The US government calls for the release of the chief of staff from Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaidó, Roberto Marrero.
A State Department spokesman announced that if the security forces of President Nicolás Maduro continue to crack down on Guaidó and his allies. "The arrests show that Maduro is relying on repression to stay in power, which can not continue," the spokesman said. Previously, US Security Secretary Donald Trump's security adviser John Bolton said the arrest of Marrero would not be without consequences.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Néstor Reverol accused Marrero of membership in a "terror cell". Guaidó, on the other hand, declared that his confidant had been defeated by weapons.
The European Union also demanded that Marrero be released "immediately and unconditionally," according to an EU spokeswoman in Brussels. The EU makes the Venezuelan authorities "responsible for its safety and integrity".
Maduro and Guaidó have been fighting for power for months. Numerous Latin American and Western states have backed the opposition leaders and self-proclaimed interim presidents, including the US. Maduro speaks of an economic war against his country.
Marrero was arrested on Thursday in his home in Caracas in a raid by secret service personnel Sebin . Venezuela's government accuses him of planning attacks on high-ranking politicians. Marrero is involved in a terrorist cell and directly responsible for the organization of criminal groups, Interior Minister Reverol said on state television. He showed a picture of two weapons that had been owned by Marrero and allegedly made during the raid. Guaidó, on the other hand, accuses the secret service Sebin of having deposited the weapons in the operation in Marrero's house .