The two Spaniards arrested in Venezuela for alleged participation in a plot to overthrow the government of Nicolás Maduro are not agents of the Spanish Intelligence Service (CNI). Instead, they were in the Caribbean country for recreational purposes.
They are 32-year-old Andrés Martínez Adasme and 35-year-old José Maria Basoa Valdovinos, both from Bilbao. Family members of the two reported their disappearance to the Basque police on 9 September. They stated that the men had no connection with the secret service but were in Venezuela for a holiday.
On 17 August, the men travelled from Madrid to Caracas. Here they rented a car that they were supposed to return on 5 September. After the last contact with the family on 2 September, nothing more was heard from them.
Identity not yet officially established
The Spanish embassy in Caracas is still working to confirm the identity and nationality of the men. And also to find out details about the exact circumstances of the arrest and to arrange all necessary assistance. The Basque government is in contact with the families of the men to provide them with the necessary support.
Spanish government supports peaceful solution to situation in Venezuela
The families of Martínez Adasme and Basoa Valdovinos are not alone in denying that the men have any connection to the Spanish Intelligence Service. Spanish government sources on Saturday evening denied the accusation made by Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello that they were linked to the CNI. On Sunday, the Spanish Foreign Ministry also stated that there is no involvement in the alleged plot: “Spain denies and rejects any suggestion of involvement in a political operation in Venezuela. The government has confirmed that the arrested persons are not part of the CNI or any other public body. Spain supports a democratic peace and peaceful solution to the situation in Venezuela”.
According to Cabello, the alleged agents have already acknowledged their involvement. He also accused the Spanish Intelligence Service of collaborating in a destabilisation operation designed by the CIA using violent actions. The Spanish Intelligence Service is said to be recruiting terrorists to send to Venezuela. According to Cabello, Spain is “up to its ears in the operation against Venezuela”.
Notorious Cabello returns
Minister Cabello, known for his tough policies within the regime, had disappeared from the Venezuelan government in recent years. However, he was reappointed by Maduro as Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace in the cabinet formed on 27 August. However, according to all available data, the elections that preceded this were not won by Maduro but by the opposition.
Diplomatic crisis
The arrest of the two Spanish tourists takes place in the midst of a diplomatic crisis between Spain and Venezuela. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Gil has summoned his country’s ambassador in Madrid for consultations and summoned the Spanish ambassador in Caracas to protest against the alleged “interference” of the Spanish government, after Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles called the Chavista regime a “dictatorship”.
Against the background of this crisis, the asylum that Spain recently granted to opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who arrived in Madrid last Sunday on a Spanish Air Force plane, as well as the decision of the Spanish parliament, on the initiative of the PP, to recognise him as the winner of the elections and elected president, play a role.
Before González Urrutia was granted asylum in Spain, he was secretly given shelter for over a month in the Dutch embassy in Caracas. González was accused of, among other things, sedition and conspiracy after claiming to have won the presidential elections.