Caracas: President Nicolas Maduro has accused the United States of using frozen Venezuelan funds to bankroll mercenaries to assassinate him in a ‘plot’ he said was directed by opposition leader Juan Guaido.
“We have dismantled a plan organised personally by the diabolical puppet to kill me,” Maduro told thousands of supporters here Saturday, referring to Juan Guaido, who is recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries.
Maduro alleged that Colombia, Venezuela’s US-aligned neighbour, was also involved, and said that an unidentified Colombian paramilitary chief had been captured in the country ‘and is giving testimony’.
Maduro’s government also gave details of the alleged plot on state television, with Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez saying ‘hitmen’ from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras had been recruited ‘using big sums of money’ and sent to Colombia ahead of missions into Venezuela to carry out ‘targeted assassinations’ and ‘sabotage’.
Rodriguez has accused Guaido’s chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, of receiving money from the US and being a key organiser of the alleged operation.
Marrero, a 49-year-old lawyer, was arrested Thursday in his home here. It triggered an outcry and demands that he be immediately released by the US, the European Union and major Latin American countries that recognise Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president.
Marrero yelled out to a neighbour, an opposition lawmaker, that the ‘SEBIN’ intelligence officers arresting him had planted two assault rifles and a grenade in his home. Hours later, Maduro’s government showed pictures of weapons it said it found and alleged Marrero was part of a ‘terrorist cell’.
The accusations were repeated shortly afterwards by Maduro as he addressed a crowd of thousands of supporters in the capital. According to his government, the US has seized USD 30 billion is Venezuelan assets, including money in bank accounts.
It should be stated here that US President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly warned Maduro to not arrest or intimidate Guaido or his aides, or else face unspecified consequences.
Trump has reiterated that ‘all options’ – implicitly including military action – are on the table for dealing with Venezuela.
AFP
