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Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello did not provide proof to back
the allegations that the detainees were linked to terrorist
activities. As in similar previous announcements, he also
claimed without showing any evidence that U.S. intelligence
agencies planned the activities.
Cabello did not say when the five people were detained. He said
a Peruvian and a Bolivian citizen were taken into custody along
with the three Americans. He said all “speak Spanish perfectly”
and traveled to to the country claiming to be “in love with
Venezuela” and planning “to see their partner.”
Last month, Cabello announced the arrests of three Americans,
two Spaniards and a Czech citizen whom he accused of traveling
to Venezuela to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro. Cabello
said the foreign citizens were part of a CIA-led plot to
overthrow the Venezuelan government and kill several members of
its leadership.
The mid-September announcement came two days after the U.S.
imposed sanctions on 16 allies of Maduro whom the Biden
administration accused of obstructing voting during the July 28
presidential election and carrying out human rights abuses.
Ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared Maduro the
victor hours after polls closed, but they did not publish a
breakdown of results as they had done in previous presidential
elections. They claimed they could not release the detailed
information because their website was hacked.
The main opposition coalition, however, secured tally sheets
from more than 80% of voting machines and published them online.
The coalition said the records showed its candidate, Edmundo
González, defeated Maduro by a 2-to-1 margin.
The Maduro administration has previously used Americans
imprisoned in Venezuela to gain concessions from the U.S.
government. In a deal conducted last year with the Biden
administration, Maduro released 10 Americans and a fugitive
wanted by the U.S. government to secure a presidential pardon
for Alex Saab, a close Maduro ally who was held in Florida on
money laundering charges.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Saab had also helped Maduro to
avoid U.S. Treasury sanctions through a complex network of shell
companies.
“The safety and security of American citizens anywhere around
the world is our first priority, and we’re going to gather more
information about this in the hours ahead,” U.S. State
Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters referring to
Cabello's Thursday announcement.
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