RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Venezuela says it has uncovered a plan to destabilize the situation in the country and disrupt the work of the parliament elected on December 6th, state-owned VTV channel reported, citing Interior and Justice Minister Carmen Melendez.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier said Colombia was preparing a new attack on Venezuela at the end of the year, including against the military.
According to Melendez, an operation called “Boycott the National Assembly” is being prepared, it was supposed to be carried out between December 27th and January 5th. The head of the operation, the minister said, is opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who fled Venezuela, he is supported from abroad, in particular in Colombia, where the operation participants are trained.
The purpose of the perpetrators was to carry out attacks against relatives of high-ranking government officials, against the military and the police, governors, elected lawmakers, and the prosecutor general, Melendez said.
In addition, according to the minister, attacks were planned on an oil refinery and a power plant. Several people involved in the terrorist plan have already been detained, she said.
Tensions Rise, Allegations Persist
In May, the Maduro government said that it had prevented a sea of intrusion from Colombia’s “terrorist mercenaries” who presumably arrived on speedboats at the Venezuelan state of La Guaira along its northern coast, according to Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol. It was reported that the three detected boats, which were loaded with weapons, belonged to the Colombian Navy.
President Maduro accused Colombia at that time of attempting to oust him with the help of the United States, claims Bogota said were unfounded.
The Venezuelan opposition, led by Juan Guaidó, the president of the previous National Assembly, who in January 2019 declared himself the country’s acting president, claimed that the May incident was staged to distract the population from internal problems.
Colombia, the United States and dozens of other countries formally recognised Guaidó as the country’s leader. Maduro, however, retained control of the national army, and is endorsed by a number of global powers, including Russia, Cuba, South Africa and China.
Even prior to the contested election, Colombian-Venezuelan relations were severely tangled over a number of centuries-long disputes. The Maduro government blamed Colombia for a 2018 drone attack that was carried out in Caracas close to a place where the president was delivering a speech to the Bolivarian National Guard, specifically pointing the finger at then-President Juan Manuel Santos over an alleged plot to assassinate Maduro.
Shortly after that, the incoming Colombian president Duque said that he would not recognise Maduro’s government and would not have an ambassador in Caracas.
Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia in February 2019, after Bogota cooperated with the country’s opposition in bringing what was described as humanitarian aid into the country. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said at that time that he couldn’t “keep putting up with Colombian territory being used for attacks” against the country.
In early December, Maduro said that there was a plan to assassinate him during the country’s parliamentary election. The president said that he had learned about the alleged plot from a “reliable source in the Colombian intelligence”, information that had prompted him to change a polling station. He blamed the Colombian President Ivan Duque for playing a role in the alleged plan.