Venezuela’s chief prosecutor said on Monday that a U.S. citizen recently arrested in the country had been charged in an alleged terrorist plot to sabotage oil refineries and electrical service in order to stir unrest.
The man is said to have had help from three Venezuelan conspirators, who were arrested with him last week near a pair of oil refineries on the country’s northern Caribbean coast, Venezuela’s chief prosecutor, Tarek William Saab, said on state television.
The U.S. suspect’s name was given as Matthew John Heath.
The authorities said cellphones taken from the men when they were arrested last week included images of suspected targets, including a large bridge in the state of Zulia, military installations and dilapidated oil refineries in the state of Falcón. The prosecutor showed pictures of equipment said to be seized from the group, including a grenade launcher, plastic explosives, a satellite phone and a bag of U.S. dollars.
President Nicolás Maduro announced on Friday that an unnamed person had been captured on suspicion of spying for the United States, saying he was a Marine and former C.I.A. operative in Iraq.
Source : New York Times
