CARACAS: Venezuelan officials said they foiled an early morning attempt by a group of armed men to invade the country by boat on Sunday, killing eight attackers and arresting two more.

Socialist party chief Diosdado Cabello said that two of the attackers were being interrogated by authorities. Cabello said it was carried out by neighbouring Colombia with United States backing in a plot to overthrow President Nicols Maduro. Both countries have repeatedly denied earlier Venezuelan allegations of backing for military plots against the socialist government.

Those who assume they can attack the institutional framework in Venezuela will have to assume the consequences of their action,” said Cabello, adding that one of the detained claimed to be an agent of the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Authorities said they found Peruvian documents, high-caliber weapons, satellite phones, uniforms and helmets adorned with the US flag.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol described the attackers as mercenary terrorists bent on destabilizing Venezuela’s institutions and creating “chaos.” Officials said the attack took place on a beach in La Guaira, about 20 miles from Caracas and home to the nation’s largest airport.

Authorities say the attackers had vehicles and heavy arms waiting for them in the port city.

Venezuela has been in a deepening political and economic crisis in recent years under Maduro’s rule. Crumbling public services such as running water, electricity and medical care has driven nearly 5 million to migrate.

A coalition of nearly 60 nations back opposition leader Juan Guaid as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, saying Maduro’s 2018 election was a sham because the most popular opposition candidates were banned from running.

The United States has led a campaign to oust Maduro, increasing pressure in recent weeks by indicting the socialist leader as a narcotrafficker and offering a $15 million reward for his arrest.

The U.S. also has increased stiff sanctions, cutting off Venezuela’s oil sector to choke Maduro from a key source of hard cash.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2020