Venezuela's Interior Minister: New Details About Terrorist Plot Planned to Disrupt May 25 Elections

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has revealed details about the terrorist plot that an extremist sector of the opposition had planned to be held during and after the elections held last Sunday, May 25, intended to destabilize the country and funded by drug trafficking. The Venezuelan minister also expressed his gratitude to the security agencies that ensured the peaceful and tranquil environment during the electoral process.

During his report of the latest extremist plot, broadcast this Wednesday, May 28, Cabello recounted the investigation carried out in Zulia state that led to the dismantling of a drug trafficking gang, a case linked to the plot because it was a “turning point” for its planning. He also mentioned the meetings held in Colombia between opposition leader María Corina Machado and José Enrique Rincón, a Zulia businessman and head of a large financial web based on shrimp farming and exports. The meetings also involved fugitive Iván Simonovis as well as several Zulia state politicians.

“The first investigation had to do with the camps that were taking place in the Tibú region, on the Colombian side,” he explained. “We began the investigation, and everything emerged from there. This had a lot to do with the events of July 28 [2024] because it’s a single plot by them, a single conspiracy, a single terrorist movement with the sole purpose of seizing power.”

Attacks on people and facilities
The minister presented significant evidence of the plot, including seized weapons, explosives, grenades, telephones, computers, and calendars. He also displayed a document handwritten by Juan Pablo Guanipa, who is currently in custody, which stipulated to “coordinating acts of violence nationwide, ignoring the election results, […] and radicalizing acts of violence.”

“It speaks of the resources required, of attacking international observers, witnesses, and polling station workers,” Cabello stated, “this is what this document says, written by Mr. Juan Pablo Guanipa. This is good to know: specific attacks on the Colombian embassy and residence, the Spanish embassy and residence, the French embassy and residence, and the UN offices in Venezuela.”

“Once the documents were found, they had enough explosives,” he continued. “Now, who could they count on for this, given the absence of people [supporting the Venezuelan far-right]? Criminal gangs, terrorists, drug trafficking financing.”

Nearly 60 attacks on oil facilities neutralized
The top official noted that nearly 60 attacks on oil facilities have been neutralized in the last ten days, “thanks to the efforts of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) and PDVSA authorities.”

“Towards the end of the election day [Sunday, May 25], as an act of spite, they decided to attack a power station in Yaracuy state, in San Felipe,” he said. “Immediately, because they have their spokespersons, journalists who are not journalists, but stooges in the service of the conspiracy, the first thing they say is that it’s a lack of maintenance. When you see these kinds of stooges mention a lack of maintenance, you know that’s sabotage, conspiracy; that’s the justification they’ve always tried to use.”

Cabello added that Guanipa’s ties are not foreign to Venezuela, emphasizing that “they betray themselves,” urging a rehearing of his statements before July 28, 2024, as well as those of Machado and Simonovis over the past two years, and of fugitive Leopoldo López.

Capture of those involved
Cabello commented that they are continuing to capture people reportedly involved in drug trafficking, with more than 70 in custody so far. “A person of Serbian origin with ties to drug trafficking in the east of the country was captured, linked to financing mechanisms, with bank accounts managing more than $1 billion,” he added. “We have dismantled a gang of kidnappers whose main mission was to kidnap and threaten family members of national government officials.”

The minister also referred to the criminal and former member of the Bolivarian National Guard, Arturo Gómez Morante. “He was there on April 30 [2019]. He is protected in the US, and the ongoing investigation reveals that he has direct account ties to ‘Ya casi Venezuela,'” Cabello explained, referring to the organization created by Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary organization Blackwater based in the US empire, along with Iván Simonovis and other far-right Venezuelan leaders, to raise money to enter Venezuela and attempt to arrest or assassinate President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela: Minister Cabello Confirms Arrest of 38 Mercenaries Amid New Terrorist Plot

“Simonovis and Erik Prince, who operate openly in Ecuador, are enemies of this country,” the minister continued. “A member of the gang that runs the drug mafia in Ecuador was captured. All of this is documented.”

He also said that those arrested for these actions include individuals from the states of Zulia, Aragua, Caracas, Carabobo, and Los Teques, where an arsenal was found during a raid. “All those responsible are currently in custody, and we will arrest anyone who appears [in the investigation],” he said.

Regarding the claims that he is violating their human rights, Cabello responded: “It’s pure nonsense, it’s a lie. No one who calls themselves a defender of human rights can make statements about threatening the peace of a country or planting explosives of this type in hospitals.”

Minister Cabello clarified that there are also a number of non-governmental organizations involved in the terrorist structure, naming some such as Maracaibo Posible, Provea, Foro Penal, and Médicos Unidos de Venezuela.

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