Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro announced the detention of three Ukrainians days before his inauguration, calling them "mercenaries" and accusing them of plotting "terrorist" actions, Spanish news agency EFE reported on Jan. 8.
Venezuelan authorities also detained two U.S. and two Colombian citizens, raising the same accusations against them.
"Today alone, we have captured…, seven foreign mercenaries, including two important U.S. mercenaries," Maduro said at an event in Caracas.
The group was planning a terrorist attack against "the peace of Venezuela," the president alleged. Maduro did not provide evidence to support his claims.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on Caracas' claims, and a spokesperson did not respond to the Kyiv Independent's request at the time of publication.
Maduro is preparing for his inauguration on Jan. 10 to become the president of Venezuela for the next six years after two consecutive terms, claiming election victory in July 2024 amid widespread reports of fraud.
The opposition’s presidential nominee, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, also plans to take the presidential oath. The U.S. and several other nations have recognized Urrutia as the legitimate president-elect.
The Venezuelan government claims to have detained overall 125 "mercenaries" in November and December, all part of an alleged scheme to attack Maduro’s Vice President and Hydrocarbons Minister Delcy Rodriguez.
Maduro has a close relationship with Moscow, bolstered by their shared animosity toward the West.
Venezuela's president has denounced Western sanctions imposed against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and called Caracas and Moscow "loyal allies."
Last summer, two Russian naval ships docked in Venezuela's La Guaira port after exercises in the North Atlantic, supposedly to "show the flag" in the region.
Anastasiia Lapatina
(Updated: )
