The US State Department has called allegations that the CIA plotted to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro “categorically false,” adding in a statement that the United States “continues to support a democratic resolution to Venezuela’s political crisis.” The comments came after Venezuela said it had arrested six foreigners in an alleged plot to destabilize the country, which has been in crisis since disputed elections earlier this year.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello claimed the alleged plot was led by the CIA and aimed at killing Maduro.
The accusations come as the Venezuelan opposition, many Latin American leaders and the United States refuse to recognize Maduro's controversial election victory, which was followed by deadly protests in which thousands of people were arrested.
In a news conference on Saturday, Cabello identified the alleged Navy SEAL as Wilbert Castaneda, and claimed he was the leader of the operation. The minister also named two other detained Americans: David Estrella and Aaron Barrett Luján. Last week, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab told CNN that the detained sailor is a Mexican-American citizen who is under investigation for entering the country without proper documentation.
In addition to the Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech national were arrested, Cabello said. He added that Venezuelan authorities also seized 400 American rifles linked to the alleged plot. “The CIA is leading the operation,” Cabello told the news conference, claiming that Spain’s National Intelligence Center was also involved. “It doesn’t surprise us at all,” he added.
He claimed that the process
His very clear goals were to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan politicians, including himself and the vice president.
The State Department confirmed Saturday that a member of the U.S. military has been detained in Venezuela, and that the department is “aware of unconfirmed reports of additional U.S. citizens being detained” in the country.
A Spanish foreign ministry source told Reuters that more information was being requested from Venezuela. “The Spanish embassy sent a note verbale to the Venezuelan government requesting access to the detained citizens to verify their identities, nationalities and the exact charges against them,” the unnamed source told Reuters.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic confirmed CNNA Czech citizen is being held in Venezuela. They added that the Czech embassy in Bogota is in contact with the family, as the country does not have an embassy in Venezuela.
Political crisis
Venezuela is still reeling from the fallout from July's presidential election, in which Maduro ran for a third term despite global skepticism and anger from the country's opposition movement.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner on July 28, and the Supreme Court (TSJ) confirmed the announcement weeks later. However, the CNE has yet to release the disaggregated data or vote counts, which many countries consider essential for the transparency of the electoral process.
The coalition backing opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez insists the election was rigged, and has released online statistics that experts say show Maduro actually lost the presidency by a wide margin. The United States has recognized Gonzalez as the candidate who won the most votes in the election, but has not officially recognized him as Venezuela’s president-elect. On Thursday, the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuelan officials allied with Maduro for allegedly obstructing the election.
“After the elections in Venezuela, more than 2,000 people were arrested, the opposition leader had to flee, and political parties were under a thousand restrictions,” Borrell told Spain's Telecinco TV. Gonzalez fled Venezuela for Spain last week after an arrest warrant was issued against him and he was charged with terrorism, conspiracy and other crimes.
