The United States is denying claims made by the Venezuela that the CIA attempted to assassinate dictator Nicolás Maduro and other communist regime officials.
Three American citizens, two Spaniards and a Czech national are accused of planning to destabilize the South American country, according to a statement released by the Venezuelan interior minister.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello called the arrested foreign nationals “mercenaries,” asserting that the CIA was “leading the operation” while adding that hundreds of weapons had been seized.
Washington has denied the accusations, which come immediately after the U.S. Treasury Dept. imposed new international sanctions against 16 Maduro officials.
The United States has called the Maduro allegations “categorically false,” and is working to obtain more information about the arrests in hopes to get the detained Americans released.
A State Department spokesperson said the Maduro regime was currently holding a member of the American armed forces and said there were “unconfirmed reports of two additional U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela.”
For his part, Cabello says the foreign detainees were conspiring with “French mercenaries” from Eastern Europe and were involved in “an operation to try to attack” the Maduro regime.
He said that “more than 400 rifles were seized” and said the accused were planning "terrorist acts” acts against Venezuela.
The Maduro regime also targeted the Spanish government just days after Spain’s government welcomed Venezuelan opposition candidate and presidential victor Edmundo González Urrutia as a political refugee and Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles called the Venezuelan communist government a “dictatorship.”
The Maduro regime said the two Spanish nationals arrested were linked to Madrid's National Intelligence Centre (CNI). For its part, Spain has denied that claim.
“Spain denies and categorically rejects any insinuation that it is involved in a political destabilization operation in Venezuela,” a source told AFP.
As a result of the rising tension between the two nations, Venezuela has recalled their ambassador from Madrid and Spain’s ambassador to the South America country met with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil in Caracas.
Gil said Robles’ comments were “insolent, meddling and rude” suggesting a “deterioration of relations between the two countries.”
In a Saturday press conference in Venezuela, Interior Minister Cabello said that “The CIA is leading this operation, and that does not surprise us but they, the National Intelligence Centre of Spain, have always maintained a low profile knowing that the CIA operates in this area.”
He then went on to say that two of the detainees confessed and gave Venezuelan regime officials a story about an elaborate international conspiracy to assassinate Maduro and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.
"These two detainees even tell us about a group of mercenaries they are looking for to bring to Venezuela with very clear objectives to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, myself, and another group of comrades who are leading our party and our revolution,” he said.
Venezuela’s claims come as the United States, the European Union and the Organization of American States, the intergovernmental body that collectively engages in regional diplomacy have all criticized the Maduro regime for withholding vote tallies in its claims of victory.
Venezuela’s Maduro controlled National Electoral Council (CNE), declared Maduro as the election’s victor hours after the polls closed, saying he won more than 51% of the vote.
Cross tabulations released by the Democratic Unitary Platform opposition coalition, however, suggest that González Urrutia actually won the election
ADN America reported on Thursday that the U.S. imposed new sanctions targeting “key officials involved in Maduro’s fraudulent and illegitimate claims of victory and his brutal crackdown on free expression following the election,” and that it “continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela.”
The Western countries whose nationals have been detained are currently seeking more information about the arrests and working to have their citizens released.
