Guaido's Detained Aide Accused Of Organizing Terror Cells - Venezuelan Interior Minister

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2019) The Venezuelan authorities accused Roberto Marrero, the recently detained aide to opposition leader Juan Guaido, of organizing criminal terrorist groups, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol has said.

A source told Sputnik on Thursday that the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service of Venezuela (SEBIN) had detained Marrero and Sergio Vergara, two close associates of Guaido. Two rifles and a grenade were subsequently found in Marrero's house. Vergara was released earlier on Thursday while Marrero is still in custody.

"The investigation carried out by intelligence agencies together with the office of the prosecutor general ... led to the detention of Roberto Eugenio Marrero, 49, who is a lawyer and is directly responsible for the organization of criminal groups. A batch of weapons and cash money in foreign Currency were seized from him," Reverol said in an address aired by local tv broadcasters.

By this detention, the authorities had disrupted the activities of a terror cell that had planned to stage a number of attacks, the interior minister argued.

Reverol suggested that the cell could have hired mercenaries from Colombia or Central America to attempt to assassinate Venezuelan political leaders, military personnel, judges, as well as to carry out "acts of sabotage" toward public services in order to sow chaos in the Venezuelan society.

Since January, Venezuela has been facing a political crisis.

On January 5, Guaido was elected the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which all other government branches have been refusing to recognize since 2016.

On January 23, two days after the Venezuelan Supreme Court annulled his election, Guaido declared himself the country's "interim president." Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in for his second presidential term on January 10 after winning the May election, which part of the opposition boycotted, qualified Guaido's move as an attempt to stage a coup orchestrated by Washington.

The United States immediately recognized Guaido, after which some 50 other countries, including Colombia, followed suit. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and a number of other states have, in the meantime, voiced their support for the legitimate government of Maduro. Mexico and Uruguay have refused to recognize Guaido, declaring themselves neutral and promoting crisis settlement via dialogue.