Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said Spain was “going to supply mercenaries“for an alleged operation -led by the United States- against this Caribbean country, for which they are Two citizens of the nation arrested European, which aimed commit “terrorist” acts, between them assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.
“The United States is leading this operation, Spain is as if it is going to provide the foreign mercenaries to carry out this operation,” he said in an interview with the multi-state channel Telesur. According to the official, the Spanish National Intelligence Center (CNI) “was going to place” in the alleged operation “mercenaries of French origin” including “The mission was to take” Maiquetía International Airportwhich serves Caracas.
However, sources from the Spanish Executive assured that the two detainees – identified as Andrés Martínez Adasme and José María Basoa Valdovinos – They are not from the CNIas assured by the Venezuelan Minister of the Interior, although for the moment he has not been able to provide more details on the arrests.
For Cabello, it was “predictable” that the Spanish government would deny these alleged “links” of the two subjects, who – he assured – have acknowledged “being Spanish secret services, in this case the CNI”. “Spain will say no, it is logical (…) these people confess their active participation”, Cabello reiterated. He also added that Both men have “links” to “political groups in Venezuela”with “criminal gangs” and with the American soldier Wilber Josep Castañeda – arrested on September 1 in this Caribbean country – whom the minister designated as “the leader” of the operation.
In the same vein, he added that, “Behind the operation” is Mrs. Maria Corina Machado“, the main supporter of the former presidential candidate of the majority opposition, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutiaexiled since September 8 in Spain, where he requested asylum, believing that in this Caribbean country he was suffering political and judicial persecution.
In the statements for theSexta XplicaThe relatives of the two Spaniards detained in Venezuela have admitted to being “shocked” by the news and claim that they had not heard from them since September 2, when they were in a city near the border with Colombia. In addition, they claim that they entered a militarized zone and that this was the last news the families had until this information.
On the other hand, They denied their membership in the CNI and they claim that they were on vacation. In fact, their jobs appear on their LinkedIn profiles. In the case of José María Basoa, it is a gas installation technician with experience in Spain and Germany, while Andrés Martínez Adasme is currently unemployedthe first living in Bilbao and the second abroad.
