Venezuela arrested three U.S. citizens and three citizens of the European Union on Sept. 14, alleging that the six were engaged in a plot to kill Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The arrests follow continuing disputes in Venezuela and internationally related to the outcome of the recent presidential election in the country. Western officials, including those of the United States, say that Maduro was defeated in a landslide, but Maduro has claimed victory and forced the opposition leader, Edmundo González, to flee the country.
Diosdado Cabella, Venezuela’s interior minister, announced the arrests—including a member of the U.S. Navy, two Spaniards, and a Czech—alleging that the six had come to Venezuela as part of a CIA plot to kill Maduro. The announcement was made on Venezuelan state television, which showed photos of rifles allegedly captured as part of the plan.
The United States denied involvement in any such plot.
Cabella identified one of the U.S. citizens as Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez, whom Cabella described as a Navy SEAL who had served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Colombia.
Following the arrests, the U.S. State Department announced that it was aware of the arrest of a member of the military as well as “unconfirmed reports of two additional U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela.”
However, the State Department refuted allegations by Cabella of a U.S.-led attempt on the life of Maduro.
“Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false. The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela,” the State Department said.
Just two days before the arrests, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on more than a dozen Venezuelans close to Maduro, each accused by the United States of obstruction of voting during the still-disputed presidential election in July.
Both the United States and Spain have recognized Gonzalez as the winner of the contest. Spain’s Parliament did so earlier this week, while the U.S. State Department determined within days of the election that Gonzalez had won.
The move by Spain’s Parliament caused outrage among allies of Maduro, who called for the nation to suspend trade and diplomatic relations with Spain.
The outcome of the election has increased Venezuelan tensions with the West that were already high in light of alleged human rights abuses on the part of Maduro’s socialist regime.
The Venezuelan Electoral Council, which is closely allied with Maduro, says that Maduro won with 52 percent of the vote, though they have yet to release a detailed breakdown of the results. But an opposition investigation into the election, which collected the tally sheets of about 80 percent of the nation’s voting machines, indicated that Gonzalez won with twice as many votes as Maduro.
Meanwhile, mass protests have been held in the South American state by Venezuelans who supported Gonzalez.
Despite international condemnation over the election’s lack of transparency, Venezuela’s supreme court, which has long backed Maduro, confirmed his victory in August. Venezuela’s attorney general then filed conspiracy charges against Gonzalez, who fled to Spain last week after it became clear he would be arrested.
Maduro has dismissed requests from several countries, including the leftist governments of Colombia and Brazil, to provide tally sheets that prove he won the election. Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has long claimed that the United States is trying to overthrow him through sanctions and covert operations.
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 avoid U.S. Treasury sanctions through a complex network of shell companies.
