Venezuela detains 58 foreigners on suspicion of inciting unrest

Caracas , May 3 (IANS) The Venezuelan authorities have arrested 58 foreigners suspected of inciting unrest and violence during recent anti-government protests, interior and justice minister said here Friday.

Miguel Rodriguez Torres told a press conference that the suspects had connections with extreme right-wing groups that launched a wave of violent protests starting in February, leaving 41 people dead and hundreds injured, Xinhua reported.

"So far we have 58 foreign detainees...almost all of them implicated in the use of weapons," Rodriguez said, adding it was usual that such anti-government movements involved recruiting mercenaries.

Some of the suspects have ties to former Colombia President Alvaro Uribe, said Rodriguez.

He accused Uribe of being involved in a meticulous plan to spark the unrest and bring down President Nicolas Maduro.

Opposition protesters denied any foreign interference, saying the protests were born out of frustration with Venezuela's grim economic problems.