Venezuela Detains Foreign Nationals on Suspicion of Plotting to Destabilize Country
In a move that has sparked tensions between Venezuela and the international community, the government has detained three Americans, two Spaniards, and a Czech citizen on suspicion of plotting to destabilize the country. The arrests come amid a deepening standoff between President Nicolas Maduro and Western powers over the disputed July 28 presidential election.
According to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the foreign nationals were arrested on suspicion of planning an attack on Maduro and his government. Cabello claimed that the detained individuals had links to intelligence agencies in the United States and Spain, as well as to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
The United States and Spain have denied any involvement in the alleged plot, with a State Department spokesperson categorically rejecting claims of US involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro. The spokesperson also confirmed that a US military member was being held and noted unconfirmed reports of two additional US citizens detained in Venezuela.
Spain also rejected allegations of involvement, with a foreign ministry source telling AFP Sunday that the country denies and categorically rejects any insinuation that it is involved in a political destabilization operation in Venezuela.
The detained individuals are accused of contacting French mercenaries and mercenaries from Eastern Europe, and of planning terrorist acts. Cabello said that more than 400 rifles were seized during the operation.
The Czech Republic has yet to react to the sensational claims, which come amid a deepening standoff between Maduro and Western powers. The Venezuelan government has been accused of human rights abuses and election fraud, and has been engaged in a war of words with the United States and Spain over the disputed election.
Maduro has been in power since 2013, and has been accused of running a "dictatorship." His government has been accused of suppressing opposition protests, which have claimed the lives of at least 27 people and left 192 people wounded.
The opposition has published polling station-level results that show that the election was won by opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, but Maduro has refused to recognize the results. The Venezuelan government has also been engaged in a standoff with the international community over the country’s economic crisis, which has seen GDP drop 80 percent in a decade and prompted more than seven million people to emigrate.
