The opposition on Thursday claimed that two members of Venezuelan National Assembly President Juan Guaido’s team were arrested on the same day that he was due to appear before prosecutors investigating an alleged “attempted coup d’etat and magnicide.”
Demostenes Quijada and Maury Carrero were arrested at their homes on Thursday morning by military intelligence agents, Guaido’s office said in a statement.
“With this new assault by the dictatorship, there are now 10 members [of Guaido’s team] who have been detained by security forces. Five of them in the past 72 hours,” Guaido’s office wrote on Twitter.
Neither the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, nor police or military authorities confirmed the arrests.
About 30 officers “dressed in black, masked and with heavy weapons” took part in the operation to arrest Quijada, said Guaido’s human rights representative Humberto Prado, who accused the agents of “ransacking the home and arbitrarily confiscating” two vehicles.
A similar operation was conducted against Carrero, opposition lawmaker Delsa Solorzano said.
The arrests happened on the same day Guaido had been called to appear before the public prosecutor.
The subpoena is based on an alleged seizure of arms in Colombia that were due to be sent to Venezuela as part of a plot to assassinate Maduro and other high-ranking officials, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said.
Guaido was apparently implicated in the alleged plot by Cliver Alcala, a retired military leader who was close to former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, but fell out with his successor, Maduro.
Last week, Alcala turned himself in to the Colombian authorities after he was listed as one of more than a dozen present and former Venezuelan officials — including Maduro — accused by the US of drug trafficking.
Washington had offered a reward for information leading to Alcala’s capture. He had been living in Colombia since falling out with Maduro.
Guaido has ruled out appearing before Saab.
“There’s no point given he doesn’t even have a position” of authority, Guaido told the Miami-based online EVTV channel.
Guaido last year declared himself acting president in a challenge to Maduro’s authority and that of his regime. He has been recognized as such by more than 50 nations, including Colombia, the US and much of the EU.
The US, which on Wednesday launched an anti-drugs operation in the Caribbean, has warned Maduro’s regime against arresting Guaido.
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