Chavez: 2 National Guard captains arrested in alleged plot

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
President Hugo Chavez said Thursday that two National Guard captains had been arrested for allegedly conspiring against his government with aid from Venezuela's opposition and former military officers living in the United States. Chavez said the captains tracked his movements and maintained contact with former Venezuelan officers living in the US who have been accused of playing roles in two Caracas bombings. Chavez told state television that the captains were detained on Wednesday. They are being held at the Military Intelligence Directorate. He did not identify the officers, but said they were conspiring with "political movements, contacting the United States, preparing destabilization plans against the president." Neither did Chavez name the former officers living in the US, but his reference to the bombings suggests he was referring to former army Lts. Jose Antonio Colina and German Rodolfo Varela.