Venezuelan President Targeted in Drone Attack, Minister Says

CARACAS, Venezuela — A drone attack caused pandemonium at a military ceremony where President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela was speaking on Saturday, making the first lady flinch and sending National Guard troops scurrying in what administration officials called an assassination attempt.

The president, who was unharmed, later told the nation, “To all of our friends in the world, I am fine, I am alive.” He blamed right-wing elements and said, “The Bolivarian revolution keeps its path.”

Maduro has presided over a spectacular economic collapse in Venezuela, where inflation is expected to reach 1 million percent this year despite the country’s large oil reserves. Economists blame decades of mismanagement under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

The drone attack was the latest in a string of attempts in recent years to end the tenure of Maduro, who was declared the victor of an election in May that carries his term until 2025. No previous assaults have been as bold, though, and this appeared to have been the first assassination attempt on a head of state using drones.

Jorge Rodríguez, the communications minister, said the attackers had used “several flying devices, drones, that had explosives that detonated” near where the president was standing.

The attack came shortly after 5:30 p.m. during an event the government said was meant to celebrate the 81st anniversary of the country’s National Guard.

During the president’s speech, which was broadcast live on state television, the camera began to shake. Maduro then looked into the air as his wife, Cilia Flores, flinched and reached for another official to brace herself.

The video feed was interrupted, but Maduro could be heard continuing to talk as voices in the background yelled for people to flee.

The video feed then showed figures dressed in black breaking through a barrier from the sidelines of a wide street where hundreds of uniformed guardsmen were arrayed in formation. The figures in black run toward the guardsmen, who abruptly flee in panic.

The transmission then cut off.

Maduro, addressing the nation just before 9 p.m., blamed right wing elements in Venezuela and Colombia for the attack, and said President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia was also responsible.

Maduro also suggested involvement by unidentified Americans.

Figures aligned with the opposition condemned the attack.

“This is not the way out of the Venezuelan crisis,” said Nicmer Evans, a political scientist who has campaigned with the opposition. “No one wants the exit to be the death of someone to resolve this country’s situation.”