Venezuela Arrests 3 Americans Involved in Alleged Coup Attempt, US Denies Involvement
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The U.S. rebuffed the Venezuelan government’s accusations that the CIA led a coup attempt against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
The Details: Venezuela announced that three U.S. citizens, including Navy member Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez, had been detained in connection with an alleged plot that also contained a Czech and two Spanish nationals. The U.S. confirmed the arrest of a military member but did not reveal names or details about the arrests. Venezuela also said it seized 400 American rifles bound for “extremist groups.”
For Context: The U.S. recently declared opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia the rightful winner of Venezuela’s July presidential election and imposed sanctions on several affiliates of Maduro. However, Maduro maintains that he is the elected president and remains in power.
Key Quotes: On Saturday, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said, “We from Venezuela demand that the United States government clarify the participation of its agency, that it clarify (its plans) to traffic arms to overthrow a democratically constituted government.” The U.S. State Department said in a statement, “Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false.”
How the Media Covered It: USA Today (Lean Left bias) focused on the statements from the U.S. State Department, emphasizing its denial and commitment to a democratic resolution to the crisis. Breitbart News (Right bias) focused more on Venezuela’s allegations and detailed the alleged planned actions of the group in relation to Venezuelan infrastructure. An editor wrote this summary with the help of AllSides AI.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
US denies claim CIA tried to overthrow, kill Venezuelan President MaduroThe State Department on Sunday denied Venezuela's claim the U.S. was trying to overthrow the government and assassinate President Nicolas Maduro, saying the U.S. seeks a democratic solution to the political crisis.
Venezuela Interior minister Diosdado Cabello alleged Saturday the CIA was leading an operation headed by U.S. Navy member Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez, who was detained in Venezuela with two other Americans and a Czech citizen. Cabello also said 400 U.S. rifles bound for "extremist groups" in his country had been seized.
"We from Venezuela demand that the Unites States...
From the Center
US denies claim CIA plotted to kill Venezuela presidentThe United States has dismissed claims made by Venezuela that the CIA plotted to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro and other top officials.
Three US citizens, two Spaniards and one Czech national have been arrested on suspicion of plotting to destabilise the country, the Venezuelan interior minister said.
Calling the detainees “mercenaries”, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello claimed that the CIA was "leading the operation” and that hundreds of weapons had been seized.
The US rejected the claims, which come after Washington placed 16 senior Venezuelan government officials under sanctions, as "categorically false".
From the Right
Venezuela Arrests Americans for Alleged Nicolás Maduro Assassination PlotVenezuelan Interior Minister and long-suspected drug lord Diosdado Cabello announced on Saturday that the socialist regime arrested three U.S. citizens for their alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
As is customary for the Venezuelan regime, Cabello accused the CIA of being behind the alleged plot, offering no evidence to back up the claim. He further accused Spain’s National Intelligence Centre (CNI) of being “neck-deep” in the purported CIA plan.
Cabello — a socialist strongman whom Maduro recently appointed to lead his authoritarian regime’s brutal repressive apparatus and whom U.S. authorities actively want on multiple narcoterrorism...
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