The government of Nicolás Maduro accused opposition leader Leopoldo López this Saturday of planning a failed armed incursion into Venezuela from the residence of the Spanish ambassador in Caracas, where he has been a guest for more than a year.
“Does the Spanish ambassador (Jesús Silva) agree, does the government of Spain agree that these meetings were held at his headquarters, at his headquarters, where Leopoldo López was evaluating: how many people can you kill you, how many people can you kill, how many bombs can you put, how many bombs can you put, how much will you charge me? ”said the Minister of Communication and Information, Jorge Rodríguez, in a statement at the presidential palace in Caracas.
Rodríguez echoed an article in the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal stating that López, political mentor to the president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, “was behind a months-long effort to hire mercenaries to overthrow” Maduro, which led in early May to a dismantled sea raid.
According to the publication, López and other allies analyzed “at least six proposals” from private security companies.
According to the socialist government and press reports, Guaidó – recognized as president in charge of Venezuela Through fifty countries, including the United States, ended up signing a contract with the company Silvercorp USA.
“Does the ambassador of Spain know and does the government of Spain know that Leopoldo López has made and continues to make repeated videoconferences with the sole purpose of insisting on his plans to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro?” Rodríguez continued.
López has been in the residence of the Spanish ambassador since he escaped his house arrest during a failed uprising by a group of soldiers, in support of Guaidó, on April 30, 2019.
The national executive accuses the United States and Colombia of having supported the dismantled operation in May, which Washington and Bogotá deny.
Authorities have arrested dozens of dissident Venezuelan military and “mercenaries,” including retired US military personnel Luke Alexander Denman and Airan Berry, who were charged with terrorism and other charges. AFP
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