Venezuela’s Maduro says US nationals among group of ‘mercenaries’ detained

President Maduro said the group included mercenaries and ‘hit men’, describing two US detainees as ‘very high level’.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced the arrest of a group of foreign “mercenaries”, including Colombian and United States citizens, who he said were plotting to prevent his inauguration later this week.

Maduro said on Tuesday that the group was planning “terrorist acts” ahead of the inauguration ceremony on Friday, describing them as two Colombian “hitmen”, three “mercenaries” from the war in Ukraine and two US citizens.

He said the detained Americans were “very high level,” but he did not provide further details or evidence of the arrests.

“Just today, we’ve captured seven foreign mercenaries, including two important mercenaries from the United States,” he said in a broadcast on state television, before declaring a mass deployment of police and military across the country.

“I am sure that in the next few hours, they will confess,” he added.