Three American citizens were detained by the Venezuelan government on suspicion of plotting to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro and sabotage the country as alleged conspiracies in the area continue to run rampant.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced on Saturday that three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen were arrested for allegedly plotting an attack to “destabilize” Maduro and his government through “violent actions,” adding that the government seized hundreds of weapons, Agence France Presse reported.
Cabello did not state when the six individuals were arrested, but made claims that “the CIA is in charge of this operation and the CNI of Spain, too,” Spanish outlets reported.
He said the two Spaniards were recently detained in Puerto Ayacucho in the Southwest and declared those detained were looking for mercenaries with a “very clear objective” of assassinating Maduro.
“We know that the United States government has links to this operation,” Cabello asserted.
“They contacted French mercenaries, they contacted mercenaries from Eastern Europe and they are in an operation to try to attack our country,” he continued, adding that “more than 400 rifles were seized” originating in the United States.
He also accused the detainees of plotting “terrorist acts.”
Cabello said that the three Americans and Czech national were also arrested and linked to the alleged plot to intelligence agencies in the United States and Spain as well as to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the outlet reported.
The United States, Spain and the Czech Republic has yet to react to the claims.
The arrests come as tensions mount between the United States and Spain over Venezuela’s disputed July presidential election, which the country’s opposition accuses Maduro of stealing after failing to release detailed vote tallies to support his claim of victory over Edmundo González.
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Washington on Thursday imposed sanctions against 16 Venezuelan allies of Maduro, accusing them of obstructing the vote and impeding “a transparent electoral process” by not publishing accurate results.
The South American country rejected the measures as a “crime of aggression” and Maduro honored four military officers among those targeted by the sanction.
Caracas also recalled its ambassador to Madrid this week for consultations and summoned Spain’s ambassador to Venezuela for talks after a Spanish minister accused Maduro of running a “dictatorship,” the outlet reported.
Tensions also arise as Caracas has been engaged in political football with the United States, which recognized Gonzalez as the election victor.
Venezuela was also angered by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s decision to meet with Gonzalez and warned Spain against any “interference” in its affairs.
