Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello told a press conference in Caracas on Saturday that Venezuela had arrested three American citizens, two Spanish nationals and a person from the Czech Republic, alleging a multinational plot to overthrow the government. 

The arrests come amid severe tensions between Venezuela, Spain and the US, following July 28's disputed presidential election that Caracas says was won by incumbent Nicolas Maduro.

What did the minister allege? 

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said that the six were arrested on suspicion of planning to "destablize" Venezuela through "violent actions." 

He posed in front of a large number of firearms during the press conference, saying that "more than 400" had been seized originating in the US.

"We know that the United States government has links to this operation," Cabello asserted.

He said that the two Spanish citizens were recently arrested in southwestern Venezuela, in Puerto Avacucho. 

Cabello alleged that the Americans and the Czech national had also been linked to the supposed plot, which he said involved American and Spanish intelligence agencies as well as Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. 

"They contacted French mercenaries, they contacted mercenaries from Eastern Europe and they are in an operation to try to attack our country," he said. 

US confirms one service member in custody, Spain issues query

Cabello gave comparatively few details during his press conference and international responses were fairly slow to follow publicly. 

A few hours after his announcement, a US State Department spokesperson said in Washginton's first response that "a US military member" had been detained in Venezuela, and the US was aware of reports of two more citizens in custody there. The State Department also called the allegations of a plot to overthrow Maduro "categorically false." 

The Reuters news agency quoted a Spanish Foreign Ministry source as saying that Madrid had reached out to seek more information and access to the supposed prisoners.

"The Spanish embassy has sent a verbal note to the Venezuelan government asking for access to the detained citizens in order to verify their identities and their nationality and in order to know what they are accused of exactly," Reuters quoted the source as saying. 

Tensions high after disputed election

Venezuela's leftist government frequently accuses the US, in particular, but also sometimes other foreign forces of plots to overthrow or otherwise sabotage it. 

But tensions are higher than usual at present in the aftermath of a disputed election in late July, where both the US and Spain do not recognize the government's claim to victory.

Public protests led by the opposition have also been common in Venezuela since the vote.

Spain's decision to grant opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia political asylum last week further angered the government in Caracas, which also recalled its Spanish ambassador on Thursday. 

A day earlier, the US issued fresh sanctions against Venezuela, alleging election fraud. 

This year's vote is the third consecutive presidential election in Venezuela leading to a similar domestic and international standoff after what was officially classified as a narrow win for Maduro.

msh/km (AFP, Reuters)