Assassination attempt via drone on Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro fails.

President Nicholas Maduro. NPR/AFP/Getty

An assassination attempt on Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro has failed as the drone used in the attack missed its target. NPR. Two drones were supposedly used in the attack and seven soldiers were injured during the event where Maduro was addressing the economy. Video taken shows Maduro reacting to the drones and hundreds of soldiers breaking parade formation. Maduro blamed the attack on Columbia, the United States and far right factions in Venezuela. Columbia called the accusations "absurd". A little known group called "National Movement of Soldiers in T-shirts" took credit for the attack and said they will attempt to assassinate Maduro again. 

#URGENTE #VIDEO Aparente explosión en acto donde estaba el presidente Nicolás Maduro genera confusión pic.twitter.com/NYi21vok7T

— NTN24 Venezuela (@NTN24ve) August 4, 2018

My Comment:
Disturbing news out of Venezuela to say the least. I am no fan of Nicholas Maduro but an assassination attempt on him is fairly important news. Anytime a world leader is attacked is a huge story and one that deserves coverage. And this attack has regional and global significance as well.

I also have to say that I am not surprised that drones were used in this attack. Ever since ISIS started using drones in attacks in Syria and Iraq I knew that someone would eventually use the same method to attack a world leader in an assassination attempt. Given how successful those ISIS attacks were it is somewhat shocking that this attack failed. It was going to happen sooner or later and it's kind of surprising that it took this long.

Indeed, this should be a wake up call for security officials globally. The threat from drones is real and one that needs to be addressed. We need countermeasures against drones and we needed them yesterday. It also makes me wonder if the continued legality of drones will not be challenged. I am guessing that the news coverage this story is getting will encourage copycat attacks so something is probably going to change.

The political implications of this attack are huge. If Maduro is right or believes he is right that this attack was from Columbia it could be a prelude to war. There have been rumblings that Venezuela might invade their neighbor Guyana and a fight against Columbia would be inevitable in that case. An assassination attempt might be the push to take Venezuela off the path of peace and into war.

Venezuela's economy is in shambles and they only have a few ways out. Invading their neighbors is one of them as they can loot and plunder them and take back land they think is theirs. Doing so without a valid casus belli would ruin Venezuela in the international community but an assassination attempt would give them more sympathy and a real cause for war.

Which makes me wonder if this isn't a false flag. It just seems fairly convenient for this to happen now when Venezuela is in a death spiral and war is one of the only ways out. Plus I would think that an actual attempt would have succeeded in killing or at least wounding Maduro.

Of course this could have been a valid assassination attempt from local rebels. Venezuela has draconian gun control laws so there aren't too many other ways to fight back. Drones are legal, cheap and easily fitted with explosives. It's not like they need foreign help to use them in attacks. And a local group seems more likely the screw up an attack like this than any foreign government. They are desperate and may not have been able to try the attack out before they did it.

I guess it is possible that an international conspiracy is at play here but I kind of doubt it. President Trump doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that would order this kind of mission. Despite his bluster, Trump is more of a diplomat and would much prefer to talk things out with Venezuela instead of trying to assassinate their president. Plus, to be blunt, if Trump wanted Maduro dead, he would be dead. No question. 

Columbia was cited as a main suspect as well, but I doubt they would want to take out Maduro. They don't like him and hate what he is doing to the country, but right now Columbia is already dealing with Venezuelan refugees and border crossers. The last thing they want to do is provoke a war that will make both of those situations worse and could even lead to the fall of their government since their is no guarantee that they will win against Venezuela's powerful military.

We need to keep a close eye on Venezuela. It is very possible that this will be the spark that lights the tinderbox. Though war in South America isn't really on anyone's radar it should be now. I have no idea if this attack was legit or not but it is going to have consequences no matter who is responsible. Let's hope that the consequence isn't war.