Venezuelan authorities are investigating claims by paramilitary forces in Colombia that they were plotting to destabilise the government – JURIST

Venezuela’s 8th National Prosecutor has ordered an investigation into claims by Colombian paramilitaries that they were tasked with destabilizing the government of President Nicolás Maduro, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on Friday. According to Maduro, the alleged plan was aimed at creating the impression of a “civil war” in Venezuela on July 28, the day of the country’s presidential election, in which Maduro is running.

Authorities launched the investigation after the Colombian paramilitary organization Autodefensas Conquistadores de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN) posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that Venezuelan far-right groups had contacted their units in the department of La Guajira to destabilize the Venezuelan government. The group claimed that these groups had made various demands, including attacks on electrical infrastructure, taking action against presidential candidate Nicolás Maduro, and, in the event of his re-election, infiltrating protests and creating chaos in the streets. They said their organization does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and indicated they would contact Venezuelan diplomatic authorities to provide further details.

The prosecutor said that the investigation would focus on the possible commission of a criminal public act, as provided for in the Organic Law against Organized Crime and the Financing of Terrorism and the Venezuelan Penal Code. He instructed the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence to carry out the relevant investigation procedures under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Maduro has made similar accusations against the opposition before. For example, in his weekly television program “Con Maduro +” on June 25, President Maduro claimed to have uncovered a conspiracy by far-right groups. According to Maduro, these groups were allegedly planning an attack on Venezuela’s energy infrastructure in order to disrupt the electoral process.