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Venezuelan leader says two opposition MPs involved in assassination plot — media

Maduro’s assassination attempt was committed with the use of several drones packed with explosives

MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. /TASS/. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused two opposition MPs Julio Borges and Juan Requesens of their involvement in Saturday’s assassination attempt, Nacional newspaper wrote on its website.

Their names were revealed by one of the suspects, Juan Monasterio Vanegas, in a video recording.

The Justice First party wrote on Twitter that Requesens was detained on Tuesday afternoon by 14 members of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service. "We don’t know where he is, the regime is responsible for his life," the political organization said in a statement.

Maduro’s assassination attempt was committed with the use of several drones packed with explosives. They detonated while the head of state was delivering his speech at the ceremony for the 81st anniversary of the Bolivarian National Guard’s establishment on August 4. Seven law enforcement officers were injured. Neither the state leader nor the top government officials were injured in the explosion, he said.

The Venezuelan president blamed the country’s far-right and Colombian far-right forces for the assassination attempt as well as former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who stepped down on August 7. Maduro claimed that some of those who had plotted to kill him lived in the United States.

Six suspects have been detained as part of the investigation into the attempted assassination, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said on Sunday.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry has slammed Maduro’s accusations as absurd. The Venezuelan opposition said the attempts of accusing it of the incident were irresponsible.