Ben Pawlowski
TWO Spanish nationals have been arrested in Venezuela over an alleged plot to ‘destabilise’ the South American nation and assassinate senior politicians.
The pair, named by the Venezuelan interior ministry as Jose Maria Basoa and Andres Martinez Adasme, are among six foreigners, including three Americans and one Czech citizen, to have been detained over the weekend.
The Spanish and American security services have strenuously denied any involvement, whilst the families of the alleged spies have insisted they were simply tourists on holiday.
Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s hardline interior minister, described the detainees as ‘mercenaries’ and claimed the CIA was leading an operation to kill Nicolas Maduro, the president, and other leading figures in the country.
He said the Spanish pair were arrested whilst taking photographs in Puerto Ayacucho in the southwest of the country, adding that he believes they were planning to kill the local mayor.
The city, near to the border with neighbouring Colombia, is both popular with birdwatchers and an important base for the country’s army and navy.
Following the arrests, a Spanish foreign ministry source told Reuters: “Spain denies and absolutely rejects any insinuation of being implicated in an operation of political destabilisation in Venezuela”.
They continued: “The government has confirmed that the detained do not form part of the Center for National Intelligence or any state organisation”.
The father of Andres Martinez Adasme told El Mundo that his son and friend, both from Bilbao, were in the country on holiday and do not work for any covert organisation.
The two arrests are likely to deepen tensions between Spain and Venezuela.
Last week, diplomatic relations between the two countries plummeted to a new low after a government minister branded the South American nation as a ‘dictatorship’.
In response, the Venezuelan government recalled its ambassador to Spain and summoned the Spanish ambassador to appear at the foreign ministry in the wake of the comment, which was blasted by a minister as ‘insolent, interventionist and rude’.
Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles, whilst discussing repressive regimes worldwide, spoke of the ‘men and women who have had to leave Venezuela precisely because of the dictatorship they are living through’.
Her comments came following days of tension after Edmundo Gonzalez, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, fled to Madrid and was greeted by Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister.
Gonzalez’s supporters, and numerous international commentators, claim he was the clear victor in a July election against incumbent president Nicolas Maduro.
The regime-controlled national electoral council announced in the aftermath of the election that Maduro, who has ruled the country for 11 years following the death of Hugo Chavez, had won in a landslide.
However, the opposition has published receipts from voting machines used in the election which indicate that Gonzalez himself won in a landslide, verging on 70% of the vote.
Last week, Spain’s Congress voted to support a motion proposed by the conservative opposition that formally recognised Gonzalez as the rightful president-elect.
