By Luis De Jesus
Sep 15, 2024, 11:58 PM EDT
Venezuela has detained three US citizens in recent weeks, the US State Department confirmed on Saturday.
A Department spokesperson told EFE: “We can confirm the arrest of one member of the U.S. military and are aware of unconfirmed reports of two other U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela.”
The Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro accuses the detainees of participating in an operation to carry out “terrorist” acts in the country, including planning a possible attack against socialist ruler Nicolás Maduro.
According to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, Venezuelan authorities also seized more than 400 weapons allegedly transported from the United States and arrested Spanish and Czech citizens in connection with this case.
Cabello linked the Spanish detainees to the National Intelligence Center of Spain and said they were captured in Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas state.
He also alleged that the American and Spanish detainees were in contact with Venezuelan opposition figures, mentioning former police commissioner Iván Simonovis and leader María Corina Machado.
The US State Department has denied any involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro, calling such claims “categorically false.”
He also reaffirmed his support for a democratic solution to the crisis in Venezuela.
The arrest of these US citizens comes amid political tension in Venezuela following the controversy over the results of the July 28 presidential election, which led to Maduro being declared the winner by the National Electoral Council, a result rejected by the opposition and the majority of the international community.
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