Two US citizens have been arrested in Venezuela on charges that are unclear, but President Nicolas Maduro claimed on Tuesday that they were related to intent to “practice terrorism”.
Maduro said “very high level” Americans, whom he called “mercenaries”, were part of a group of seven arrested, although he provided no evidence or details of the arrests.
“Today alone we have captured seven foreign mercenaries, including two important mercenaries from the United States,” Maduro said, according to a Reuters report.
President Nicolas Maduro addresses loyalists gathered in support of his re-election in Caracas, Venezuela, August 28, 2024, a month after voting. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
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Maduro – who is set to take the top post again on Friday for a third term despite the results of a widely contested July election – said two Colombians and three Ukrainians were also arrested.
He reportedly said that his security forces had arrested 125 foreign mercenaries from 25 different countries, whom he claimed had entered the country with the intention of “practicing terrorism against the Venezuelan people”. Had entered.
A State Department spokesperson rejected Maduro’s claims and told Fox News Digital, “Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false.”
The spokesperson said, “The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela. As Maduro and his allies have shown in the past, they detain U.S. citizens entering Venezuela without justification or due process.” Can be detained and put in jail.” ,
The identities of the arrested individuals have not been released due to “confidentiality and other reasons”.
However, the spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the department is “working to gather more information” and remains “concerned” for the Americans detained in Venezuela.
Opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez leads a demonstration against election results declaring Nicolas Maduro the winner in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
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It is unclear how many Americans are currently held in Venezuela following a significant prisoner swap in 2023, when Washington and Caracas negotiated the release of dozens of prisoners, including 10 Americans, in exchange for Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of Maduro. Was done.
His comments coincide with the visit to DC of opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who has been strongly endorsed by Washington and has been declared president-elect by several countries, including the US.
On Monday, President Biden reasserted the U.S. position on the results of the election — which Maduro-aligned courts have soon declared a win for the three-term president — and called Gonzalez the “true winner.” July race.
Venezuelan authorities have refused to release ballot box results to support his claims of victory, while González’s team reportedly published thousands of scanned copies of voting machine results, which ballot box observers used to verify the election. Cast votes collected in the following days—reportedly accounting for 80% of the votes—showed a victory for the opposition leader.
Maduro’s allegations of a US-orchestrated coup plot increased in the weeks following his internationally contested election, and by September the Venezuelan leader was issuing claims that the CIA had plotted to overthrow his government and It was reported that approximately 400 rifles were seized and a Navy SEAL arrested.
Isaias Medina, a former Venezuelan diplomat at the United Nations, said Maduro’s latest arrests and comments are “in line with his pattern of ‘hostage diplomacy’.”
Government loyalists hold a poster of late former President Hugo Chavez during a rally in support of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
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“These allegations, which are widely considered unfounded, appear to be another ploy to divert attention from Maduro’s illegitimate inauguration and suppress dissent ahead of anticipated protests,” Medina told Fox News Digital. “By involving foreign nationals in these allegations, Maduro seeks to create fear of external interference while creating convenient scapegoats for his failing leadership and attempting to legitimize state terrorism.
“The timing of these allegations raises concerns about Maduro’s broader strategy,” he said. “Furthermore, the dramatic allegations serve to justify a crackdown on opposition protests, intimidating Venezuelans into silence as the country sinks deeper into an economic and humanitarian crisis.
“These actions underscore the lengths to which Maduro will go to maintain control despite growing domestic discontent and growing demands for accountability on the world stage,” Medina said.
The State Department has listed Venezuela as a Level 4 “do not travel” location due to the security threats posed there to Americans.
