Venezuela military officers arrested over Maduro assassination plot

Two high-ranking military officers have been arrested in the investigation into an assassination attempt on Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.

The list of suspects — including an exiled opposition MP — has now risen to 34 and officials are seeking arrests in Colombia, Peru and the United States, Venezuela’s attorney general Tarek William Saab said.

“There are 14 detainees who have been presented and charged before the criminal courts,” he said.

Officials say an assassination plot involved two drones loaded with plastic explosives that detonated near Mr Maduro as he spoke on August 4 at a military celebration in the capital of Caracas.

The first explosion in front of the grandstand caused hundreds of soldiers standing in parade formation to scatter. Seven soldiers were injured, but Mr Maduro and several senior officials nearby were unharmed.

Mr Saab said that the two detained officers include a general in the Venezuelan National Guard.

A 29-year-old opposition MP, Juan Requesens, is also under arrest and charged with treason and attempted homicide.

Relatives say he is jailed for being an outspoken critic of Mr Maduro’s government, but that he never participated in a crime.

Venezuelan officials are asking Colombia to extradite Julio Borges, a prominent opposition MP living in Bogota.