The President of Venezuela says about the detention of seven foreigners, in particular, three “mercenaries from the war in Ukraine”

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced on state television on January 7 the arrest of seven foreigners, whom he accused of being “mercenaries” who are trying to prevent him from being sworn in as the country’s president.

Maduro said that among those detained were two Americans, two Colombian “killers” and three “mercenaries from the war in Ukraine” who, he said, were involved in planning “terrorist acts” ahead of his inauguration, scheduled for January 10.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has not yet commented on whether there are Ukrainian citizens among those detained in Venezuela.

The news of the detention, in particular, of Americans, appeared a few hours after President Joe Biden welcomed the exiled Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez to the United States.

The European Parliament recognized Edmundo González as the legitimate president of Venezuela in a resolution adopted in September 2024.

Following the results of the elections on July 28, the National Electoral Council of Venezuela announced the re-election of Nicolas Maduro for a third six-year term. The USA and other Western countries did not recognize the election results. The State Department said the processing of voters’ votes and the announcement of results by the National Electoral Council, which is controlled by Nicolas Maduro, “were seriously flawed, resulting in the announcement of results that do not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people.”

Maduro dismissed international criticism and doubts about the election results, claiming that Venezuela was the target of an attempted “coup d’état” of a “fascist and counter-revolutionary” nature.

In response to the announced results, protests broke out in Venezuela, during which about 2,400 people were arrested, and more than 20 people died.