By Enyichukwu Enemanna
No fewer than six foreign nationals, comprising three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen have been arrested over an alleged attempt to kill the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro.
Their arrest on Saturday was announced on state television by the country’s powerful Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello.
Foreign citizens were part of a CIA-led plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government and kill several members of its leadership, Cabello stated.
Cabello during the television appearance displayed images of rifles he claimed were confiscated from some of the plotters of the alleged plan.
The arrest of the American citizens included a member of the Navy, who Cabello identified as Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez.
Cabello said Gomez was a navy seal who had served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Colombia.
Spain’s embassy in Venezuela is yet to comment on the arrest of its citizen by authorities.
The U.S. State Department late Saturday confirmed the detention of a U.S. military member and said it was aware of “unconfirmed reports of two additional U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela.”
“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,” the statement said.
The announcement of the arrests comes just two days after the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on 16 allies of Maduro who were accused by the U.S. government of obstructing voting during the disputed July 28 Venezuelan presidential election, and carrying out human rights abuses.
Tensions between Venezuela’s government and the U.S. have increased as well following the election, whose result sparked protests within Venezuela in which hundreds of opposition activists were arrested.
Venezuela’s Electoral Council, which is closely aligned with the Maduro administration, said Maduro won the election with 52% of the vote, but did not provide a detailed breakdown of the results.
Heritage Times HT reports that despite international condemnation over the election’s lack of transparency, Venezuela’s supreme court, which has long backed Maduro, confirmed his victory in August.
Maduro has dismissed requests from several countries, including the leftist governments of Colombia and Brazil, to provide tally sheets that prove he won the election.
Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has long claimed the U.S. is trying to overthrow him through sanctions and covert operations.
