Venezuela Arrests Six Foreign Citizens on Charges of Attempting to Overthrow Maduro's Government

Venezuela has reported the arrest of six foreign citizens on charges of "attempting to destabilize" the country. According to Venezuelan officials, these six individuals include three Americans, two Spaniards, and one Czech citizen. Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela's Minister of Interior, in a press conference held on Saturday evening, September 24, claimed that "four hundred firearms" were seized from these individuals and accused them of attempting to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro and other senior officials in the country. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department confirmed that one of the three arrested American citizens is a member of the U.S. military and fundamentally rejected Venezuela's claims of any Washington involvement in attempts to overthrow Maduro's government. This U.S. official emphasized the White House's support for achieving a democratic solution to what it termed the "political crisis in Venezuela" and stated that the U.S. is closely monitoring ongoing developments. During his press conference, Diosdado Cabello identified the two arrested Spaniards as members of the country's intelligence service (CNI) and claimed they intended to assassinate a mayor. According to Cabello, these two Spaniards were arrested while photographing in the city of "Puerto Ayacucho," the capital of the Amazonas state and near the Colombian border. The Minister of Interior also alleged that the leadership and direction of "this operation" were with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the two arrested Spaniards were attempting to bring mercenaries from France and Eastern Europe into the country to kill Venezuelan leaders and overthrow the government. Cabello named not only Nicolas Maduro but also Delcy Rodriguez, the Vice President, himself, and several other senior officials as "targets of the alleged terrorist operation." The leader of the Venezuelan opposition has sought asylum in Spain; tensions between Maduro and Argentina have escalated. The Spanish government has denied any connection of its two citizens with the country's intelligence service and has requested access for its consular officials in Caracas to these two citizens to confirm their identities and investigate the accusations against them. The arrest of these foreign citizens and the press conference held by Venezuela's Minister of Interior coincided with rising political tensions between Venezuela and Spain and the United States. Last Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned 16 senior Venezuelan officials who, according to this agency, were involved in "declaring Nicolas Maduro the winner" in the controversial elections at the end of July and violently suppressing the opposition. The following day, Ivan Gil, Venezuela's Foreign Minister, summoned the Spanish ambassador in Caracas in protest against the Spanish Foreign Minister's labeling of the Venezuelan government as a "dictatorship." Caracas is also angered by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's decision to meet with Edmundo Gonzalez, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition who was heading to Madrid under the threat of arrest. Spain, the United States, Chile, and many other countries consider Edmundo Gonzalez the true winner of the Venezuelan presidential election. In the controversial election held a month and a half ago, the National Electoral Council of Venezuela, which is close to the government, declared Nicolas Maduro the winner without releasing details of the votes, contrary to past practices. Meanwhile, leaked statistics from nearly 80 percent of electronic voting machines indicate a significant victory for Edmundo Gonzalez. No details have yet been released about the identity of the arrested Czech citizen, and Prague officials have not commented on this matter.