Venezuela says 125 foreigners are trapped in the country

The Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, who is also considered the number 2 of Chavismo, said this Monday (6) that 125 people of different nationalities were detained in the country after the presidential elections on July 28 last year for alleged links with “terrorist plans” that he associates with the opposition that denounced the fraud carried out by the National Electoral Council (CNE) in the election. Dictator Nicolás Maduro was announced as the winner of the dispute, without the CNE publishing the detailed electoral results, as required by law.

In a press conference broadcast on state television VTVCabello said that so far 125 individuals, who he considers to be “mercenaries,” have been arrested. They are Colombians, Americans, Peruvians, Spanish, Italians, Uruguayans, Ukrainians, Swiss, Czechs, Dutch, Israelis, Germans, Argentines, Guyanese and Yemenis.

Cabello stated that, after the arrest, these people have testified and pointed out that they received financing from “drug trafficking and Colombian narcoparamilitarism, coming from Álvaro Uribe and Iván Duque (former presidents of Colombia), which is the financing that (the Venezuelan opposition leader ) María Corina Machado receives”.

“These people (opposition) don’t have an electoral plan, they have a plan to take power, they don’t believe in elections,” he added.

Cabello reiterated that next Friday (10), the day of his inauguration, dictator Nicolás Maduro will officially take over the Executive to begin a third term at the head of Venezuela, from 2025 to 2031, “without any type of problem”.

“We are going to guarantee peace, rest assured that this will be the case, we are committed to the peace of this country and, a healthy recommendation to those who think they can, will do very badly, we will be ruthless”, he added.

This Sunday (5), Cabello carried out an “inspection” to check security points in Caracas before the Chavista dictator took office, according to videos released by the Ministry of the Interior.

The minister said that agents from the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM), the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin) and the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) remain mobilized to guarantee security.

The Venezuelan Executive announced last Friday (3) that it had mobilized 1,200 soldiers across the country with the aim of “guaranteeing peace” during the period leading up to the inauguration of the presidency.

Opponent Edmundo González Urrutia, the de facto winner of the elections, according to official minutes released by the opposition, has expressed his desire to return to Venezuela on the 10th to be sworn in as the country’s legitimate president, even at the risk of being arrested.

González is making a series of trips to countries in the Americas and has already received support from the presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei; Paraguay, Santiago Penã; Lacalle Pou, from Uruguay; and Joe Biden, President of the USA.