Three Americans among latest to be arrested in Venezuela over alleged anti-government plot

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela has arrested five more foreigners, including three U.S. citizens, for their alleged connection to a plot to destabilize the country, the interior minister said Thursday, marking the latest round of arrests for what authorities said of anti-government activities following the contested presidential election in July. election.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello provided no evidence to support allegations that the detainees were linked to terrorist activities. As in previous similar announcements, he also claimed, without showing any evidence, that U.S. intelligence agencies planned these activities.

Cabello did not say when the five people were arrested. He said a Peruvian citizen and a Bolivian citizen were arrested along with the three Americans.

Last month, Cabello announced the arrest of three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen whom he accused of traveling to Venezuela to assassinate President Nicolas 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 comes two days after the United States imposed sanctions on 16 Maduro allies whom the Biden administration accused of obstructing voting in the July 28 presidential election and having committed human rights violations.

Ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner hours after polls closed, but they did not release details of the results as they had in previous presidential elections. They claimed they could not release the detailed information because their website had been hacked.

The main opposition coalition, however, obtained tally sheets from more than 80% of voting machines and published them online. The coalition said records showed its candidate, Edmundo González, defeated Maduro by a 2-to-1 margin.

The Maduro administration has already used Americans imprisoned in Venezuela to extract concessions from the U.S. government. As part of a deal reached 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 detained in Florida for money laundering.

According to U.S. prosecutors, Saab also helped Maduro avoid U.S. Treasury sanctions through a complex network of shell companies.