Colombian Ministry says Venezuela was informed of opponent's visit

Colombia's Foreign Minister said on 12 June that President Juan Manuel Santos had previously informed his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro of a planned meeting on 29 May with Venezuela's leading opponent Henrique Capriles, which provoked the public ire of Venezuelan authorities. Opposition forces led by Mr Capriles refused to recognize President Maduro's election last April and the government has since accused them of plotting against the state, allegedly with the help of Colombian conservatives. The visit triggered a recent deterioration of ties between the two states although Colombia has given a muted response to incendiary declarations made in Venezuela. Colombia's Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín said in a radio interview on 12 June that "the two presidents spoke days before" the visit to Bogotá wherein Mr Capriles met with the President and parliamentarians. She said she did not know what Maduro had said in response, Radio Santa Fe reported. Among charges recently made in Venezuela was that members of its opposition had bought warplanes in the United States, presumably to attack Venezuelan territory. On 10 June the Interior Minister separately revealed that the Government had foiled a plot by "paramilitaries" to assassinate President Maduro. Miguel Rodríguez Torres said nine Colombian citizens were detained on 9 June as they sought to enter Caracas, allegedly as part of a "plan orchestrated in Colombia to assassinate President Maduro and destabilise the Venezuelan government," CNN reported on 10 June, citing a Venezuelan state television report. Mr Capriles dismissed the allegations on 11 June another of the "follies" the Government was "inventing" to distract opinion from Venezuela's problems, Europa Press reported, citing Capriles's comments to an opposition programme.