Czechia’s Foreign Ministry has denied allegations that the country is in any way involved in a plot to overthrow the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, days after Spain rejected the same claims.
Venezuela arrested three US citizens, two Spaniards and a Czech, last week over an alleged plot to destabilise the country’s political situation and kill some of its leaders, including Maduro.
On Monday, the Spanish government categorically rejected Venezuela’s claims that two of its citizens arrested by the country’s secret services on Saturday were part of Spanish intelligence and were planning to carry out attacks.
Czechia joined Spain in denying any involvement on Wednesday. The Czech embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, which also covers Venezuela, sent a note to the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry asking for detailed information about the case, the Czech News Agency reported.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello described the detained Czech as “a very important person” in an interview with teleSUR television over the weekend. He said he had worked as a mercenary in Europe and was part of a group called Z, which included French mercenaries.
The name of the detained Czech is reportedly Jan Darmovzal. As the Czech news site Seznam Zprávy found out, Darmovzal was an active army reservist and, according to some sources, had a security clearance.
News of the foreigner’s arrest comes amid heightened tensions between Caracas and the West over Venezuela’s disputed election results.
On Sunday, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell described Nicolás Maduro’s regime as “dictatorial” and “authoritarian”, alluding to those forced to flee the country, including the opposition leader whom Madrid granted asylum this month.
(Ondřej Plevák | Euractiv.cz)
