Buenos Aires [Argentina], May 25: Venezuela's authoritarian government has stepped up its crackdown on opponents ahead of Sunday's regional and parliamentary elections, according to opposition sources.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado on Friday said on social media platform X that more than 50 politicians, activists and journalists had been detained in a raid, among them opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa.
"This is pure and simple STATE TERRORISM," Machado said. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed Guanipa's arrest at a press conference, accusing him of leading a group allegedly plotting terrorist attacks to disrupt Sunday's vote.
Cabello said that more than 70 people had been detained in recent days, with plans to bomb embassies, hospitals, police stations and power facilities. He said authorities had also seized explosives, detonators, operational plans and other related evidence.
President Nicolas Maduro's administration often claims to have foiled plots to overthrow the government, though it does not provide evidence.
Machado and other opposition figures have called for a boycott of Sunday's elections, saying there are no guarantees of a free or fair vote. In last year's presidential election, the election authority declared Maduro the winner despite allegations of fraud.
Source: Qatar Tribune
