MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Six arrested in Venezuela said to plan Maduro's murder

These detentions came just two days after the US Treasury imposed sanctions on 16 of Maduro's acolytes accused by Washington of obstructing voting during Venezuela's July 28 elections

Venezuelan authorities arrested three Americans, two Spaniards, and one Czech national allegedly involved in a plot to kill President Nicolás Maduro, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced on nationwide TV this weekend saying the suspects belonged to a mission arranged by the CIA to overthrow the Bolivarian government. Cabello also showed footage of the guns seized from the would-be perpetrators.

Among the US citizens arrested was former Navy Seal Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gómez, who had served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Colombia, Cabello said. He also pointed out that “two Spanish citizens, José María Basoa Valdovinos and Andrés Martínez Adasme, were recently detained in Puerto Ayacucho in an irregular situation, taking photos.” The Venezuelan official claimed the two suspects had ties with Spain's National Intelligence Center (CNI)“ regardless of their claiming otherwise in line with a statement from Madrid saying that ”the detainees are not from the CNI.“ The US State Department late Saturday confirmed the detention of a US serviceman and also admitted it was aware of ”unconfirmed reports of two other US citizens detained in Venezuela.“

These detentions came just two days after the US Treasury imposed sanctions on 16 of Maduro's acolytes accused by Washington of obstructing voting during Venezuela's July 28 elections and carrying out human rights abuses.

Earlier this week, the Spanish Parliament recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, currently under asylum in Madrid, as the winner of the elections. In addition, Spain's Foreign Ministry denied Sunday any involvement in a ”political destabilization operation.“ Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government insisted on a ”democratic and peaceful solution to the situation in Venezuela“ but Caracas hinted the European kingdom ”was going to supply mercenaries” for an alleged US-led operation.

Madrid also denied that suspects Andrés Martínez Adasme (32) and José María Basoa Valdovinos (35) were part of the Spanish Intelligence Service or any other state agency. According to their families, they were both in Venezuela as tourists. After their relatives lost all contact on Sept 9 and reported their disappearance on social networks, they were found to have been detained.

In this scenario, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and former Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said Maduro's was a “dictatorial and authoritarian regime.”

In response, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil argued that Borrell was the “spokesman for evil” who belonged in “the garbage dump of history” for harming his country by “inventing fictitious governments.” In Gil's view, Borrell leaves a “dark legacy” in the European Union, “a decrepit, colonialist and warlike institution.”