ANDSpain and the United States on Sunday rejected Venezuela’s accusations of fomenting a plan to “destabilize” the government of Caracasafter three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech were arrested in the Latin American country for links to an alleged plot against President Nicolás Maduro.
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“Spain denies and rejects any suggestion that it is involved in an operation to destabilize political affairs in Venezuela,” a source from the Spanish Foreign Ministry told AFP.
Spain denies and rejects any suggestion that it is involved in an operation to destabilize political affairs in Venezuela
The State Department also commented on the matter. “We can confirm the arrest of a member of the US military and we are aware of unconfirmed reports of two other US citizens detained in Venezuela,” a State Department spokesperson told EFE.
The United States also said that any claim of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro is “categorically false.”.
The arrests come amid rising tensions between Venezuela and the governments of The United States and Spain over the controversial July 28 elections in which Maduro was re-elected amid allegations of fraud.
The minister also reported that “more than 400 rifles” were seized that were “for terrorist acts” promoted by “political sectors.”
One of the plans was to “attack” the Argentine embassy, where six of Machado’s collaborators are sheltered, and then “blame” the government, he said.
Who are the detainees and what do their families say?
Venezuelan Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabelloannounced this Saturday the arrested foreigners are involved in “terrorist” plans which included attempting to kill President Maduro and destabilizing the country.
Cabello identified the detainees as Wilbert Josep Castaneda“active military” of the United States and “chief” of the plan, and two other Americans, as well as the Spanish Jose Maria Basoa and Andres Martinez Adasmeand a Czech citizen.
The minister linked the alleged plans to “attack” Venezuela to the intelligence centers of Spain, the United States, and opposition leader María Corina Machado and other leaders.
Relatives of the two Spanish citizens detained in Venezuela accused of being part of a US-led operation to assassinate Nicolás Maduro, They had reported their disappearance to the police station last Monday and the police found out that they had been arrested in that country.
According to the department of Security in the Basque Country (northern Spain), the families filed the complaint last Monday and said that the two men had traveled to Venezuela and that “they had not been able to contact them for days.”
The police took “the appropriate steps”according to these sources, and found out that both had been arrested, which was passed on to both families, although the reason for the arrests was not given.
The father of Andrés Martínez Adasme told the newspaper The World that his son and the other arrested person were on vacation, and that he is not from the CNI.
The Spanish Embassy in Venezuela is waiting to have access to the two detainees, accused of terrorism, to verify their identities and nationality and, if they are Spanish citizens, to know exactly what they are accused of and to ensure that they can receive all necessary assistance.
*With AFP and Efe
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