Above photo: Screenshot of ACSN video.
The armed group shared that the Venezuelan far-right opposition had contacted them to participate in a plan proposed that included the assassination of the president.
And the attack on Venezuela’s electrical infrastructure.
On July 5, the Colombian paramilitary group Conquering Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada), ACSN, published a video on social media in which they denounce an apparent plot to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and provoke chaos in the country.
According to the ACSN paramilitaries, formerly known as “Los Pachencas”, certain Venezuelan extreme right-wing groups contacted them in the locality of La Guajira and asked them to carry out a series of actions to destabilize the Venezuelan government.
Several days ago, Maduro denounced that an invasion of about 1,000 paramilitaries from Colombia was being planned to generate anxiety in the population a few days before the July 28 presidential election. According to Maduro, some political sectors are already planning to claim that the presidential elections will be fraudulent and, thanks to the help of foreign armed groups, seek to promote civil war-like situation in Venezuela in the aftermath of the democratic process.
In the video, the ACSN stated that “our organization does not get involved in the internal affairs of other countries; our organization’s purpose is to maintain order in the Sierra Nevada; we will contact the Venezuelan diplomatic authorities to release details of the information disclosed.”
President Nicolás Maduro, in his radio program, requested a swift investigation: “We have many intelligence sources…I publicly ask the Attorney General of the Republic, Tarek William Saab, to…carry out this investigation…because it is very serious”.
In response to Maduro’s request and ACSN’s statements, the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office has initiated an investigation to determine who would be responsible for having contacted the Colombian paramilitaries. Tarek William Saab, Attorney General of Venezuela, said that he will soon release the conspirators’ names.
He also stated, according to the ACSN video, that the plans of the extreme right-wing groups contemplated assassinating Maduro, attacking the electric system, and infiltrating the demonstrations if Maduro wins the elections to provoke disorder and chaos.
Last week, Maduro ordered the National Bolivarian Armed Forces to patrol and guard the most important installations of the electric service 24 hours a day.
Attorney General Saab also stated that he requested prompt collaboration with the Colombian justice to determine who would be responsible for the destabilizing plans. “This plan has been unveiled; we are in contact with the Colombian Attorney General’s Office (…). We hope our officials will be allowed to contact that group”, said William Saab.