The Venezuelan Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabella, made the announcement on Venezuelan state television, identifying the detainees as three Americans, two Spanish nationals, and a Czech national.
As reported by American Military News, Cabella also displayed images of weapons allegedly seized during the arrest operations. Among those arrested was an American identified as Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez, who Venezuelan authorities claim is a U.S. Navy SEAL.
The U.S. State Department confirmed the detention of a U.S. military member, stating, “We can confirm the detention of a U.S. military member and are aware of unconfirmed reports of two additional U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela.” However, they vehemently denied any involvement in the alleged assassination plot, asserting, “Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false.”
This incident comes at a time of escalating tensions between the U.S. and the Maduro government in Venezuela. The U.S. has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Venezuela's presidential elections, including the 2018 election and the most recent one, both of which declared Maduro the winner.
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The 2018 election led to a political dispute where Maduro's opposition in the Venezuelan National Assembly sought to invalidate the results and position then-assembly leader Juan Guaidó as the interim president. The U.S. government supported Guaidó's claim to the presidency.
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By March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice had implicated Maduro in a criminal indictment, alleging his involvement in trafficking cocaine into the United States, in collaboration with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), a guerilla faction that has been in conflict with the U.S.-backed Colombian government since the 1960s.
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The U.S. once again cast doubt on Venezuela's presidential election in July, where Maduro was declared the winner for a third term. In response, the U.S. has ramped up economic sanctions against Venezuelan officials.
The alleged plot to assassinate Maduro bears resemblance to a similar plot in May 2020, in which two U.S. Army Green Beret veterans—Airan Berry and Luke Denman—were detained, along with several other suspects, in a plan to capture Maduro and destabilize his government. The U.S. government denied involvement in this plot as well.
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In July, U.S. federal prosecutors announced charges against another Green Beret veteran, Jordan Goudreau, for allegedly smuggling firearms and other military gear as part of the 2020 plot. Berry and Denman remain captive in Venezuela following the failed plot.
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Adding to the tension, Venezuelan authorities detained another U.S. Navy sailor last month under unclear circumstances. The U.S. Navy has yet to respond to a request for information about Gomez’s service record. These incidents underscore the strained relations between the U.S. and Venezuela, with the U.S. government maintaining its stance of non-involvement in any plots against the Maduro administration.
