International
Venezuela Arrests Foreign Nationals In Alleged Plot To Assassinate President Maduro
According to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the detainees were planning to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro along with other high-ranking officials. In addition, hundreds of weapons were reportedly confiscated as part of the operation.
EDITOR’S PICKS
- School Proprietress Allegedly Killed, Burnt By Son In Delta
- Man Detained for Allegedly Killing Mother, Mutilating Son in Abia
- Fubara Regains Freedom After 11 Days in Captivity
The arrests come just two days after the U.S. imposed sanctions on 16 Venezuelan officials with close ties to Maduro, following his contested election victory.
Venezuelan officials claim the detained Spaniards have connections to Spain’s National Intelligence Centre (CNI), though sources within the Spanish government have denied these individuals are affiliated with the organization.
During a news conference on Saturday, Cabello stated, “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.
“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 Nicolas Maduro, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, myself, and another group of comrades who are leading our party and our revolution.”
FURTHER READING
- Poverty, Hardship: Nigerians Turn To Organ Selling Amid Crisis
- Petrol Price Hike Pushing Nigerians To Breaking Point – NLC, Atiku
- No Mass Resignation Of Soldiers Due To Corruption, Low Morale -Nigerian Army
The US has rejected the accusations.
“Any claims of US involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false,” according to the State Department, who says Washington “continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela”.
The arrests come amid a feud between the Maduro government and the US and Spain.
Cabello said the Spaniards were detained in Puerto Ayacucho, south of the capital Caracas.
Spanish authorities have requested more information from Venezuela, with the Spanish embassy requesting access to those detained.
“They contacted French mercenaries, they contacted mercenaries from eastern Europe and they are in an operation to try to attack our country,” Cabello said, adding that 400 firearms were confiscated in the operation.
On Friday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil summoned Spain’s ambassador in Caracas to protest at a minister’s description of the Venezuelan government as a “dictatorship”, after days of mounting bilateral tensions.
On Thursday, the US Treasury said it was targeting “key officials involved in Maduro’s fraudulent and illegitimate claims of victory and his brutal crackdown on free expression following the election”.
Maduro was declared the winner of July’s presidential election by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), which is closely aligned with the government.
But the CNE has not published any detailed voting tallies supporting a Maduro victory. Data published by the opposition suggests its candidate, Edmundo González, won instead.
Click here to watch our video of the week:
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
