Venezuela said Tuesday it had arrested a fourth U.S. citizen in what it says was a plot to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro in the aftermath of the election the opposition claims he stole.
The American was arrested in Caracas after “taking pictures of electrical installations, oil facilities, military units,” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said. Three other US citizens, two Spaniards and a Czech have also been arrested in Venezuela in recent weeks.
Cabello told the National Assembly that the man was “part of the plot against Venezuela, the plot against our country,” which he said included a plan to “assassin President Nicolás Maduro” and others, including himself.
On Saturday, Cabello announced the arrest of the other six foreigners, who he said worked for intelligence services and the Venezuelan opposition.
One of the Americans was identified as a sailor in the US Navy imprisoned in Venezuela earlier this month. A State Department spokesperson told CBS News in a statement Saturday that the Biden administration could confirm the sailor’s detention.
Washington, Madrid and Prague, which have denied involvement in any plot against Maduro, on Monday demanded information from Venezuela about its citizens.
Maduro said on Monday that they had all “confessed”.
Venezuela has been engaged in a war of words with the United States, which recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as the winner of the election. Washington announced last week new sanctions against 16 Venezuelan officials, including some from the electoral authority, for obstructing “a transparent electoral process” and not publishing accurate results.
Tensions between Caracas and former colonial power Spain rose sharply after González Urrutia, 75, went into exile in Spain a week agoafter being threatened with arrest.
Last week, Caracas recalled its ambassador to Madrid for consultations and summoned Spain’s envoy to Venezuela for talks after a Spanish minister accused Maduro of leading a “dictatorship.” Venezuela was also upset by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s decision to meet with González Urrutia and warned Spain against any “interference” in its affairs.