Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has alleged US involvement in a plot to oust his government and assassinate him. The South American leader said there are hundreds of emails that prove members of the State Department were part of the conspiracy.
Venezuela has opened an investigation into a supposed plot to
overthrow the government and assassinate President Maduro,
reports Venezuelan state news broadcaster TeleSur. Authorities have alleged the plot
was hatched by members of the Venezuelan far right with the
support of the US State Department.
“We will ask the State Department for an explanation of the
evidence that implicates high-level functionaries in a plan to
assassinate the president of the Bolivarian Republic,” said
Maduro during his weekly radio show ‘En Contacto con Maduro’.
Maduro went on to say the investigation had revealed new
information about the plan to oust the Venezuelan government. He
alleged that the plot not only threatened his life, but also the
foundations of the Venezuelan constitution.
“The evidence shows they were trying to find a way to
assassinate the head of state and other leaders of the Bolivarian
Revolution,” said Maduro.
As part of the investigation, the Venezuelan authorities gathered
hundreds of emails from political figures. According to Maduro
the emails are irrefutable proof of the conspiracy against
Venezuela by the far right with the support of the State
Department.
“All of the emails were gathered legally,” said Maduro,
adding that more evidence would be revealed later this week.
Anti-government demonstrations erupted in Venezuela in February
of this year, with many protesters frustrated at high inflation
and a lack of basic foodstuffs. The massive streets protests
spiraled into violence which saw over 40 dead in the most
protracted unrest in the country in over a decade.
Harvard-educated opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who
spearheaded many of the street protests, handed himself in to
police at the end of February and is now awaiting trial. The
Venezuelan government had put out a warrant for his arrest,
accusing him of homicide and terrorism.
Throughout the course of the unrest, Maduro has maintained the
violence was caused by right-wing groups who hijack peaceful
protests with a view to triggering a coup d’etat. He has also
alleged State Department involvement, something Washington has
categorically denied.
At the end of May, the Venezuelan opposition broke off talks with
Maduro’s government after it refused to release 200 prisoners.
Washington has threatened to impose sanctions on the Latin
American nation if negotiations are not resumed soon.