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full screen Nicolás Maduro during an event in the capital Caracas on Tuesday. Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP/TT
Two American citizens and five more people have been arrested in Venezuela, the country’s disputed president Nicolás Maduro said on state television on the night of Wednesday.
Maduro calls the seven “mercenaries” and states that among the others arrested are two from Colombia and three from Ukraine.
– They came here to carry out terrorist actions against peace, Maduro said in the television broadcast.
Maduro, who came to power in 2013, has repeatedly claimed over the years that the United States is in the process of ousting him. The latest move comes before he is sworn in for a third term as president on Friday.
The EU, the US, the UN and several of the neighboring countries have questioned Maduro’s victory after the presidential election in July due to the fact that election data has not been reported in its entirety.