Venezuela arrests soldiers over alleged army plot, Chavez says

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said soldiers suspected of conspiring in a plot to destabilize the government were arrested, adding the situation is under control. Chavez, a self-proclaimed socialist who has accused the political opposition of trying to overthrow his government since he survived a brief coup in 2002, said the country's intelligence agency uncovered a plan to infiltrate the Miraflores presidential palace. He made the comments yesterday on state television. "We've arrested some soldiers, and they remain detained, who were in contact with a solder on the run in the U.S., protected by the U.S. government, sending messages about a so-called Operation Independence," Chavez said. The Venezuelan president is wrapping up a political campaign to amend the constitution to allow him to seek re-election as many times as he likes. The issue will go before voters on Feb. 15 and Chavez has said the political opposition has been planning violence in the country should it lose the election. Venezuela is the biggest oil exporter in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth-biggest overseas supplier of the commodity to the U.S. "We have the situation under control," he said. "The country should be at peace." The government recovered rocket launchers and explosives that were part of the plot, Chavez said. The president last September said there was a plot within the Venezuelan military to assassinate him and carry out a coup at the start of campaigns for state and city elections. Chavez said any plot to overthrow him will be defeated. "The Venezuelan bourgeoisie will regret it," he said. "The conspirators against the government will regret their campaign of aggression, of violence."