Venezuelan authorities have arrested 32 people, including civilians and military personnel, accused of "
treason
" over five alleged "
conspiracies
" to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro with the support of the United States, the public prosecutor's office announced Monday.
“
All detainees are convicted, confessed and revealed information about plans against the majority of the Venezuelan people and democratic society
,” Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a press statement.
“
There will be no legal or legal consideration against these people
.”
Operations kept secret
Saab, a pro-government figure, detailed alleged plots revealed throughout 2023 and early 2024, for which arrest warrants were issued against 11 other people, including human rights activists, journalists and soldiers in exile.
Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino was also among the alleged targets of the assassination, according to the prosecutor.
Padrino said the authorities' operations against these plots had been kept secret because they coincided with "negotiations" between Maduro and the United States, which resulted in the release of detainees in Venezuela and relief sanctions imposed by Washington on the Caribbean country.
The minister attributed these projects to
the "Venezuelan extreme right
", a term used by the government to designate the opposition, with the "
support
" of the CIA and the DEA.
Nicolas Maduro, who appears to be Chavismo's natural candidate for re-election in 2024, frequently denounces plots aimed at overthrowing him, regularly accusing the United States, the opposition and Colombian drug traffickers.