CARACAS (Reuters) -Two U.S. citizens have been arrested in Venezuela, part of group of what President Nicolas Maduro described on Tuesday as seven “mercenaries,” the embattled leader said in remarks broadcast by state television.
Maduro, who said the detained U.S. citizens were “very high level,” did not provide further details or evidence of the arrests.
“Just today we’ve captured seven foreign mercenaries, including two important mercenaries from the United States,” said Maduro, who is set to take office for a third term on Friday following last July’s contested election that the opposition says it won in a landslide.
Maduro said the group of detainees also includes two Colombians and three Ukrainians.
Last month, Venezuela’s government released dozens of prisoners including 10 Americans after months of negotiations between Caracas and Washington, while the U.S. released a close ally of the president, Colombian businessman Alex Saab.