Venezuela: Two Colombian Men Arrested in Alleged Plot to Kill President Nicolás Maduro

Venezuelan authorities announced that two Colombian citizens were arrested linked to an alleged plot to kill President Nicolás Maduro, on orders from a Colombian ex-president, the Huffington Post reported.

Interior Minister Miguel Rodríguez Torres said at a press conference Monday that Colombians Víctor Johan Guache Mosquera, 22, and Erik Leonardo Huertas Ríos, 18, had been arrested. The two men allegedly linked former Colombian President álvaro Uribe to the assassination attempt, the Buenos Aires Herald reported.

Both Guache Mosquera and Huertas Ríos were part of "a group of 10 men who were coming to carry out the murder of the President", said Rodríguez Torres. The Herald reported the men were also planning to kill Diosdado Cabello, the head of the Venezuelan National Assembly.

The Interior Minister told reporters the arrests were made on Aug. 15 in a small hotel in the town of Los Teques, 30 kilometers outside Caracas, the Herald reported.

Venezuelan authorities are trying to locate a third man, named Alejandro Caicedo (alias "David"), with whom the men took a plane from Bogotá to the town of Cucuta. According to the Herald, the leader of the group, Colombian Oscar Alcántara González, has been in prison since March, serving time on a conviction for using minors for murder and arms and drugs trafficking.

Rodríguez Torres said he believed the plot was planned in Bogotá and Miami and that "álvaro Uribe is undoubtedly aware of what is happening here."

"Everyone knows in Venezuela, in Colombia, in the world, that álvaro Uribe has control over a group of drug-traffickers," said Rodríguez Torres during the press conference.

"We have no doubt that álvaro Uribe Vélez has knowledge of all these things ... And we are not the least bit surprised that he is the one giving orders through operatives," said Rodríguez Torres.

The Venezuelan president wrote on Twitter that Venezuela was "playing a dangerous game" and promised to "guarantee peace despite conspiracies."

"I thank the government of Colombia for its cooperation to identify the gunmen who have been captured and the rest of the gang," said Maduro.

According to the Huffington Post, the Venezuelan president called on U.S. President Barack Obama to ask him if he was responsible for the murder plot or knew about the alleged assassination plan.

"Is President Obama so weak that decisions are made for him in the United States to kill a Latin American head of state without his knowing it?" Maduro said to reporters, according to the Huffington Post.