CIA elements involved in Maduro assassination attempt: Expert
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in the attempted assassination of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, says counter-terrorism expert Scott Bennett.
The incident took place on Saturday night, while Maduro was giving a speech at a military event in the capital Caracas. The televised broadcast was cut short when an explosion was heard and others on the podium suddenly looked upwards, startled.
Maduro blamed Colombia for the attack, saying later on, “I have no doubt that the name (Colombian President) Juan Manuel Santos is behind this attack.”
Hours after the attack, US National Security Adviser John Bolton rushed to deny any US involvement.
“I can say unequivocally there is no US government involvement in this at all,” he told Fox News.
Bennet, a former US Army psychological warfare officer, told Press TV that the attack was just another move by the CIA to further the agency’s agenda of political wars in the region.
“I think the more we look into this we are going to see this was in fact a terrorist attempt by certain actors within the CIA, within Colombia, the extreme right that were targeting Maduro,” Bennett said Sunday.
“This, as it comes out, will be just another confirmation that the US CIA is a rogue element, is a rogue intelligence operation that is trying to push the United States into reckless political wars,” he added.
The analyst said it was possible that the attack on a US political envoy in Bangladesh on the same day was a “false flag” by the CIA to make a distraction from the assassination attempt against Maduro.
US officials said Sunday night that armed men had attacked a convoy of cars carrying US Ambassador to Banglade Marcia Bernicat and her security team in the capital Dhaka. She escaped the attack unharmed.
“As Maduro begins to expose the players, the origin of them, the methodology …. the more he is going to find direct ties back to this CIA intelligence community and the rogue elements the US has used to try and Venezuela,” Bennett said.
Bennett said the drone’s signatures and its flight path as well as the bank accounts and the financial trails of those involved in the attack were some of the key details that could help Caracas get to the bottom of the matter.
“So it’s a very sad day but perhaps it’s also a great day because it’s one of the trumpets of freedom that the rest of the world can start hearing and respond to by rejecting such acts of terrorism,” he concluded.
