Venezuelan president claims country has detained U.S. citizens for 'espionage'

(Image credit: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

last updated 1 March 2015

At a rally on Saturday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro condemned what he says are moves by the United States to unseat him, Reuters reports.

"We have captured some U.S. citizens in undercover activities, espionage, trying to win over people in towns along the Venezuelan coast," Maduro said. "In Tachira, we captured a pilot of a U.S. plane (who is) of Latin origin (carrying) all kinds of documentation."

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Maduro also said he would institute visa fees for Americans who want to enter Venezuela, reduce the number of U.S. embassy officials allowed in Caracas, and bar certain U.S. citizens from entering the country, including former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.