Venezuelan authorities arrest foreign mercenaries: Ukrainians reported among them

According to Maduro, the detainees include two people from the United States, two from Colombia, and three from Ukraine.

"Today alone, we have captured, at this hour, seven foreign mercenaries, including two important mercenaries from the United States," the President stated.

The Venezuelan authorities claim that the detainees were planning attacks on Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. In addition, they allegedly planned "terrorist acts" against government services and other "leaders of the Bolivarian Revolution" (a large socio-political movement formed after Hugo Chávez was elected President of Venezuela in 1998).

Maduro also accused the Argentine government of being involved in the attempted assassination of Rodríguez and called it part of an "international fascist aggression" directed against Venezuela.

According to Maduro, this group of mercenaries is in addition to the 125 people of 25 nationalities who were detained in November and December.

Presidential elections in Venezuela

On July 28, 2024, presidential elections were held in Venezuela.

As a result of the voting, the Central Electoral Commission declared Nicolas Maduro the winner. However, the opposition called the results fraudulent and declared its leader, Edmundo González Urrutia, the winner.

González was forced to hide in the Dutch embassy in Caracas for over a month. Later, he flew to Spain, where he plans to seek political asylum.

The United States had offered Maduro a deal to step down from power in exchange for amnesty.

Maduro's inauguration as President for a third consecutive six-year term is scheduled for January 10, 2025.

The country's authorities announced the deployment of 1,200 soldiers to "ensure peace." According to Maduro, he will take the presidential oath for the period from 2025 to 2031.

However, this is not the only assassination attempt on the Venezuelan leader.

In September, Venezuelan special services detained citizens of the United States, Spain, and the Czech Republic for involvement in a conspiracy allegedly ordered by the United States.