A close ally of Hugo Chávez has claimed that the CIA plotted to assassinate Venezuela’s president in the run-up to last month’s legislative elections. Nicolas Maduro, president of the National Assembly, says that the CIA wanted to disrupt Venezuela’s democracy by killing the country’s leader. “They planned to suspend the elections,” he said. “They planned to attack the head of state, assassinate top officials and carry out massive killings – all these charges are backed up by conversations between the very participants.” The CIA has denied all the allegations. “It’s nonsense,” said a spokesman at the agency.
Chávez candidates swept the board at the elections. His Movement for the Fifth Republic won 114 seats in the 167-seat Assembly. A majority in Congress will allow Chávez to make constitutional changes and run for re-election next year. Four opposition parties had withdrawn in the weeks before the election in protest at electoral bias by the authorities.