Venezuela says 125 foreigners, including one Israeli, arrested on suspicion of being US mercenaries

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello says that 125 foreign citizens have been arrested, including one Israeli and at least one Argentinian, on suspicion of serving as mercenaries for the US with the aim of causing a coup in the country, according to local news agency Agencia AJN.

The Venezuelan minister is quoted as saying, “We will guarantee peace. Rest assured that this will be the case; we are committed to peace. And a healthy recommendation to those who think they can: They will crash very badly. We will be implacable in this matter. We will be very forceful and extremely severe.”

Then-Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez broke off ties with Israel in 2009 after Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, have both been strident critics of Israel, and some Jewish community leaders have expressed fears of the government stoking anti-Semitism.

Agencies contributed to this report. 

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