Spanish
Caracas.- The Venezuelan Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, reported this Friday on more than 70 arrests in recent days, including foreigners, for an alleged violent plan to "boycott" the regional and parliamentary elections this Sunday, which he accused former opposition deputy Juan Pablo Guanipa, one of those arrested, of.
In a press conference broadcast by the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), the minister pointed out that, among the foreign detainees, there are four citizens with Pakistani nationality, who were in a hotel in Caracas, and an Albanian with Colombian citizenship, who, he stated, is a "high-ranking drug trafficking boss", a crime for which he is wanted "in Europe".
Furthermore, he said, the Albanian citizen is "linked to the groups that run drug trafficking in Ecuador."
In that sense, he asserted that international drug trafficking is the "main source of financing" for these operations, which included "terrorist acts" in embassies, police commands, hospitals, gas stations, and oil, electrical, and transportation facilities.
It was detected, according to the minister, that as of today "the placement of explosives" in the country "was beginning".
Also, an Argentinian, a German, a Venezuelan with Spanish nationality and "a person who came from Ecuador" with "a history of even murder" in the Andean nation, whose nationality was not specified, are also detained, in addition to a Serbian "wanted by international justice for drug trafficking and murder" and who "manages accounts of more than 1 billion dollars".
Regarding Guanipa, the official stated that his detention is "highly gratifying" and "healthy for the peace of this country", and accused him of allegedly being the "leader of these terrorism groups".
He assured that the opponent, one of the main allies of the anti-Chavista leader María Corina Machado, will have "all his rights respected, but from now on what he has to do is answer to Justice."
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"He will be processed and judged for acts of terrorism, for money laundering, for incitement to violence," added Cabello.
This arrest takes place two days before the celebration of elections rejected by the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD), the largest opposition coalition, of which Guanipa is a part, who considers the elections a "farce."
