In Caracas, three allies of Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado have been arrested on charges of conspiracy as tensions between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the political opposition escalate.
Attorney General Tarek Saab claims that Guillermo Lopez, Luis Camacaro, and Juan Freites were part of a group of at least 11 individuals who allegedly attempted to steal a military weapons arsenal last year in preparation for an assault on Freddy Bernal, the pro-Maduro governor for the state of Tachira.
The Vente Venezuela party, to which the three arrested individuals belong, stated on its X account that Camacaro and Freites appeared in court in Caracas on Thursday without private legal representation and without being allowed any contact with their families, deeming the process “illegal and arbitrary.” There was no mention of Lopez.
Saab labeled the three individuals as “criminals” during a segment on state television.
The prosecutor’s office announced this week that it is pursuing at least five cases of what it alleges were attempted attacks on Maduro’s socialist government as a potential agreement to hold free and fair elections in exchange for the U.S. easing sanctions hangs on the brink of collapse.
U.S. officials have emphasized that the relief from sanctions was contingent on Caracas lifting bans on opposition members holding public office and releasing individuals categorized as political prisoners by Washington.
In December, a significant prisoner exchange led to the release of 10 Americans and approximately 20 Venezuelans with ties to the opposition from Venezuelan prisons.
(Report by Vivian Sequera, Mayela Armas and Deisy Buitrago; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
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