[4] Despite the images of National Guardsmen fleeing the scene that were broadcast to the public, Minister of Communication Jorge Rodríguez falsely stated that the troops maintained their ranks in the parade.

[22] In a televised address to the nation two hours after the incident, Maduro stated that an investigation had been opened immediately and a number of those connected to the attack had been apprehended and charged.

[30] Shortly after midnight VST on the morning of Tuesday, 7 August, Maduro said that he had "hard evidence" of "the Colombian oligarchy" planning the assassination, and that he would share it "in the next few hours".

[31][32] Maduro announced in a video at the same time that they now knew that the perpetrators were trained during April and June 2018 in Chinácota in Norte de Santander, Colombia, an area which borders the north of Venezuela.

[47][48] Though Borges and Requesens are leaders of the Justice First party, Reverol revealed that "the majority of the suspects are from the resistance group Come Venezuela" (sic).

Rodríguez also said that he had submitted a Red Notice to Interpol for the capture of "assassin" Julio Borges, and showed a video of Juan Requesens recorded in Helicoide.

][53][54] Rafaela Requesens, Juan's sister and student President of the Central University of Venezuela, expressed her anger that at least forty SEBIN agents broke into their house, also saying that the government wanted to plant false evidence to incriminate her brother.

Roberto Rodríguez, a student leader at Andrés Bello, denounced that the raid was done without a search warrant, that the electricity was cut off from the building, that many belongings in the house were stolen, and that the family were forced to escape.

[73][74] It was also announced that Venezuela were now formally seeking extradition of suspects from Peru,[74] with the government having issued 27 international arrest warrants to Interpol, as well as requesting account blocks and asset freezing for Osman Delgado and Julio Borges.

[12][87] Another group, called Operación Fénix ("Operation Phoenix"), made vague claims on Twitter, accusing the Maduro government of being involved in drug trafficking and stating that they sought to restore democracy in Venezuela.

[15][18] Salvatore Lucchese, a former Chief of Police of San Diego Municipality, Carabobo and former member of the Popular Will opposition party, claimed in an interview with Reuters in Bogotá that he largely organized the events, adding that the "armed struggle" would continue and "no dictator leaves power peacefully".

[91] A man who said he was a military dissident said that he had been part of a group of similar dissenters from all branches of the Venezuelan armed forces plotting a coup in Bogotá to overthrow the Maduro government, but had no plans of assassination and were not involved in the attack on 4 August, having been infiltrated and disseminated some weeks before.

[96] his friends, family, opposition political parties and Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, argue that the councilor's death was murder.

[100][101] A press release from the Venezuelan Constituent National Assembly, written by Diosdado Cabello, said that they "fiercely condemn the vile and cowardly attack against the constitutional President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" and that the "act of terrorism shows the hopelessness and frustration of the fascist right", also expressing solidarity with "the patriotic soldiers who were injured".

The National Assembly Vice President Julio César Reyes [es] spoke out against the move, saying that the "constitution is clear" and "only the Supreme Court of Justice has the authority to order a deputy's arrest, with congressional approval".

[60] A group brought some of Requesens' t-shirts as an offering for his release among other tributes for political prisoners during a mass service held in San Cristóbal, the capital of his home state Táchira.

[107] The Bar Association of Venezuela [es] released a statement condemning the arrest and imprisonment of Requesens, saying it was "arbitrary and illegal", campaigning for the government to release him and naming "numerous and gravely serious objections" to his imprisonment, with the worst being the "obscene, protuberant, impudent and even boastful [...] dissemination of [Requesens'] alleged self-incrimination", saying that they will seek action against the government and aim to prosecute those at fault "once the Rule of Law has been restored to our beloved Venezuela".

[118] It was reopened shortly after the official bar, with the Brazilian Supreme Court saying the move was too reactionary and "not justified", commentators connecting the closure with an already strained situation gaining further "raised tensions" after the drone incident.

[120] Vice President of the Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, Beatriz Becerra, condemned the arrest of Juan Requesens, stating "Kidnapped, tortured, humiliated.

[121] The Federal Foreign Office of Germany condemned the arrest of Requesens calling it a "clear violation of parliamentary immunity" and demanded a "thorough and transparent investigation".

[122] The earliest and most prominent of blame accusations were those levelled against Colombia, with Maduro specifically naming the Colombian President Santos as orchestrating his assassination, saying he had "no doubt" about it.

[126] In response to Maduro's accusations, the US National Security Advisor, John R. Bolton, denied US involvement in the attack and suggested that the incident could be "a pretext set up by the regime itself".

[124] Telemundo reported that the US embassy told its citizens in Venezuela to "find a safe place to stay, maintain a low profile, and avoid protests".

[127] James Story, chargé d'affaires at the US embassy in Caracas, met with Saab and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in the week following the incident.

[131] The Venezuelan Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent-winning satirical news site El Chigüire Bipolar posted an article the day after the detention of Juan Requesens showing a photoshopped image of Maduro holding a pokeball with the headline "Nicol-ash Maduro announces open season on capture of political prisoners", likening him to the character Ash from Pokémon who has the mission to "catch them all".

International Crisis Group consultant Phil Gunson stated that "[t]he official 'investigation' [is following course]: begin with the conclusions and work backwards", and senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America David Smilde added that "[Maduro will] use it to further restrict liberty and purge the government and armed forces".

[18] Peruvian newspaper La República also wrote that "[s]ome analysts suspect that the attack is a desperate farce" and that "[i]t would not be the first time that an unscrupulous government mounted this type of setup," comparing it to the burning of the Reichstag.

[136] Former Venezuelan military aide Anthony Daquin talked to NTN24 about the incident and criticised the assassination theory, explaining that the event was a no-fly zone and any drones in the area would have been operated by the government.

"[3][137] She repeated this statement later in a broadcast of Con La Luz with Efecto Cocuyo on 9 August, saying that "it was a mistake by the military and Presidential Honor Guard, and I believe that they destroyed the drones".

[106] According to former Venezuelan Vice Admiral Mario Carratu, claims that the drones were shot down by gunfire is inaccurate because "[p]lastic explosives can't be detonated with bullets.