Venezuela arrests two in alleged interference

Venezuela says it has made arrests in connection with an alleged effort to sabotage a vote to annex part of neighboring Guyana, including a US citizen and an activist close to the opposition presidential candidate.

Savoi Jandon Brown, from California, and Venezuelan Roberto Abdul are in custody, according to Venezuela's attorney general, accused of working with US oil giant ExxonMobil to undermine the referendum last weekend meant to bolster an effort to seize a large, oil-rich part of Guyana.

ExxonMobil denied the allegations. "This is a ridiculous and baseless claim and entirely inconsistent with how we do business," the company told Argus.

Brown allegedly acted as an organizer and financier of a scheme to sabotage the referendum, which proceeded on 3 December without incident. Brown may have already been in custody since October, however.

The US State Department declined to comment when asked about Brown.

Abdul is a longtime election integrity activist and associate of opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado. He is among a group of 13 others the government said it has issued warrants for.

The arrests escalate a separate dispute with the US on the conduct of Venezuelan elections. The US has named Machado's ability to participate in the election as a condition of continued relief from oil sanctions. The US has also demanded that Caracas release political prisoners and US citizens held in US jail, threatening to quickly snap back some of the sanctions temporarily lifted in October.

By Carlos Camacho