Maduro says foes used explosive drones to try to kill him

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a meeting with government officials at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, August 4, 2018. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he survived an assassination attempt involving explosive drones on Saturday thanks to God, the people and the country's armed forces, and he blamed Colombia and the United States for what he called a right-wing plot to kill him.

In a televised speech hours after his address to a military event in Caracas was cut short by apparent explosions, Maduro said "everything points" to a right-wing plot that initial investigation suggested originated in neighboring Colombia. Several perpetrators were caught, he said, without elaborating.

"That drone was coming for me but there was a shield of love," Maduro said. "I am sure I will live for many more years."

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Alistair Bell)