President Nicolas Maduro said Friday that Venezuelan authorities captured a U.S. spy targeting a pair of refineries on the north Caribbean coast as this nation once wealthy from oil is gripped by a deep gasoline shortage, reports AP.
The spy, Maduro alleged, was a Marine who had served as a CIA operative in Iraq. He gave no identity or other immediate proof to support the claim, saying more details would follow, such as photos and video.
The suspect was captured Thursday while possessing specialized weapons and a large sum of dollars, Maduro said, adding that the man was being interrogated about his activities around the Amuay and Cardon refineries in Falcon state. Maduro, an adversary of the United States, also said Venezuelan authorities had dismantled a plot on Wednesday that was aimed at blowing up a third refinery, El Palito in Carabobo state. He urged the nation's oil workers to be on alert for more attacks.
"The gringo empire wants revenge against Venezuela," he said. "It wants to prevent Venezuela from producing all petroleum products, gasoline."
Oil once made Venezuela a wealthy nation, but critics of Maduro say two decades of socialist rule have left it near ruin. Its dilapidated oil fields and refineries barely produce, and the nation today relies on imports from Iran, another U.S. foe.
