Venezuelan official warns over new opposition violent plans

The first vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello, warned over new violent plans the extreme right is plotting for next Saturday.

The political leader linked his warning to the call made by opposition politician María Corina Machado for people to take to the streets on July 17th in a national and global protest.

Cabello was alerted to “two plans of violence in full swing,” one of which is led by Magalli Meda, sheltered in the Argentine embassy in Caracas, after reports of her involvement in assassination attempts against President Nicolás Maduro.

The official said he had information about criminals who were paid and “crossed the border to harm their own people; we are seeing this over time,” and pointed out that they are in contact with “people from outside, (former Colombian president) Álvaro Uribe and groups of hitmen,” and stated that “they are looking for people to generate violence and kill their own people on Saturday.”

Cabello played an audio of a talk between two criminals, in which, he said, “part of what they want to do is documented.” The criminals are heard talking about liberating a shipment of seized drugs; they also say that “we are going to unleash the hatred so that they can “see a face”, this protest is going to be crazy (…) The thing will go down on August 17th, we are going to change the history of Venezuela.”

The suspects go on to say they are assembling a 500-strong group, adding that “we are going at it with everything and we do not believe in anyone, no global protest, nothing, there will be riots and disaster (…) We are going to set fire to all the Chavistas that we get our hand on and hopefully “the blacks” arrive to pay for it once and for all with a bit of lead in their faces…”

President Nicolás Maduro announced on Wednesday the capture of one of those who financed the riots of July 29th and 30th in Petare, in whose house the law enforcement found a large amount of money and drugs “produced by the United States for its mercenary soldiers.”