Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro dodged an apparent assassination attempt when drones armed with explosives detonated while he was delivering a speech to hundreds of soldiers being broadcast live on television, officials said.

Caught by surprise mid-speech, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, looked up at the sky and winced Saturday after hearing the sound of an explosion pierce the air.

"This was an attempt to kill me," he said later in an impassioned retelling of the events. "Today they attempted to assassinate me."

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the incident took place shortly after 5:30 p.m. as Maduro was celebrating the National Guard's 81st anniversary. The visibly shaken head of state said he saw a "flying device" that exploded before his eyes. He thought it might be a pyrotechnics display in honor of the event.

Within seconds, Maduro said he heard a second explosion and pandemonium ensued. Bodyguards escorted Maduro out of the event and television footage showed uniformed soldiers standing in formation quickly scattering from the scene.

He said the "far right" working in coordination with detractors in Bogota and Miami, including Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, were responsible. Some of the "material authors" of the apparent attack have been detained.

"The investigation will get to the bottom of this," he said. "No matter who falls."

Venezuela's government routinely accuses opposition activists of plotting to attack and overthrow Maduro, a deeply unpopular leader who was recently elected to a new term in office in a vote decried by dozens of nations. Maduro has steadily moved to concentrate power as the nation reels from a crippling economic crisis.

In the midst of near-daily protests last year, a rogue police officer flew a stolen helicopter over the capital and launched grenades at several government buildings. Oscar Perez was later killed in a deadly gun battle after over six months on the lam.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab said the attempted assassination targeted not only Maduro, but rather the military's entire high command on stage with the president.

Prosecutors have already launched their investigation and obtained critical details from the suspects in custody, said Saab, adding that he would give more details Monday.

"We are in the midst of a wave of civil war in Venezuela," Saab said.

Firefighters at the scene of the blast disputed the government's version of events. Three local authorities said there had been a gas tank explosion inside an apartment near Maduro's speech where smoke could be seen streaming out of a window. They provided no further details on how they had reached that conclusion.

A Colombian official with the president's office described Maduro's claims that Santos was involved in the attack as baseless.

Adding to the confusion, a little known group calling itself Soldiers in T-shirts claimed responsibility, saying it planned to fly two drones loaded with explosives at the president, but government soldiers shot them down before reaching its target. The Associated Press could not independently verify the authenticity of the message.

"We showed that they are vulnerable," the group said in a tweet. "It was not successful today, but it is just a matter of time."

The organization did not respond to a message from The Associated Press.

David Smilde, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America who has spent decades researching Venezuela, said the incident did not appear to be a staged attack by Maduro's government for political gain.

The "amateurish" attack prompted embarrassing images of Maduro cut off mid-sentence with droves of soldiers running away in fear, making the president appear vulnerable, Smilde noted. Despite the optics, Smilde said he suspected that Maduro would nonetheless find a way to take advantage of it.

"He will use it to concentrate power," Smilde said. "Whoever did this, he'll use it to further restrict liberty and purge the government and armed forces."

The event had been just one more of many Maduro routinely holds with members of the military, a key faction of Venezuelan society whose loyalty he has clung to as the nation struggles with crippling hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

"We are going to bet for the good of our country," Maduro declared triumphantly moments before the explosion. "The hour of the economy recovery has come."

Images being shared on social media showed officers surrounding Maduro with what appeared to be a black bullet-proof barrier as they escorted him from the site. Maduro said at no point did he panic, confident the military would protect him.

"That drone came after me," he said. "But there was a shield of love that always protects us. I'm sure I'll live for many more years."

Armario reported from Miami, Florida. Associated Press video journalist Clbyburn Saint John contributed to this report.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Investigators hunting for assailants behind a failed attempt to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro with explosives-laden drones have raided hotels and seized vehicles while grilling six suspects for details of the plot.

Venezuela's socialist government alleged Sunday that the detained suspects conspired with others in Miami and the capital of neighboring Colombia, though they offered no specific evidence. Opposition leaders criticized Maduro for broadly singling out his political opponents, and they warned that he might use the attack to further suppress his critics.

The attack came as Venezuela is reeling from an economic and humanitarian crisis and Maduro has grown increasingly isolated. Foreign nations, including the United States, are slapping economic sanctions on a growing list of high-ranking Venezuelan officials and decrying his government as an autocratic regime.

Maduro and his allies called the attack direct proof that an international plot to overthrow his socialist administration exists, while also saying that the military's response shows he still has the loyalty of Venezuela's soldiers.

But analysts said the images broadcast live on television when the attack struck during a Maduro speech Saturday evening made him appear vulnerable.

"Seeing trained soldiers fleeing in apparent panic and disarray before an explosion strongly contrasts with the idea of monolithic control and loyalty of security forces that Maduro prides himself on," the New York-based Torino Capital investment firm said.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, appearing on state television Sunday, said the attackers were trying to wipe out Venezuela's entire top leadership along with Maduro.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said two drones, each packed with a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of C-4 plastic explosive, were flown toward Maduro, his wife and other top leaders as the president spoke to hundreds of troops during an event celebrating the 81st anniversary of the National Guard. One of the drones was intended to explode above Maduro and the other was to detonate directly in front of him, Reverol said.

The military managed to knock one of the drones off course electronically and the other craft crashed into an apartment building two blocks away, Reverol said.

"We have six terrorists and assassins detained," he said. "In the next hours there could be more arrests."

Reverol said two of those arrested had previous run-ins with the government, although he did not give their names. He said one took part in 2014 anti-governments protests that rocked Venezuela's as it descended deeper into an economic crisis that is now worse than the Great Depression. The other had a warrant out for his arrest for participating in an attack on a military barracks, the interior minister said.

Investigators continued searching the blackened apartment building near the speech site, and authorities said officers also raided six hotels, where some of the suspects were arrested and "film" evidence was collected. Officials gave no details.

Two witnesses who live in nearby apartment buildings said they saw a drone hovering over a residential street Saturday evening and then heard an explosion.

One witness showed The Associated Press cellphone video of a drone crashing into a building. He said the drone fell to the ground and exploded, igniting a fire in an apartment.

Another witness, Mairum Gonzalez, described running in panic to her fifth-floor balcony, where she heard the second explosion and saw smoke rising.

"It was so strong the building shook," she said. "It terrified me."

In an address to the nation later Saturday night, a visibly shaken Maduro blamed the attack on the "far right," and he called on U.S. President Donald Trump to hold the "terrorist group" accountable.

Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, said: "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."

The Broad Front, a coalition of opposition groups in Venezuela, accused the government of making an allegation without proof.

"It's evident that the initial reaction of the government isn't aimed at attempting to clarify what happened but rather to take advantage of the situation and irresponsibly and sweepingly attack the 'opposition,'" the group said in a statement.

A little-known group calling itself Soldiers in T-shirts claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it planned to fly two drones loaded with explosives at the president but soldiers shot them down. The authenticity of the message could not be independently verified, and the organization did not respond to a message from the AP.

"It was not successful today, but it is just a matter of time," the group said in a tweet.

Venezuela's government routinely accuses opposition activists of plotting to attack and overthrow Maduro. The former bus driver has moved steadily to consolidate power as the nation struggles to reverse hyperinflation that the International Monetary Fund projects could top 1 million percent by year's end.

Last year, amid deadly, near-daily protests, rogue police officer Oscar Perez flew a stolen helicopter over the capital and launched grenades at several government buildings. Perez and several comrades were killed in a gunbattle with police after more than six months at large.

Maduro said the attack left him convinced of the military's support and undeterred in carrying forward the socialist revolution begun by the late Hugo Chavez.

"Venezuela will continue on the democratic, independent and socialist path," Maduro said.

Analysts believe Maduro still holds the military's support, but also said the attack was an embarrassment for a government that prides itself on control and invincibility.

"We continue to hold as our scenario one in which Maduro remains in power for coming years," Torino Capital said in its analysis. "However, given the regime's unpopularity and the depth of the country's economic crisis, we believe it is important to monitor events that can become catalysts for broader protest movements leading to regime change."

Associated Press writer Scott Smith reported this story in Caracas and AP writer Christine Armario reported from Miami.</s>Venezuelan president: Far-right responsible for attempt on my life

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan president: Far-right responsible for attempt on my life.</s>Maduro opponents warn of crackdown after blast in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Opposition leaders in Venezuela warn that the government might use an apparent assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro as an excuse to crack down on those who legitimately oppose his policies.

Maduro was delivering a televised speech Saturday evening to hundreds of soldiers when he and his wife, Cilia Flores, looked up at the sky and winced after hearing the sound of an explosion.

Nearby residents said Sunday they saw a drone crash into a building and explode about two blocks away from where Maduro was speaking.

"This was an attempt to kill me," he said later in an impassioned retelling of the event. "Today, they attempted to assassinate me."

Maduro said the "far right" working in coordination with detractors in Bogota and Miami, including Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, were responsible. Some of the "material authors" of the apparent attack have been detained, he said.

"The investigation will get to the bottom of this," he said, "no matter who falls."

A Colombian official with the president's office described Maduro's accusation that Santos was involved as baseless.

The Broad Front opposition alliance issued a statement accusing the government or leaping to the assumption the explosions were an assassination attempt and of making "irresponsible" accusations without any proof.

"We warn that this confused event could be used as an excuse to repress the constitutional rights of the people to continue protesting for the defense of their rights," the statement said late Saturday.

Venezuela's government routinely accuses opposition activists of plotting to attack and overthrow Maduro, a deeply unpopular leader who was recently elected to a new term in office in a vote decried by dozens of nations. Maduro has steadily moved to concentrate power as the nation reels from a crippling economic crisis.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the incident took place shortly after 5:30 p.m. Saturday as Maduro was celebrating the National Guard's 81st anniversary. The visibly shaken head of state said he saw a "flying device" that exploded before his eyes. He thought it might be a pyrotechnics display in honor of the event.

Within seconds, Maduro said he heard a second explosion and pandemonium broke out. Bodyguards escorted Maduro from the event and TV footage showed uniformed soldiers in formation quickly scattering from the scene.

Witnesses interviewed Sunday by The Associated Press confirmed seeing at least one drone that appeared to be linked to an explosion.

One showed a cellphone video of a drone hovering over a residential street two blocks away and then crashing into a building. While the video doesn't show an explosion, the witness said it fell and then exploded, starting a fire in the building.

Police arrested the drone pilot, the witness said. Crime scene investigators combed the building for evidence.

Another resident apparently saw the same drone. Mairum Gonzalez said she heard a thundering explosion and ran in terror to her fifth-floor balcony.

"It was so strong the building shook," she said. "I said 'Oh, my God, what happened?' It terrified me."

Gonzalez said she next saw a drone hit the same building mentioned by the other witness and then fall. Moments later, she heard a second blast and saw black smoke. People screamed as they ran in the street below, she said.

An earlier account by firefighters at the scene of the blast hand linked the explosion to a gas leak.

U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton told "Fox News Sunday" that he can state "unequivocally" that "there was no U.S. government involvement in this at all."

At one point Saturday, Maduro asked Trump to arrest the "terrorists."

Apparently in response, Bolton said, "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."

In the midst of near-daily protests last year, a rogue police officer flew a stolen helicopter over the capital and launched grenades at several government buildings. Oscar Perez was later killed in a deadly gun battle after over six months on the lam.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab said the attempted assassination targeted not only Maduro, but the military's entire high command on stage with the president.

Prosecutors have already launched their investigation and obtained critical details from the suspects in custody, said Saab, adding that he would give more details Monday.

"We are in the midst of a wave of civil war in Venezuela," Saab said.

Adding to the confusion, a little known group calling itself Soldiers in T-shirts claimed responsibility, saying it planned to fly two drones loaded with explosives at the president, but government soldiers shot them down before reaching its target. The AP could not independently verify the authenticity of the message.

"We showed that they are vulnerable," the group said in a tweet. "It was not successful today, but it is just a matter of time."

The organization did not respond to a message from the AP.

David Smilde, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America who has spent decades researching Venezuela, said the incident did not appear to be a staged attack by Maduro's government for political gain.

The "amateurish" attack prompted embarrassing images of Maduro cut off midsentence with droves of soldiers running away in fear, making the president appear vulnerable, Smilde noted. Despite the optics, Smilde said he suspected that Maduro would nonetheless find a way to take advantage of it.

"He will use it to concentrate power," Smilde said. "Whoever did this, he'll use it to further restrict liberty and purge the government and armed forces."

The event had been just one more of many Maduro routinely holds with members of the military, a key faction of Venezuelan society whose loyalty he has clung to as the nation struggles with crippling hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

"We are going to bet for the good of our country," Maduro declared triumphantly moments before the explosion. "The hour of the economy recovery has come."

Images on social media showed officers surrounding Maduro with what appeared to be a black bulletproof shields as they escorted him from the site. Maduro said at no point did he panic, confident the military would protect him.

"That drone came after me," he said. "But there was a shield of love that always protects us. I'm sure I'll live for many more years."

Armario reported from Miami, Florida. AP video journalist Clbyburn Saint John contributed to this report.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela - Investigators hunting for assailants behind a failed attempt to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro with explosives-laden drones have raided hotels and seized vehicles while grilling six suspects for details of the plot.

Venezuela’s socialist government alleged Sunday that the detained suspects conspired with others in Miami and the capital of neighboring Colombia, though they offered no specific evidence. Opposition leaders criticized Maduro for broadly singling out his political opponents, and they warned that he might use the attack to further suppress his critics.

The attack came as Venezuela is reeling from an economic and humanitarian crisis and Maduro has grown increasingly isolated. Foreign nations, including the United States, are slapping economic sanctions on a growing list of high-ranking Venezuelan officials and decrying his government as an autocratic regime.

Maduro and his allies called the attack direct proof that an international plot to overthrow his socialist administration exists, while also saying that the military’s response shows he still has the loyalty of Venezuela’s soldiers.

But analysts said the images broadcast live on television when the attack struck during a Maduro speech Saturday evening made him appear vulnerable.

"Seeing trained soldiers fleeing in apparent panic and disarray before an explosion strongly contrasts with the idea of monolithic control and loyalty of security forces that Maduro prides himself on," the New York-based Torino Capital investment firm said.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, appearing on state television Sunday, said the attackers were trying to wipe out Venezuela’s entire top leadership along with Maduro.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said two drones, each packed with 2.2 pounds of C-4 plastic explosive, were flown toward Maduro, his wife and other top leaders as the president spoke to hundreds of troops during an event celebrating the 81st anniversary of the National Guard. One of the drones was intended to explode above Maduro and the other was to detonate directly in front of him, Reverol said.

The military managed to knock one of the drones off course electronically and the other craft crashed into an apartment building two blocks away, Reverol said.

"We have six terrorists and assassins detained," he said. "In the next hours there could be more arrests."

Reverol said two of those arrested had previous run-ins with the government, although he did not give their names. He said one took part in 2014 anti-governments protests that rocked Venezuela’s as it descended deeper into an economic crisis that is now worse than the Great Depression. The other had a warrant out for his arrest for participating in an attack on a military barracks, the interior minister said.

Investigators continued searching the blackened apartment building near the speech site, and authorities said officers also raided six hotels, where some of the suspects were arrested and “film” evidence was collected. Officials gave no details.

Two witnesses who live in nearby apartment buildings said they saw a drone hovering over a residential street Saturday evening and then heard an explosion.

One witness showed The Associated Press cellphone video of a drone crashing into a building. He said the drone fell to the ground and exploded, igniting a fire in an apartment.

Another witness, Mairum Gonzalez, described running in panic to her fifth-floor balcony, where she heard the second explosion and saw smoke rising.

"It was so strong the building shook," she said. "It terrified me."

In an address to the nation later Saturday night, a visibly shaken Maduro blamed the attack on the "far right," and he called on U.S. President Donald Trump to hold the "terrorist group" accountable.

Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, said: "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."

The Broad Front, a coalition of opposition groups in Venezuela, accused the government of making an allegation without proof.

"It’s evident that the initial reaction of the government isn’t aimed at attempting to clarify what happened but rather to take advantage of the situation and irresponsibly and sweepingly attack the ‘opposition,'" the group said in a statement.

A little-known group calling itself Soldiers in T-shirts claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it planned to fly two drones loaded with explosives at the president but soldiers shot them down. The authenticity of the message could not be independently verified, and the organization did not respond to a message from the AP.

"It was not successful today, but it is just a matter of time," the group said in a tweet.

Venezuela’s government routinely accuses opposition activists of plotting to attack and overthrow Maduro. The former bus driver has moved steadily to consolidate power as the nation struggles to reverse hyperinflation that the International Monetary Fund projects could top 1 million percent by year’s end.

Last year, amid deadly, near-daily protests, rogue police officer Oscar Perez flew a stolen helicopter over the capital and launched grenades at several government buildings. Perez and several comrades were killed in a gunbattle with police after more than six months at large.

Maduro said the attack left him convinced of the military’s support and undeterred in carrying forward the socialist revolution begun by the late Hugo Chavez.

"Venezuela will continue on the democratic, independent and socialist path," Maduro said.

Analysts believe Maduro still holds the military’s support, but also said the attack was an embarrassment for a government that prides itself on control and invincibility.

"We continue to hold as our scenario one in which Maduro remains in power for coming years," Torino Capital said in its analysis. "However, given the regime’s unpopularity and the depth of the country’s economic crisis, we believe it is important to monitor events that can become catalysts for broader protest movements leading to regime change."</s>Caracas: Venezuelan officials have given a more detailed description of the two drone bombs used in an attempt to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro, saying that each craft carried about a kilogram of plastic explosive and that the plot was foiled, in part, by equipment designed to jam radio signals.

Six suspects were in custody in connection with the Saturday attack, which failed to hurt the president but left seven soldiers injured, three of them seriously.

The government also confirmed that one errant drone crashed into an apartment building near the central Caracas street where Maduro spoke at an outdoor event commemorating the founding of the national guard. The device subsequently exploded as it fell to the ground, causing no injuries but leaving dark scorch marks on the side of the building.

Nestor Reverol, the interior, justice and peace minister, said in an interview on state television Sunday that the attack on Maduro was carried out with two remote-controlled drones that carried up to 1 kilogram each of C-4 explosive.</s>The Latest on explosions at speech given by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (all times local):

Firefighters at the scene of an explosion that Venezuelan officials call an attack on President Nicolas Maduro are disputing the government's version of events.

Three officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case say the incident was actually a gas tank explosion inside an apartment.

Smoke could be seen coming out of a building window at the site of the incident.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said that several drones armed with explosives detonated near Maduro as he was delivering a speech.

He characterized it as an attack aimed at the embattled president, who was recently elected to a new term in office despite a crippling economic and humanitarian crisis.

Venezuela's government says several explosions heard at a military event were an attempted attack on President Nicolas Maduro.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said in a live broadcast Saturday that several drone-like devices with explosives detonated near the president.

He said Maduro is safe and unharmed but that seven people were injured.

Firefighters near the scene are disputing the government's version of events.</s>Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has survived an apparent assassination attempt in which he was targeted by drones armed with explosives while delivering a live TV address.

In Sunday evening’s broadcast, Maduro can be seen giving an impassioned speech to hundreds of soldiers, before the sound of an explosion causes him and wife Cilia Flores to flinch and look up to the sky.

Speaking afterwards Maduro, who was quickly ushered away by bodyguards, said: ‘This was an attempt to kill me.’

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the incident took place shortly after 5.30pm as Maduro was celebrating the National Guard’s 81st anniversary in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.

The head of state said he saw a ‘flying device’ that exploded before his eyes, and initially thought it might be a pyrotechnics display.

Within seconds, a second explosion was heard and pandemonium ensued, with the assembled soldiers scattering and Maduro guided to safety by his security staff.

Maduro has blamed the ‘far right’ – working in co-ordination with detractors in Bogota and Miami, including Colombian President Juan Manuel Santo – for the attack.

Some of the ‘material authors’ of the apparent assassination attempt have been detained, the Venezuelan government has said.

‘The investigation will get to the bottom of this,’ he said. ‘No matter who falls.’

Venezuela’s government routinely accuses opposition activists of plotting to attack and overthrow Maduro, who has been accused of authoritarian leadership, and has steadily moved to concentrate power as the nation reels from a crippling economic crisis.

In the midst of near-daily protests last year, a rogue police officer flew a stolen helicopter over the capital and launched grenades at several government buildings.

The man, Oscar Perez, was later killed in a gun battle after six months on the run.

Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, said the attempted assassination targeted not only Maduro, but rather the military’s entire high command, who were sharing the stage.

‘We are in the midst of a wave of civil war in Venezuela,’ Saab said.

Firefighters at the scene of the blast disputed the government’s version of events.

Three local authorities said there had been a gas tank explosion inside an apartment near Maduro’s speech where smoke could be seen streaming out of a window. They provided no further details on how they had reached that conclusion.

A Colombian official described Maduro’s claims that Santos was involved in the attack as baseless.

Adding to the confusion, a little known group calling itself Soldiers in T-shirts claimed responsibility, saying it planned to fly two drones loaded with explosives at the president, but government soldiers shot them down before reaching its target. The authenticity of the message has not been verified.

‘We showed that they are vulnerable,’ the group said in a tweet. ‘It was not successful today, but it is just a matter of time.’

David Smilde, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America who has spent decades researching Venezuela, said the incident did not appear to be a staged attack by Maduro’s government for political gain.

The ‘amateurish’ attack prompted embarrassing images of Maduro cut off mid-sentence with droves of soldiers running away in fear, making the president appear vulnerable, Smilde noted.

Despite the optics, Smilde said he suspected that Maduro would nonetheless find a way to take advantage of it.

‘He will use it to concentrate power,’ Smilde said. ‘Whoever did this, he’ll [Maduro will] use it to further restrict liberty and purge the government and armed forces.’

The event had been just one more of many Maduro routinely holds with members of the military, a faction whose loyalty he has clung to as the nation struggles with hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine.

‘The hour of the economy recovery has come,’ he declared, moments before the explosion.</s>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela’s government said on Sunday that six people had been detained over drone explosions at an event attended by President Nicolas Maduro as his political opposition warned of a possible crackdown after he accused his adversaries of seeking to assassinate him.

State television on Saturday evening showed the socialist leader appearing startled by what seemed to be an explosion while he was giving a speech in Caracas. Seconds later, the footage panned to hundreds of soldiers chaotically scurrying out of formation.

One of the six suspects detained had a pending arrest warrant for a 2017 attack on a military base, and a second had been arrested in 2014 for participating in anti-government street protests, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said.

Opposition critics said the government has in the past used such incidents as a pretext for heavy-handed actions against critics, including jailing some of the country’s best-known leaders.

“We warn that the government is taking advantage of this incident ... to criminalize those who legitimately and democratically oppose it and deepen the repression and systematic human rights violations,” wrote the Broad Front opposition coalition in a statement published on Twitter.

Bolivar Avenue of downtown Caracas, where the incident took place, was calm on Sunday morning. Joggers and cyclists were taking up two of the lanes that are traditionally used for weekend recreation. The stage where Maduro spoke had been removed.

Two witnesses in the area said on Sunday that they heard and felt an explosion in the late afternoon, then saw a drone fall out of the sky and hit a nearby building.

“I heard the first explosion, it was so strong that the buildings moved,” said Mairum Gonzalez, 45, a pre-school teacher. “I went to the balcony and I saw the little plane ... it hit the building and smoke started to come out.”

A second witness, who lives in the building that was struck by the drone but asked not to be identified, described a similar sequence of events.

Firemen appeared quickly on the scene to put out the blaze, but were not told what the cause of it was, said Caracas Fire Department Official Jose Oropeza.

“The alarm was sounded at 5:40 and we went to the fire,” said Oropeza. “It was a routine fire, that’s all,” he said.

A shadowy and little-known group called the National Movement of Soldiers with T-Shirts, which claimed responsibility for the incident, sent a statement wishing a speedy recovery for seven wounded soldiers but vowed further resistance.

“We will not cease our struggle until we achieve the restoration of the constitution and of democracy,” read the statement.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm the involvement of the group, which in the past has said it is linked to anti-government street protesters known as “The Resistance.”

Maduro ally Freddy Bernal via Twitter sent mug shots of seven people who appeared to be in their early twenties, urging the Venezuelan people to search for “these traitors.”

Opposition critics accuse Maduro of fabricating or exaggerating security incidents to distract from hyperinflation and Soviet-style product shortages.

Leopoldo Lopez, formerly mayor of Caracas’ district of Chacao, for example, is under house arrest for his role in 2014 street protests that Maduro described as a coup attempt but his adversaries insisted were a form of free expression.

Maduro’s allies counter that the opposition has a history of involvement in military conspiracies, most notably in the 2002 coup that briefly toppled socialist leader Hugo Chavez.

The OPEC member is struggling under the collapse of a once-prosperous socialist system, with millions now struggling to eat or find medicine - causing a growing exodus of citizens.

Maduro, who blames the country’s problems on an “economic war” led by adversaries, during the course of his five-year rule has often announced having foiled military plots against him that he says are backed by Washington.

“I have no doubt that everything points to the Right, the Venezuelan ultra-Right,” Maduro said in a broadcast. “Maximum punishment! And there will be no forgiveness.”

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton told Fox News in an interview on Sunday that the United States was not involved in the blast.</s>Venezuela detains 6, hunts more in drone attack on Maduro

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Investigators hunting for assailants behind a failed attempt to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro with explosives-laden drones have raided hotels and seized vehicles while grilling six suspects for details of the plot.

Venezuela's socialist government alleged Sunday that the detained suspects conspired with others in Miami and the capital of neighboring Colombia, though they offered no specific evidence. Opposition leaders criticized Maduro for broadly singling out his political opponents, and they warned that he might use the attack to further suppress his critics.

The attack came as Venezuela is reeling from an economic and humanitarian crisis and Maduro has grown increasingly isolated. Foreign nations, including the United States, are slapping economic sanctions on a growing list of high-ranking Venezuelan officials and decrying his government as an autocratic regime.

Maduro and his allies called the attack direct proof that an international plot to overthrow his socialist administration exists, while also saying that the military's response shows he still has the loyalty of Venezuela's soldiers.

But analysts said the images broadcast live on television when the attack struck during a Maduro speech Saturday evening made him appear vulnerable.

"Seeing trained soldiers fleeing in apparent panic and disarray before an explosion strongly contrasts with the idea of monolithic control and loyalty of security forces that Maduro prides himself on," the New York-based Torino Capital investment firm said.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, appearing on state television Sunday, said the attackers were trying to wipe out Venezuela's entire top leadership along with Maduro.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said two drones, each packed with a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of C-4 plastic explosive, were flown toward Maduro, his wife and other top leaders as the president spoke to hundreds of troops during an event celebrating the 81st anniversary of the National Guard. One of the drones was intended to explode above Maduro and the other was to detonate directly in front of him, Reverol said.

The military managed to knock one of the drones off course electronically and the other craft crashed into an apartment building two blocks away, Reverol said.

"We have six terrorists and assassins detained," he said. "In the next hours there could be more arrests."

Reverol said two of those arrested had previous run-ins with the government, although he did not give their names. He said one took part in 2014 anti-governments protests that rocked Venezuela's as it descended deeper into an economic crisis that is now worse than the Great Depression. The other had a warrant out for his arrest for participating in an attack on a military barracks, the interior minister said.

Investigators continued searching the blackened apartment building near the speech site, and authorities said officers also raided six hotels, where some of the suspects were arrested and "film" evidence was collected. Officials gave no details.

Two witnesses who live in nearby apartment buildings said they saw a drone hovering over a residential street Saturday evening and then heard an explosion.

One witness showed The Associated Press cellphone video of a drone crashing into a building. He said the drone fell to the ground and exploded, igniting a fire in an apartment.

Another witness, Mairum Gonzalez, described running in panic to her fifth-floor balcony, where she heard the second explosion and saw smoke rising.

"It was so strong the building shook," she said. "It terrified me."

In an address to the nation later Saturday night, a visibly shaken Maduro blamed the attack on the "far right," and he called on U.S. President Donald Trump to hold the "terrorist group" accountable.

Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, said: "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."

The Broad Front, a coalition of opposition groups in Venezuela, accused the government of making an allegation without proof.

"It's evident that the initial reaction of the government isn't aimed at attempting to clarify what happened but rather to take advantage of the situation and irresponsibly and sweepingly attack the 'opposition,'" the group said in a statement.

A little-known group calling itself Soldiers in T-shirts claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it planned to fly two drones loaded with explosives at the president but soldiers shot them down. The authenticity of the message could not be independently verified, and the organization did not respond to a message from the AP.

"It was not successful today, but it is just a matter of time," the group said in a tweet.

Venezuela's government routinely accuses opposition activists of plotting to attack and overthrow Maduro. The former bus driver has moved steadily to consolidate power as the nation struggles to reverse hyperinflation that the International Monetary Fund projects could top 1 million percent by year's end.

Last year, amid deadly, near-daily protests, rogue police officer Oscar Perez flew a stolen helicopter over the capital and launched grenades at several government buildings. Perez and several comrades were killed in a gunbattle with police after more than six months at large.

Maduro said the attack left him convinced of the military's support and undeterred in carrying forward the socialist revolution begun by the late Hugo Chavez.

"Venezuela will continue on the democratic, independent and socialist path," Maduro said.

Analysts believe Maduro still holds the military's support, but also said the attack was an embarrassment for a government that prides itself on control and invincibility.

"We continue to hold as our scenario one in which Maduro remains in power for coming years," Torino Capital said in its analysis. "However, given the regime's unpopularity and the depth of the country's economic crisis, we believe it is important to monitor events that can become catalysts for broader protest movements leading to regime change."

Associated Press writer Scott Smith reported this story in Caracas and AP writer Christine Armario reported from Miami, Florida.
Venezuelan authorities detain six people involved in what they call an assassination attempt on Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro.