Venezuela’s security service has thwarted a CIA-backed plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro and stage acts of terrorism, the interior minister has claimed. Diosdado Cabello said two Spanish, one Czech and three US nationals, including a member of the American military in active service, had been detained, and that several hundred military-grade firearms had been seized.
A contested presidential election back in July saw Maduro re-elected for a third term, with 52% of the vote. However, the opposition accused the government of rigging the ballot. The US, EU, most Latin American states, and the G7 have since refused to recognize Maduro as the elected head of state.
Caracas, in turn, has accused Washington of attempting to stage a coup.
Speaking to the broadcaster Telesur on Saturday, Cabello claimed that a US citizen named Wilbert Castaneda, a member of a Navy SEAL detachment decorated for missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, was the ring-leader of one of the groups. He was apprehended on September 1, the minister added.
A spokesperson for the US Department of State confirmed to the EFE media outlet that several American citizens, including an active serviceman, had been detained in Venezuela.
The official, however, “categorically” dismissed allegations of a US government role in any conspiracy to oust Maduro.
The Venezuelan interior minister also revealed that two Spanish nationals – José María Basoa Valdovinos and Andres Martinez Adasme – had been detained in the south of the country.
According to Diosdado Cabello, both are connected to Spain’s National Intelligence Center – a claim Madrid has denied.
The plan supposedly involved mercenaries and Venezuelan criminal groups, and envisaged, among other things, mass prison riots across the country.
The alleged conspirators smuggled in some 400 firearms, which Venezuelan security forces seized, Cabello said. The group was also allegedly seeking to procure C4 plastic explosives.
He went on to suggest that the entire operation had been directed by the White House and the CIA, and envisaged the assassination of President Maduro as well as Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and Cabello himself.
The suspected saboteurs were also intending to stage a false-flag attack on the Argentinian embassy in Caracas and to pin it on the Venezuelan government, the minister claimed.
In addition, the group had plans to attack public utilities and transport infrastructure across Venezuela, according to Cabello.
“We want the world to know that Venezuela is under siege by [forces of] imperialism,” the interior minister stated, pointing the finger at “far-right” forces at home.
“Spain has to do with this, and the US is managing this operation,” Cabello alleged.