Venezuela authorities investigate Colombia paramilitary claims of plot to destabilize government News
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Venezuela authorities investigate Colombia paramilitary claims of plot to destabilize government

Venezuela’s 8rd National Prosecutor ordered the investigation of claims by Colombian paramilitaries that they were approached to destabilize the government of President Nicolás Maduro, Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced Friday. According to Maduro, the alleged plan was aimed at creating the impression of a “civil war” in Venezuela on July 28, the day of the country’s presidential election, in which Maduro is a candidate.

Authorities opened the investigation after the Colombian paramilitary Autodefensas Conquistadores de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN) released a video on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that Venezuelan far-right groups had contacted its units in the department of La Guajira to destabilize the Venezuelan government. The group claimed that these groups made various requests, including attacking electrical infrastructure, acting against presidential candidate Nicolás Maduro, and, in the event of his re-election, infiltrating protests and creating chaos in the streets. They said that their organization does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and indicated that they would contact the Venezuelan diplomatic authorities to disclose further details.

The prosecutor said that the investigation would focus on the possible commission of a punishable act of public action, as provided for in the Organic Law against Organized Crime and the Financing of Terrorism and the Venezuelan Penal Code. He instructed the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence to carry out the corresponding investigative procedures, all under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Maduro has previously leveled similar accusations against the opposition. Notably, during his weekly television broadcast “Con Maduro +” on June 25, President Maduro claimed to have uncovered a conspiracy among extreme right-wing factions. According to Maduro, these groups were allegedly plotting an attack on Venezuela’s power infrastructure to disrupt the electoral process.

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