Diosdado Cabello says the arrested suspects, including a US soldier, were planning to carry out acts of terrorism.
Venezuela’s security service has foiled a CIA-backed plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro and organize acts of terrorism, the interior minister said. Diosdado Cabello said two Spaniards, a Czech and three US citizens, including an active-duty US military member, had been arrested, and that several hundred military-grade firearms had been seized.
In July, Maduro was re-elected for a third term in a hotly contested presidential election, winning 52% of the vote. However, the opposition accused the government of manipulating the results. Since then, the United States, the EU, most Latin American countries and the G7 have refused to recognise Maduro as the elected head of state.
Caracas, in turn, has accused Washington of attempting a coup.
Speaking to Telesur on Saturday, Cabello said that a US citizen named Wilbert Castaneda, a member of a Navy SEAL detachment decorated for missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, was the leader of one of the groups. He was arrested on September 1, the minister added.
A spokesman for the US State Department confirmed to Efe that several US citizens, including an active-duty soldier, were detained in Venezuela.
The official, however, “categorically” dismissed allegations of a U.S. government role in any conspiracy to overthrow Maduro.
The Venezuelan Interior Minister also revealed that two Spanish citizens, José María Basoa Valdovinos and Andrés Martínez Adasme, were arrested in the south of the country.
According to Diosdado Cabello, both are linked to Spain's National Intelligence Centre, a claim that Madrid has denied.
The plan allegedly involved Venezuelan mercenaries and criminal groups and called for, among other things, mass riots in prisons across the country.
The alleged conspirators smuggled in some 400 firearms, which were confiscated by Venezuelan security forces, Cabello said. The group also sought to acquire C4 plastic explosives.
He went on to suggest that the entire operation had been directed by the White House and the CIA, and envisaged the assassination of President Maduro, as well as Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and Cabello himself.
The alleged saboteurs also intended to stage a false flag attack on the Argentine embassy in Caracas and hold the Venezuelan government responsible, the minister said.
The group also had plans to attack public services and transportation infrastructure throughout Venezuela, Cabello said.
“We want the world to know that Venezuela is under siege by (forces of) imperialism,” The Minister of the Interior stated, pointing with his finger “far right” forces at home.
“Spain has something to do with this and the United States is managing this operation,” Hair alleged.
