VENEZUELAN President Nicolas Maduro says authorities have captured some of those responsible for what he is calling an assassination attempt.

In an impassioned address to the nation, Maduro said some of the "material authors" of an attack with explosive-laden drones are now in custody.

He said far-right wing factions within Venezuela working in collaboration with conspirators in Colombia and the US were responsible.

He did not provide the names of those detained or describe the charges they are facing.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said that several drones armed with explosives detonated near Maduro as he was delivering a televised speech during a military parade in Caracas on Saturday.

Maduro said he hoped US President Donald Trump was "willing to fight the terrorist groups."

He promised a full investigation to hold all those responsible, "No matter who falls."

"This was an attempt to kill me. Today they attempted to assassinate me."

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is one of Maduro's most outspoken critics.

Earlier a previously unknown group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Soldiers in T-shirts said in a tweet that it planned to fly two drones loaded with explosives at the president, but government soldiers shot them down before reaching its target.

The Associated Press could not independently verify the authenticity of the message.

Meanwhile firefighters at the scene are disputing the government's version of events.

Three officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the incident was actually a gas tank explosion inside an apartment.

Smoke could be seen coming out of a building window at the site of the incident.

Maduro was recently elected to a new term in office despite a crippling economic and humanitarian crisis.

The former bus driver who replaced former President Hugo Chavez after his death in 2013, won a new six-year term in May but his main rivals disavowed the election and alleged massive irregularities.

Venezuela is suffering under the fifth year of a severe economic crisis that has sparked malnutrition, hyperinflation and mass emigration.

OPEC member Venezuela's once-thriving socialist economy has collapsed since the 2014 fall of oil prices.