out of this
tragedy,” the 29-year-old politician said at the opposition-held legislature.
“We will be able to receive all Venezuelans who are crazy enough to return
to the country, and for those of us who are here, we have no choice but to
continue stretching this rope until it breaks and we can get Nicolas Maduro
out.”
Shortly before the opposition crackdown, the legislature had demanded an
impartial investigation into the drone explosions, and denounced the
government’s efforts to use the event to “increase political persecution” of
the opposition.
“We reaffirm that Venezuelans’ political struggle must focus… on
obtaining free and fair elections with full democratic conditions under
international observation,” added the declaration read in the semi-circular
chamber.
The Constituent Assembly loyal to Maduro moved to May the presidential
election usually held in December, leading to Maduro’s election until 2025.
But the opposition and much of the international community rejected the
results as illegitimate.
On Monday, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said several suspects were
in custody and authorities would track down “all those who conspire against
public peace.”
He called the drone attack, in which seven soldiers were said to be
wounded, “an attempted massacre.”
Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said Sunday that six suspects had been
arrested.
No drones could be seen in the broadcast of the event, which was cut
moments after the soldiers were seen scattering away from where Maduro was
standing flanked by military chiefs and his wife.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1145 hrs