VOA慢速英语2018--委内瑞拉搜捕无人机攻击者

Venezuela Hunts for Drone Attackers

Venezuelan officials are searching for people responsible for an attack on President Nicholas Maduro.

Drone aircraft carrying explosives flew close to Maduro. He was giving a speech in Caracas on Saturday. The president was unhurt in the incident.

The Associated Press (AP) says investigators¹ have raided several hotels and seized vehicles. At least six suspects were detained for questioning.

Venezuela’s government says the attackers had plotted to kill Maduro. It said the suspects organized the plot with others in the United States and Colombia. The government has yet to provide detailed² evidence to support the claims.

Venezuelan opposition³ leaders criticized Maduro for blaming the political opposition. They warned that he might use the attack to silence his critics.

Venezuela and the world

The attack came as Venezuela is suffering from an economic and humanitarian⁴ crisis, and Maduro finds himself increasingly alone.

The United States and other countries are taking economic actions against a growing list of high-level Venezuelan officials. They are also denouncing his government as oppressive.

Maduro and his allies said the attack was direct proof of an international plot to destroy his government. He also said the military’s reaction to the attack shows he still has the support of Venezuelan soldiers.

But observers said the images broadcast on television when the attack struck made him appear at risk.

Seeing soldiers fleeing in apparent panic does not show the “control and loyalty⁵ of security forces,” noted⁶ Torino Capital, a New York-based investment business.

Defense⁷ Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on Sunday that the attackers were trying to kill every member of Venezuela’s top leadership.

Details of the attack

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said the two drones were each carrying a kilogram of C-4 plastic explosive. They were flown toward Maduro, his wife and other officials. At the time, he was speaking to troops at an event celebrating the 81st anniversary of the National Guard.

One of the drones was supposed to explode above Maduro and the other was to explode directly in front of him, Reverol said.

The military was able to stop one of the drones electronically. The second crashed into an apartment building nearby, Reverol said.

He added that two of those arrested had earlier problems with the government. He said one took part in 2014 anti-governments protests that took place as Venezuela’s economic crisis worsened. The other was wanted by police for an attack on a military area, the interior minister said.

Two people who live in nearby buildings said they saw a drone flying over a street on Saturday and then heard an explosion.

One witness showed the AP cellphone video of a drone crashing into a building. He said the drone fell to the ground and exploded, causing a fire.

Maduro’s reaction to the attack

In a message to the nation Saturday night, an angry Maduro blamed the attack on the “far right.” He called on U.S. President Donald Trump⁸ to hold the “terrorist group” responsible.

John Bolton is Trump’s national security adviser⁹. On Sunday, Bolton, said: “If the government of Venezuela has hard information that they want to present to us that would show a…violation of U.S. criminal law, we’ll take a serious look at it.”

The Broad Front, a coalition¹⁰ of opposition groups in Venezuela, said the government was blaming people without proof.

The group said in a statement that the government was not interested in getting to the truth, but wanted to use the situation for political gain.

Claim of responsibility

A little-known group calling itself Soldiers in T-shirts claimed responsibility for the attack. The message could not be independently confirmed, however.

Maduro said the attack left him sure of the military’s support. He said he will continue with the socialist¹¹ revolution begun by former president Hugo Chavez.

“Venezuela will continue on the democratic, independent and socialist path,” Maduro said.

Torino Capital said that it believes Maduro will stay in power for many years. But it added that economic problems make it important to continue to watch the situation in Venezuela very closely.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

drone– n.a type of small aircraft that flies without a pilot

cellphone – n.a wireless¹² telephone

panic– n.a sudden, overpowering fright

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

12 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。