Caracas, Sep 16 (EFE).- Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has said that two Spaniards arrested last week are \u201cterrorists\u201d who were trying to destabilize his government.<\/p>
The two Spanish citizens were arrested last week along with three US citizens and a Czech national, with Venezuela accusing them of plotting to destabilize the South American nation.<\/p>
In his weekly appearance on his self-titled show on state television on Monday night, Maduro said the two Spanish citizens, Mart\u00ednez Adasme and Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Basoa Valdovinos, are \u201cundercover agents\u201d for Spain\u2019s National Intelligence Center (CNI).<\/p>
Maduro also rejected claims by the men\u2019s parents that they were visiting Venezuela as tourists.<\/p>
They \u201cwere captured and that they are convicted, confessed and with full proof of the actions they brought inside Venezuela to assassinate people, place bombs, etcetera,\u201d the president said.<\/p>
\u201cNow it turns out that they were good guys, tourists, who were taking a walk and were captured\u201d, said Maduro, adding \u2013 without evidence \u2013 that \u201cit is very striking\u201d that \u201cthe Spanish CNI has entered into operations against Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>
Adasme, 32 and Basoa, 35, were arrested in Puerto Ayacucho, in the southern state of Amazonas. Their families had reported the pair as missing on Sep. 9.<\/p>
According to the Venezuelan government, a search of their phones revealed conversations on \u201chow to buy explosives\u201d and how to \u201ccontact groups that wanted to do some special work\u201d.<\/p>
Madrid and Washington have both denied the allegations.<\/p>
The arrests come amid heightened tensions in the wake of Maduro\u2019s disputed victory in July elections in Venezuela, which the international community \u2013 including the US and the EU \u2013 and the country\u2019s opposition have denounced as fraudulent. EFE<\/p>
ven-ks<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"