Venezuelan authorities arrested three Americans, two Spaniards, and a Czech national on Saturday, accusing them of a plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.
According AP, Venezuela’s influential interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, made the announcement during a broadcast on state television, where he alleged that the foreign nationals were part of a broader CIA-coordinated effort to overthrow the Maduro regime and eliminate key members of its leadership.
During the broadcast, Cabello displayed photographs of rifles he claimed were seized from some of the individuals involved in the plot.
Among the American detainees, Cabello identified one as Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez, a U.S. Navy member and navy seal veteran with combat experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Colombia.
Spain’s embassy in Venezuela declined to comment on the arrests of its citizens.
Later that day, the U.S. State Department confirmed the detention of an American service member but indicated it was still investigating reports that two additional U.S. citizens were also detained.
“Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false,” the department said, adding, “The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela.”
The timing of the arrests comes just 48 hours after the U.S. Treasury implemented new sanctions targeting 16 close associates of President Maduro.
These individuals were accused of obstructing voting in Venezuela’s disputed July 28 presidential election and engaging in various human rights violations.
Earlier in the week, tensions between Venezuela and Spain heightened when Spain’s parliament officially recognized opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the legitimate victor of the election.
This move provoked outrage among Maduro’s allies, some of whom demanded that Venezuela cut both commercial and diplomatic ties with Spain.
Relations between Venezuela and the U.S. have also worsened in the wake of the election. The official results, according to Venezuela’s Electoral Council, showed Maduro winning with 52% of the vote, though the council has not provided a full breakdown of these figures. Opposition activists, however, countered the government by collecting tally sheets from 80% of the voting machines across the country.
Their independent count, which was posted online, showed Gonzalez as the clear winner, with twice as many votes as Maduro.
Despite mounting criticism of the election’s transparency, Venezuela’s supreme court, known for its loyalty to Maduro, upheld the election results in August.
In response, Venezuela’s attorney general brought conspiracy charges against Gonzalez, prompting him to flee to Spain last week to avoid imminent arrest.
Maduro has resisted calls from several countries, including neighbouring Colombia and Brazil, to release the tally sheets proving his electoral victory.
Since taking power in 2013, he has repeatedly accused the U.S. of orchestrating attempts to topple his government through sanctions and covert actions.
In the past, Maduro’s government has used detained American citizens as leverage in negotiations with the U.S. Last year, in a high-profile deal brokered by the Biden administration, Venezuela released 10 Americans and a fugitive wanted by U.S. authorities.
In exchange, the U.S. issued a presidential pardon for Alex Saab, a close Maduro confidant who had been detained in Florida on charges of money laundering. According to U.S. prosecutors, Saab played a key role in helping Maduro circumvent U.S. sanctions by operating a web of shell companies.
The unfolding situation highlights the deepening geopolitical tensions and Venezuela’s increasingly isolated position on the global stage.
