The Venezuelan government has announced the arrest of two Spanish citizens who it accuses of being allegedly involved in a plan to carry out “terrorist” acts against Nicolás Maduro. The arrest was announced by the Minister of the Interior and Peace, Diosdado Cabello, although the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet confirmed it, and could further aggravate the diplomatic crisis that both countries are going through.
According to the minister, more than 400 weapons “transported from the United States” were seized in the operation, and some of those captured were seeking to bring “a group of mercenaries” to Venezuela with the purpose of assassinating Maduro, as well as the Executive Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, and other Chavista leaders.
Venezuelan state television VTV has broadcast images of the two detainees along with their names and surnames as well as passport numbers. According to Cabello, two Americans, another Czech citizen, and a Venezuelan woman have also been arrested, implicated in an alleged operation aimed at carrying out “terrorist” acts.
“Two Spanish citizens, José María Basoa and Andrés Martínez Adasne, have been arrested in Puerto Ayacucho,” Cabello said. Venezuela claims that links to citizens opposed to Vente Venezuela were found on his phone and questions about how to buy explosives, as well as that they were planning the assassination of the mayor of Upata. The minister has assured that the two detained Spaniards “have links” with the Spanish National Intelligence Centre (CNI), reports EFE.
Cabello has stated that both were near the airport in Puerto Ayacucho, capital of the state of Amazonas (in the south of the country, on the border with Colombia and Brazil), “in an irregular situation” and “taking photos”, and that they were carrying weapons that were going to be used to “carry out fascist actions”. Venezuela accuses them of “trying to throw a grenade” at the Argentine Embassy, where six members of Vente Venezuela are sheltered, and then attributes responsibility to the Chavista government.
According to the minister, the authorities have found information on the detainees’ phones about their contacts with a regional “leader” of the Vente Venezuela (VV) party, who they ask “how they buy explosives” and “contact groups that would like to do some special work.”
Behind the arms “trafficking,” Cabello said, is former Caracas Police Commissioner Iván Simonovis, who, he said, has “direct” links in Venezuela with leaders of the majority opposition, among whom he mentioned María Corina Machado, the main supporter of former presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who has been exiled in Spain since September 8.
The minister demanded that the US government, which he has repeatedly accused of being “behind this operation,” clarify “the use of its territory to traffic arms” in order to “overthrow a democratic government, elected by its people” in the presidential elections of July 28.
Cabello added that the operation is being coordinated by the US intelligence services of the CIA. “The US government is involved because during the investigation we discovered that the FBI was there in those parcel services. Did they take the weapons? Did they take anyone prisoner? No. They allowed the operation to go ahead,” Cabello added.
The arrest of the two Spanish citizens is the latest development in the diplomatic crisis between the two nations since the general elections on 28 July. Since then, the Spanish government has demanded the publication of the electoral records to independently verify who won the elections and last week announced the granting of political asylum to opposition leader Edmundo González, whose victory has been claimed by numerous countries in the international community.
González arrived in Spain last weekend and in just a few days Venezuela has summoned the Spanish ambassador in Caracas and called its representative in the Spanish capital for consultations. The Venezuelan Parliament will also urge Maduro to break “all relations” with our country after the support of Congress, which has urged the Government to recognize González as the elected president of Venezuela.
Source: www.eldiario.es
