Islam Times - Venezuela Says Botched Maritime Raid Targeting Maduro Planned in Spanish Embassy Building

Venezuela Says Botched Maritime Raid Targeting Maduro Planned in Spanish Embassy Building

Islam Times - Venezuela complained that the building of Spain's Embassy in Caracas served as a base for the planning of the botched operation to kidnap President Nicolas Maduro, which was reportedly organized by the country's opposition forces.

Addressing the nation on television, Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information Jorge Rodriguez accused Spain of covering up for the opposition and its plans to murder Venezuelan officials, according to Sputnik.

Rodriguez further slammed Madrid's inaction regarding the activities of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, acting from Spain's diplomatic mission in Caracas.

"Does the Government of Spain know that Leopoldo Lopez continues to make videoconferences with the sole purpose of discussing his plans to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro? Does the Spanish government have anything to say about this?" Rodriguez wondered.

He also said that he had invited High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell to speak out on the matter of one of the bloc's members lending its embassy to those who plot crimes against Venezuela.

The communications minister went on to slam another prominent opposition figure - Juan Guaido, calling him a "tool" of the "most radical right-wing forces" of US President Donald Trump and Lopez's "puppet".

Rodriguez accused Guaido of only pursuing the goals of "seizing power and stealing money", adding that the man had already become "multimillionaire" with the money he stole from Venezuela’s bank accounts in the US.

Lopez has been hiding in Spain's Embassy in Caracas since May 2019, after a military coup organised by Guaido failed to topple Maduro.

The Venezuelan military thwarted on May 3 an attempted naval raid by heavily-armed mercenaries arriving from Colombia who were planning to topple Maduro by securing Caracas Airport, kidnapping the president, and taking him out of the country, purportedly to the US.

Two of the detained mercenaries turned out to be employees of the American private security company Silvercorp - Luke Denman and Airan Berry. Both confirmed that they were hired to train a group of plotters to kidnap Maduro and that the company was hired by Guaido.

Maduro has accused the US and Trump personally of being the masterminds behind plans to topple him. Washington has actively supported Guaido ever since he proclaimed himself the interim president in January 2019. Media reports also suggest that the US helped Guaido organise another coup attempt on April 30, 2019, during which the self-proclaimed interim president unsuccessfully tried to get the Venezuelan Army to join his cause of ousting Maduro.