President Nicolas Maduro announced on Tuesday that Venezuela had just created a
“special operations commando”
tasked with countering possible subversive actions by the United States on its territory.
Maduro revealed the creation of this commando, whose activity will be coordinated by the presidency, during a videoconference broadcast by Venezuelan government television.
The new unit will have
"the capacity to act anywhere in the country in real time 24 hours a day,"
said the socialist head of state.
According to him, the President of the United States Donald Trump has given the green light
“for the CIA to get involved in clandestine terrorist actions against Venezuela”
.
Such American actions would target
"oil, electricity, military, electoral objectives"
in Venezuelan territory, said Nicolas Maduro.
“We have already captured an agent who confessed,”
he said.
Read also: Venezuela: the incredible arrest of a relative of Maduro
On September 11, Nicolas Maduro announced the arrest in Venezuela of an American citizen identified as Matthew John Heath and whom he described as a
"spy"
.
This American is accused of
"terrorism"
by the Venezuelan justice, according to which he planned attacks against oil and electricity installations.
In August, two other Americans, Luke Alexander Denman and Airan Berry, were sentenced in Venezuela to 20 years in prison for terrorism.
They were notably found guilty of a failed armed incursion into Venezuelan territory in May.
During his videoconference, Maduro called on the Bolivarian Militia to be on
"high alert" in
order to face possible plots.
The Bolivarian Militia is a body that includes 4.5 million civilians, linked to the Venezuelan army, considered the main support of the regime.
Read also: In Venezuela, incredible clandestine operation to overthrow Maduro
Caracas often accuses Washington of plotting to overthrow Chavist power.
The United States openly want the fall of Nicolas Maduro, whom they qualify as a dictator, and impose a series of sanctions on Venezuela.
The US Treasury Secretariat announced on Tuesday the adoption of sanctions - asset freezes, in particular - against five Venezuelan politicians.
Washington accuses them of
"complicity"
with President Maduro in a
"manipulation"
of the process leading to the next legislative elections, which are to be held on December 6.
Nicolas Maduro immediately condemned these sanctions, which he described in his speech as
“measures of extortion, blackmail and persecution typical of a mafia and not of the government of a decent country”
.