Venezuela says it foiled plot to assassinate Maduro

Venezuela says it has foiled an alleged plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro, and detained two hitmen who intended to carry out the killing on orders from a Colombian ex-president.

Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez said on Monday that the two hitmen, both Colombian, were arrested on August 13, AFP reported.

Rodriguez said the two, Victor Johan Guache Mosquera and Erick Leonardo Huertas Rios, were part of “a group of 10 men who were coming to carry out the murder of the president,” working with former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

“We have no doubt that Alvaro Uribe Velez has knowledge of all these things … And we are not the least bit surprised that he is the one giving orders through operatives,” Rodriguez noted.

In March, Maduro accused Uribe of hatching a plan to send a paramilitary force into Venezuela to kill him.

The two nations have had a contentious relationship since 2007 when then-President Hugo Chavez said he was severing ties with Colombia and especially Uribe.