Venezuelan regime announces the arrest of several tourists accused of 'conspiracy' against Maduro
Only one of those arrested on Wednesday by authorities, a Spanish citizen, was released, according to sources in Madrid.
Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello at a military celebration.
The Venezuelan regime, led by Nicolás Maduro, announced Thursday the arrest of several foreign nationals in Venezuela. The regime is accusing them of seeking to destabilize the upcoming parliamentary elections and of conspiring against Maduro.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello broke the news of the arrest of the foreign nationals through his television program, "El Mazo Dando." According to Cabello, they are two Argentine nationals, a Bulgarian and a Spaniard.
These arrests come in addition to the recent capture of another 17 foreign nationals, who, according to Cabello, tried to sabotage the election through violent acts.
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"If they come here to conspire, we are going to catch them, let that be known," declared Cabello, commonly known for being Maduro's right-hand man and main person responsible for the political repression in the country.
The Spanish citizen arrested by the regime is the only one of the group that has been released for now, per statements from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported by several news agencies.
The arrests took place a few days before the regime is set to hold regional and parliamentary elections, which are highly criticized by the opposition for lack of guarantees. Last summer, the Venezuelan regime proclaimed Nicolás Maduro as the winner in the presidential election, despite not presenting the electoral records with the results.
In said regional elections, Venezuela will also elect and appoint positions for the Essequibo region, an area claimed by Venezuela from Guyana, despite the refusal of the international community.
It is the first time that Venezuela aspires to elect authorities over this territory of 62,000 square miles over which it has no control, since the administration is led by Guyana.
No one in Essequibo will be able to participate. The voting centers will be in the border state of Bolivar, where the slightly more than 21,400 voters who make up this newly created constituency, overrepresented compared to the national average, also live.
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