Seven persons are charged with organizing violence ahead of Friday’s inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for a third term.
On Tuesday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared that seven “mercenaries”, including two Americans, has been taken into custody by the authorities for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks in the nation.
“Today, we have arrested seven foreign mercenaries, including two prominent mercenaries from the United States”, Maduro declared during a broadcast. “They were planning to carry out terrorist acts against the peace of Venezuela”, he stated.
Three Ukrainians, two Colombians, and two Americans are among the inmates. Maduro did not, however, reveal who they were or the precise accusations made against them.
Opposition parties denounce Maduro’s claims that the people had organized violent acts in advance of his scheduled inauguration on Friday as illegitimate.
The opposition claims it won by a significant margin, but the National Electoral Council of Venezuela proclaimed Maduro the winner of a third consecutive term following elections in July. The elections results have been disputed by a large portion of the world community, who claim they are illegitimate.
Following US President Joe Biden’s welcoming of opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia to Washington, tensions have increased in recent days. Gonzalez has also traveled to the Dominican Republic, Argentina, and Panama in an effort to win over nations that acknowledge his legitimacy as president.
To stop Maduro’s swearing-in ceremony, the opposition has called on “millions” of Venezuelans to demonstrate on Thursday.
Gonzalez said on Tuesday that Rafael Tudares, his son-in-law, had been abducted while he was dropping his kids off at school in the capital, Caracas.
The administration announced on Monday that 125 people had been arrested for purported antigovernmental actions.
