3 US citizens and 2 Spaniards arrested for alleged conspiracy to “destabilize” Venezuela

Three US citizens, two Spaniards and a Czech were arrested in Venezuela. They are accused of planning to destabilize the country through “violent actions,” the government announced on Saturday. Hundreds of weapons were confiscated.

The Venezuelan government identified the men arrested on Saturday in an online video. One of them was identified as a US Navy sailor arrested in Venezuela Earlier this month, when he visited the country on a private trip, several U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News. The sailor is a petty officer first class and a former Navy SEAL assigned to a team on the West Coast, several U.S. officials and a senior Defense Department official told CBS News.

A State Department spokesperson told CBS News in a statement on Saturday that the Biden administration could confirm the sailor's detention and that it was aware of “unconfirmed reports” of the detention of two other U.S. citizens.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the five were being held on suspicion of plotting an attack on President Nicolas Maduro and his government. The arrests come amid rising tensions between Venezuela and the United States and Spain over Venezuela’s controversial presidential elections on July 28, The country's opposition accuses Maduro of theft.

“Any allegations of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false,” the State Department spokesman said. “The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela.”

Maduro, a former bus driver who succeeded legendary leftist politician Hugo Chávez when he died in 2013, insists he has won a third term but has failed to release detailed voting records to back up his claim.

“We know that the US government is linked to this operation,” Cabello assured. He said the two Spaniards were recently arrested in Puerto Ayacucho in the southwest of the island.

He added that three Americans and a Czech national had also been arrested and linked the alleged plot to intelligence services in the United States and Spain, as well as to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

“They have made contact with French mercenaries, they have made contact with mercenaries from Eastern Europe and they are trying to attack our country,” he said.

He added that “more than 400 rifles were seized” and accused those arrested of planning “terrorist acts”.

The United States, Spain and the Czech Republic have yet to respond to the sensational claims, which are being made amid a worsening standoff between Maduro and Western powers. A plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was confiscated by the USA and brought to Florida, the Justice Department said. The plane was exported from Florida in violation of US sanctions.

Tensions between Caracas and the former colonial power Spain have escalated after Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, went into exile in Spain a week agoafter he was threatened with arrest.

Earlier this week, Caracas recalled its ambassador from Madrid for consultations and summoned the Spanish envoy to Venezuela for talks after a Spanish minister accused Maduro of running a “dictatorship.” Venezuela was also angered by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's decision to meet with Gonzalez Urrutia and warned Spain against any “interference” in its affairs.

Caracas is also embroiled in a war of words with the United States, which has recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner of the election. Washington announced on Thursday new sanctions against 16 Venezuelan officials, including some members of the electoral authority, for obstructing a “transparent electoral process” and failing to publish accurate results.

Venezuela condemned the measures as a “crime of aggression” and Maduro awarded medals to four of the military officers affected by the sanctions. Maduro's claim that he had won a third term sparked mass opposition protests that left at least 27 people dead and 192 injured.

The opposition published results at polling station level which they said showed Gonzalez Urrutia wins by a landslide. Around 2,400 people were arrested during the unrest, including many young people. After the last election in Venezuela in 2018, Maduro also declared victory despite numerous allegations of fraud. With the support of the military and other institutions, he managed to stay in power despite international sanctions.

During Maduro's term in office since 2013, GDP has fallen by 80 percent in a decade, causing more than seven million of the country's 30 million citizens to emigrate.

Eleanor Watson contributed to this report.