Two Spaniards arrested in Venezuela have nothing to do with a conspiracy, according to Madrid

MADRID, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Two Spanish citizens arrested in Venezuela have no links to Spanish intelligence and Spain is not involved in any plan to politically destabilize the South American country, a Spanish Foreign Ministry source said on Sunday.

“Spain denies and rejects any allegation that it is involved in an operation to politically destabilize Venezuela,” a source in the Spanish Foreign Ministry said.

“The government has confirmed that the people arrested (two Spanish citizens) do not belong to the Center for National Enlightenment or any other state organization. Spain is committed to a democratic and peaceful solution to the situation in Venezuela.”

The arrests are likely to exacerbate Venezuela's already strained relations with Spain and the United States following the disputed presidential elections in July.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said at a press conference on Saturday that two Spaniards allegedly had links to the Spanish secret service and were planning the assassination of a mayor.

The Spaniards were José María Basoa and Andrés Martínez Adasne. Photos of the men were shown on state television.

Adasne's father, Andrés Martínez, told the newspaper El Mundo on Sunday that his son does not work for the Spanish secret service.

“My son, of course, does not work for the CNI. We are waiting for information from the consulate and the embassy. We do not yet know what they are accused of or for what reason they were arrested,” he said.

Cabello also accused three U.S. citizens and a Czech national of involvement in terrorist attacks, including alleged plans to assassinate Maduro and other officials.

The US State Department said on Saturday that “all allegations of US involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false.”

The US State Department spokesman also confirmed that a “member of the US military” was being held and referred to “unconfirmed reports of two other US citizens detained in Venezuela”.

The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, described Maduro's government as “dictatorial” in an interview with Spanish television channel Telecinco on Sunday.

On Saturday, a Spanish Foreign Ministry source told Reuters that they were asking Venezuela for more information.

“The Spanish embassy has sent a verbal communication to the Venezuelan government requesting access to the detained citizens to verify their identity and nationality and to find out exactly what they are accused of,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Spanish nationals were arrested while taking photographs in the city of Puerto Ayacucho, Cabello said.

Venezuela recalled its ambassador from Spain last week for consultations and summoned the Spanish ambassador to the Foreign Ministry after a Spanish minister accused Maduro of leading a “dictatorship.”

Caracas was also angered by the decision of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to meet with Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who went into exile in Spain last week after being threatened with arrest.

Tensions between Venezuela and the United States have also escalated after Washington recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner of the July 28 elections.

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