{"id":56533,"date":"2020-09-17T01:47:58","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T01:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/17\/us-denies-sending-american-accused-of-spying-in-venezuela\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:20:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:20:28","slug":"us-denies-sending-american-accused-of-spying-in-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/09\/17\/us-denies-sending-american-accused-of-spying-in-venezuela\/","title":{"rendered":"US denies sending American accused of spying in Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CARACAS, Venezuela \u2014 A senior U.S. official on Wednesday rejected claims that the government sent an American citizen to Venezuela where he\u2019s been charged with plotting terrorist attacks and labeled a spy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Venezuelan authorities say they captured <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2020\/09\/14\/venezuela-says-captured-us-spy-sought-to-sabotage-power-grid\/\" target=_blank>a man identified as Matthew John Heath<\/a> with a trove of photos, specialized weapons and cash. They say it proves he was plotting attacks on military installations, oil refineries and the electrical service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams made the first public comments by a U.S. official on Wednesday about the arrest, denying any involvement by Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe U.S. government did not send Mr. Heath to Venezuela,\u201d Abrams said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro last week announced that authorities captured an alleged U.S. spy, and prosecutors later charged him with terrorism, trafficking illegal weapons and conspiracy. They say he\u2019s a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with alleged ties to the CIA operations in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2020\/09\/14\/venezuela-says-captured-us-spy-sought-to-sabotage-power-grid\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20129614039775.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Venezuela says captured US spy sought to sabotage power grid<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Venezuela\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The arrest is especially challenging because the U.S. has no embassy in Caracas ever since the two nations broke diplomatic relations over a year ago after the White House endorsed opposition politician Juan Guaid\u00f3&#8217;s claim to the presidency, calling Maduro\u2019s grip on power illegitimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cObviously we\u2019re always concerned when we get a report about an American who has been jailed in a foreign country,\u201d Abrams said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The arrest surfaced as this nation, once wealthy from oil, has been gripped by a deep gasoline shortage that has sparked mile-long lines to fuel up, even in the capital of Caracas. Venezuela also struggles to provide electricity to residents, especially in Zulia state, once a major hub of the nation\u2019s vast oil production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heath is accused of targeting the Amuay and Cardon refineries \u2014 part of the massive Paraguana Refinery Complex on Venezuela\u2019s northern Caribbean coast. However, the refineries struggle to produce gasoline, and Venezuela depends on shipments from Iran, despite having the world\u2019s largest oil reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heath is accused of entering Venezuela illegally, the prosecutor said, adding that he didn\u2019t have a passport but rather had a copy of it hidden in one of his shoes. A coin he was carrying links him to the CIA, officials have said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/08\/09\/ex-green-berets-sentenced-to-20-years-for-failed-venezuela-attack\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP20127546732807.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Ex-Green Berets sentenced to 20 years for failed Venezuela attack<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A Venezuelan court has sentenced two former U.S. Special Forces soldiers to 20 years in prison for their part in a blunder-filled beach attack aimed at overthrowing President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The three Venezuelans accused of conspiring with Heath include a military officer, authorities have said. Another four Venezuelans arrested in the case are accused of helping him enter from Colombia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two ex-Green Berets were recently sentenced to 20 years in Venezuela for taking part in a failed beach attack in early May that left several rebel Venezuelan fighters dead and dozens more in jail. The group of accused \u201cmercenaries\u201d had set out to arrest Maduro, organizers said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A senior U.S. official on Wednesday rejected claims that the government sent an American citizen to Venezuela where he\u2019s been charged with plotting terrorist attacks and labeled a spy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":95375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":13,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,13,16,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3182],"class_list":["post-56533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"52FCQRXLKZEV5JZTN3BIMD2CUM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2020\/09\/16\/us-denies-sending-american-accused-of-spying-in-venezuela\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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