Venezuela detains two Americans among group of 'mercenaries'

Venezuelan authorities have arrested seven foreigners, including two Americans, whom President Nicolas Maduro has accused of being "mercenaries."

The arrests were announced late on Tuesday, ahead of Maduro's swearing-in ceremony for a third term on Friday following last year's contested election that the opposition says it won in a landslide.

Maduro said the detained US citizens were "very high level," but did not provide more details about the arrests.

"Just today we've captured seven foreign mercenaries, including two important mercenaries from the United States," he said.

Maduro accused the Americans, two Colombian "hitmen" and three "mercenaries" from Ukraine of plotting unspecified "terrorist acts" ahead of his planned inauguration.

"I am sure that in the next few hours, they will confess," Maduro said in a state television broadcast before he announced a mass deployment of police and military personnel across the country.

There was no immediate comment from the US State Department or Colombia's Foreign Ministry.

Opposition calls for protest

The announcement of the detention of the foreign nationals comes just hours after US President Joe Biden welcomed exiled Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia to the United States.

Biden expressed his support for a "peaceful transfer back to democratic rule" in Venezuela and cautioned against further repression.

The US and other neighbouring countries believe Gonzalez Urrutia won a July presidential election by a landslide and that official results were fudged.

The opposition has called for a protest and urged "millions" of Venezuelans to turn up for it to prevent Maduro from coming back to power.

Amid a new challenge posed by the opposition, Maduro has dialled up suppression of dissent and criticism.

mfi/zc (AFP, Reuters)