Venezuela’s chief prosecutor on Monday accused a U.S. citizen recently arrested in the Caribbean nation of spying and planning to sabotage oil refineries and electrical service in order to stir unrest and kill innocent people.
The man, alleged to have CIA ties, had help from three Venezuelan conspirators, who were arrested last week near a pair of oil refineries on the north Caribbean coast, Venezuela’s Chief Prosecutor Tarek William Saab said on state television.
The office gave the US suspect’s name as Matthew John Heath. The prosecutor showed pictures of equipment allegedly seized with the group, including a grenade launcher, plastic explosives, a satellite phone and a bag of US dollars. Authorities said cellphones taken from the men when they were arrested last week include images of a large bridge in Zulia state and oil refineries.
