On 14th September, Interior Minister of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, announced that six people, including three Americans, two Spaniards, and one Czech citizen, have been arrested over an alleged plot to destabilise the government using “violent actions” against President Nicolas Maduro. Reports suggest that these individuals were allegedly planning to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.
Seizure of weapons and CIA involvement claims
Cabello stated that hundreds of weapons have been seized by the Venezuelan government. The Interior Minister did not provide specific details on the identities of the arrested individuals but said that “the CIA is in charge of this operation and the CNI of Spain, too.” He added that the Spanish individuals were detained by security forces in Puerto Ayacucho in the southwest.
Detention of an American Navy sailor
According to CBS News, one of the detained Americans has been identified as a U.S. Navy sailor. He was detained in early September while on a personal visit to Venezuela. The detained sailor is a petty officer first class and a former Navy SEAL assigned to a West Coast team. A State Department spokesperson confirmed the detention of the sailor and two other unconfirmed detained American citizens.
Alleged assassination plot against Venezuela President Maduro
These individuals were allegedly seeking mercenaries with the “very clear objective” of killing President Maduro. Cabello stated, “We know that the United States government has links to this operation. They contacted French mercenaries, they contacted mercenaries from Eastern Europe, and they are in an operation to try to attack our country.” He added that 400 rifles originating from the US were seized and deemed the possible assassination attempt as a “terrorist act.”
Cabello further added that the three Americans and one Czech national arrested in the matter were linked to the alleged plot to kill the President. He implicated the intelligence agencies of the US and Spain, along with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, in the plan.
Rising tensions between the US and Venezuela
The Venezuelan authorities made the arrests amid heightened tensions between the United States and Venezuela following the July Presidential election. The opposition party in Venezuela accused Maduro of stealing the election after he failed to release detailed vote tallies to support his victory claims.
US response to the allegations
The United States has denied any involvement in the alleged assassination plot against President Maduro. A State Department spokesperson told CBS, “Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false. The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela.”
Diplomatic tensions with Spain and the US
There have been consistent tensions between Venezuela, the US, and Spain. Earlier in September, Caracas called back its ambassador to Madrid for consultations. Spain’s envoy to Venezuela was also summoned for talks after a Spanish minister accused President Maduro of running a dictatorship. Spanish Minister Pedro Sanchez further angered Venezuela by meeting Gonzalez Urrutia, the defeated Presidential candidate of Venezuela.
Caracas also had a war of words with the US as it recognised Urrutia as the winner of the July election. Notably, the US recently announced new sanctions against 16 Venezuelan officials, some of whom were from the electoral authority. These sanctions were imposed over claims of obstructing a transparent electoral process and failing to publish accurate results.
