Spain 'rejects' claim of involvement in plot in Venezuela

MADRID

Spain rejects allegations by Venezuela that Madrid was involved in a plot to destabilize the government of the Latin American country, a Foreign Ministry source said on Sunday.

"Spain denies and categorically rejects any insinuation that it is involved in a political destabilization operation in Venezuela," the source told AFP after three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen were detained in Venezuela and accused of involvement in a plot against the government.

The government has "confirmed" that the two Spanish detainees are not part of Spain's CNI spy agency "or any other state body," the source added.

"Spain defends a democratic and peaceful solution to the situation in Venezuela," the source said.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Sept. 14 that the foreign nationals were being held on suspicion of planning an attack on President Nicolas Maduro and his government.

He said two Spaniards were recently detained in Puerto Ayacucho in the southwest over the alleged plot linked to intelligence agencies in the United States and Spain as well as to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Saturday that "any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false."

The arrests come amid heightened tensions between Venezuela and both the U.S. and Spain over Venezuela's disputed July 28 presidential election, which the country's opposition accuses Maduro of “stealing.”

Maduro, who succeeded iconic left-wing leader Hugo Chavez on his death in 2013, insists he won a third term but failed to release detailed voting tallies to back his claim.

Tensions between Caracas and former colonial power Spain rose sharply after Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, went into exile in Spain a week ago, after being threatened with arrest.