Diosdado Cabello claims the arrested suspects, including a US serviceman, were planning to conduct acts of terrorism
Venezuela’s security service has thwarted a CIA-backed plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro and stage acts of terrorism, the interior minister has claimed. Diosdado Cabello said two Spanish, one Czech and three US nationals, including a member of the American military in active service, had been detained, and that several hundred military-grade firearms had been seized.
A contested presidential election back in July saw Maduro re-elected for a third term with 52% of the vote. However, the opposition accused the government of rigging the ballot. The US, EU, most Latin American states, and the G7 have since refused to recognize Maduro as the elected head of state.
Caracas, in turn, has accused Washington of attempting to stage a coup.
Speaking to the broadcaster Telesur on Saturday, Cabello claimed that a US citizen named…