Three American citizens, two Spanish nationals, and one Czech national are reportedly under arrest by Venezuelan authorities on suspicion of attempting to topple the government.

According to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, hundreds of firearms had also been found, and the detainees were allegedly planning to kill President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela as well as other important figures.
It happens two days after President Maduro's contested election triumph prompted Washington to sanction sixteen officials in Venezuela who are loyal to him.
The three Spaniards were connected to Madrid's National Intelligence Centre (CNI), according to the Venezuelan authorities. Local media has been informed by Spanish official sources, nevertheless, that the two are not associated with the intelligence community."The National Intelligence Centre of Spain has always maintained a low profile knowing that the CIA operates in this area," Cabello stated at a press conference on Saturday. "The CIA is leading this operation, and that does not surprise us."

"These two detainees even tell us about a group of mercenaries they are looking for to bring to Venezuela with very clear objectives to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, myself, and another group of comrades who are leading our party and our revolution."

The US has rejected the accusations.

"Any claims of US involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false," according to the State Department, who says Washington "continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela".

The arrests come amid a feud between the Maduro government and the US and Spain.

Cabello said the Spaniards were detained in Puerto Ayacucho, south of the capital Caracas.

Spanish authorities have requested more information from Venezuela, with the Spanish embassy requesting access to those detained.

"They contacted French mercenaries, they contacted mercenaries from eastern Europe and they are in an operation to try to attack our country," Cabello said, adding that 400 firearms were confiscated in the operation.

On Friday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil summoned Spain’s ambassador in Caracas to protest at a minister’s description of the Venezuelan government as a “dictatorship”, after days of mounting bilateral tensions.

"Key officials involved in Maduro's fraudulent and illegitimate claims of victory and his brutal crackdown on free expression following the election," the US Treasury stated on Thursday.

The government-aligned National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela proclaimed Maduro the victor of the July presidential contest.

However, the CNE has not released any comprehensive vote tallies that would indicate a Maduro win. The opposition's data indicates that Edmundo González, its candidate, emerged victorious.