Venezuelan authorities announced the arrest of six foreign nationals on Saturday, accusing them of involvement in a plot to overthrow the government and assassinate President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello stated during a press conference that the alleged conspiracy was orchestrated with the backing of intelligence services from the United States and Spain. He further revealed that over 400 weapons had been confiscated in connection with the operation.<\/p>\n
A total of 14 individuals have been detained, including three U.S. citizens, two Spaniards, and a Czech national, according to Cabello. The arrests are tied to what the minister described as a scheme to destabilize Venezuela through acts of violence, targeting Maduro and his administration.<\/p>\n
While Cabello did not specify the exact timing of the arrests, he attributed the operation to the CIA and Spain\u2019s National Intelligence Centre (CNI), citing reports from Spanish media.<\/p>\n
Search for mercenaries<\/strong><\/p>\n Cabello disclosed that two Spaniards were recently detained in Puerto Ayacucho, in the country’s southwest, where they were allegedly seeking to recruit mercenaries. He claimed the group was aiming to hire French and Eastern European operatives to carry out an assassination attempt on Maduro.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know the U.S. government is linked to this operation,\u201d Cabello alleged, adding that the group had been in contact with mercenaries from Eastern Europe and had sought French involvement in the plan.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department confirmed that a U.S. military member was among those detained in Venezuela. However, the spokesperson denied any involvement by the U.S. government in a plot to overthrow Maduro and stated that they were working to gather more details about the arrests.<\/p>\n Spain denies involvement<\/strong><\/p>\n The Spanish government swiftly rejected Venezuela\u2019s accusations. Sources within the government, speaking to the EFE news agency, stated that the two Spanish nationals detained, Andr\u00e9s Martinez Adasme and Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Basoa Valdovinos, were not connected to Spanish intelligence services.<\/p>\n The Spanish Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday, affirming that the detainees had no affiliation with the CNI or any other state organization. Spain remains committed to a peaceful and democratic resolution to Venezuela\u2019s political crisis, government sources said.<\/p>\n Family members of the two Spaniards, quoted in Spanish media, said the men were tourists from Bilbao with no ties to intelligence services.<\/p>\n Venezuela doubles down on claims<\/strong><\/p>\n In response to Spain\u2019s denials, Cabello reiterated Venezuela’s position, stating that it was \u201cpredictable\u201d that Madrid would distance itself from the alleged plot. He claimed the two detainees had confessed to being part of Spanish intelligence, asserting that they had admitted their involvement in the plan against Maduro.<\/p>\n \u201cSpain will naturally deny it,\u201d Cabello said, adding that the individuals had acknowledged their participation in the operation and had connections to political groups in Venezuela, criminal organizations, and U.S. military personnel.<\/p>\n Cabello identified a U.S. officer, Wilber Josep Casta\u00f1eda, as the leader of the operation. Casta\u00f1eda was reportedly arrested in Venezuela on September 1.<\/p>\n Opposition leader implicated<\/strong><\/p>\n Venezuelan authorities also implicated opposition figure Mar\u00eda Corina Machado in the plot. According to Cabello, Machado, a prominent supporter of exiled opposition leader Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia, was one of the key architects of the alleged scheme.<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia, a former presidential candidate, has been in exile in Spain since September 8, where he has requested asylum, citing political persecution in Venezuela.<\/p>\n The United States, European Union, and several Latin American nations, including Brazil, have refused to recognize Maduro\u2019s re-election in the July presidential elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Venezuelan authorities announced the arrest of six foreign nationals on Saturday, accusing them of involvement in a plot to overthrow the government and assassinate President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello stated during a press conference that the alleged conspiracy was orchestrated with the backing of intelligence services from the United States and Spain. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176],"tags":[2544,1946,2708,2170,932,1192,1406],"class_list":["post-5382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america","tag-assassination-plot","tag-cia","tag-edmundo-gonzalez-urrutia","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-spain","tag-united-states","tag-venezuela"],"yoast_head":"\n