08.06.18: Magnicide

The Public Ministry provided an update today on its investigation into Saturday’s drone attack against Maduro. The update was provided by attorney general Tarek William Saab, who called the attack an attempt at “magnicide”, reiterating similar characterizations by other regimes officials, including Maduro himself.

During the press conference, Saab said that the authorities had identified the perpetrators of the attack, as well as those who lent them support. His comments echoes those made during a press conference this weekend by Minister of the Interior Nestor Reverol, who said that the government had identified everyone involved in the case, both inside and outside Venezuela.

Saab also revealed that at least one of the drones was operated from inside a vehicle near the stand from which Maduro delivered his speech on Saturday. He also said that the two drone operators were caught in the act by the authorities. Saab also said:

There are witnesses who saw [the drone] take off, and they identified [the operators]. This was the drone that crashed against the Don Eduardo residential [building] on the Fuerzas Armadas avenue.

The attorney general also said that the individuals who prepared the explosives for the attack had “international connections”.

It is not clear how many individuals have been arrested in the case, but at least six have been detained. Saab said today that the detained individuals were being charged with a host of crimes, including treason and attempted murder.

This morning, agents with the Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional (SEBIN), the regime’s political police, raided a hotel in Caracas. Venezuelan media reported that the hotel housed individuals connected with the drone attack, and that they were arrested.

Below, an image of SEBIN vehicles outside the Hotel Pestana in Caracas:

Venezuela Warns Colombia Against Aggression

On Saturday, Maduro personally blamed Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos for the drone attack in Caracas. Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a lengthy statement targeted at the government of Colombia, warning it against “new aggression”. and doubled-down on the linking of the attack to Bogota.

The statement begins by framing itself against Santos’ reaction to Maduro’s accusation, which came in the form of a tweet. Santos said:

To President [Maduro]: Don’t worry. I was busy with more important things on Saturday, baptizing my granddaughter Celeste.

Part of the Foreign Ministry’s statement reads:

The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has become aware of the Colombian position over the denunciation expressed by President Nicolas Maduro implication that country’s government, and in particular President Juan Manuel Santos, with the attempted magnicide that occurred on August 4 2018.

(…)

For the Bolivarian government of Venezuela, history has demonstrated that the Colombian oligarchy’s obsession with interfering in Venezuelan matters know no limits. The Venezuelan People [sic], in civil-military alliance, has stopped its plans before and will do so in the future, and we will never yield to your whims or your clear objectives.

We hold the government of Colombia responsible for any new aggression or attempt to launch from within or along its borders any provokation against [Simon] Bolivars’ homeland.

Annualized Inflation Hits 82,766%

The National Assembly’s Finance Commission revealed today that the country’s annualized inflation rate reached 82,766%, and that the rate for the month of July alone was 125%.The update was provided by deputy Stalin Gonzalez, who said that the average daily inflation for July was 2.7%, and that the inflation rate shot up 10,664% between January and May of this year.

Deputy Rafael Guzman pinned the heart on the issue on the Maduro regime’s unwillingness to stop printing money as a means to cover its expenses.

The inflation rate means that the price of goods and services doubles roughly every 26 days.

Back in late July, the International Monetary Fund revised its inflation estimate for Venezuela, and said that the rate could hit 1,000,000% at the end of the year.

Brazil Judge Orders Temporary Halt to Venezuelan Migration into Roraima

A Brazilian judge issued today a temporary injunction against Venezuelans entering into the country’s northern Roraima state, citing the over-representation of migrants in the state when compared to others in Brazil.

The judge ruled that the injunction would stand until a “numerical equilibrium” is reached in the number of Venezuelan migrants in Roraima and other parts of the country, and until the state of Roraima is able to create “humanitarian” conditions for the hosting of the migrants.

At least 50,000 Venezuelan migrants have entered Roraima state in recent months, which is one of the poorest and most remote in all of Brazil. The state has a population of 450,000.

The injunction marks the first instance of a neighbouring country outright banning the entry of Venezuelans.

---

Questions/Comments? E-mail me: invenezuelablog@gmail.com