CARACAS, Venezuela _ Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was unharmed after an apparent attack during a speech at a military parade in the capital, Caracas, according to his Information Minister.
Maduro was led off stage on Saturday after an explosion was heard during a nationally televised transmission, according to live footage on state television. The 55-year-old leader was flanked by his wife and Defense minister. After the explosion was heard, military personnel _ previously arranged in order _ began to flee the scene, the television images showed.
Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said on state television that there was an assassination attempt against the president that had failed, and that Maduro was unharmed and would speak to the country soon. At least seven military officers were injured after several drones carrying explosives detonated near the stage, he said, without providing additional details.
"Our investigations clearly show that there were explosions from several drones near the stage," Rodriguez said. "We have proof that this was an assassination attempt. They've failed."
Maduro, who was re-elected in May, is overseeing Venezuela's deepest economic crisis in recent memory. The increasingly isolated OPEC nation has seen hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans flee to neighboring countries to escape the hardship while the political opposition has been jailed, threatened or beaten at the ballot box in highly suspect elections.
Just before cameras panned away from him, Maduro said that "the hour of the economic recovery has come."
Earlier this year, a conspiracy to remove Maduro from power was discovered, according to a Bloomberg News report in late June.
