The Venezuelan far-right opposition was involved in orchestrating Operation Aurora, a plot aimed at attacking military installations in Bolivar state, Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello revealed on Thursday.

Cabello linked the operation to a 2019 assault on a military unit in Bolivar, after which the perpetrators fled to Colombia. He presented a video of a detainee explaining the details of the plan, recounting how the group escaped through the Brazilian jungle before being extracted by a helicopter belonging to the Brazilian Armed Forces.

According to Cabello, the suspect, identified as Damian Rojas, who returned to Venezuela in December 2024, was later contacted to plant explosives in another Venezuelan military facility. Authorities ultimately arrested him along with other individuals involved in the plot.

The minister noted that Venezuelan officials have been closely monitoring statements made by members of these groups on social media. One of them highlighted that US mercenaries Mathew Van Dyke and Erik Prince were engaged in covert operations against Venezuela, reportedly funded by Colombian drug trafficking and USAID.

Cabello presented a diagram outlining the structure of Operation Aurora, which details how political operatives recruit mercenaries.

Audio recordings shared by Cabello purportedly capture right-wing figures discussing logistical preparations for the operation, including the assembly of explosive devices. The detained individuals had planned to detonate explosives at multiple locations across Venezuela and kidnap Judge Maikel Moreno, the former president of the Supreme Court, as part of an operation financed by senior US officials.

“These mercenaries, murderers, and terrorists do not rest,” Cabello said, further emphasizing that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was linked to planned attacks targeting military facilities in the states of Guarico and Barinas.

Addressing US authorities, Cabello called for the extradition of far-right activists accused of crimes against Venezuela. "Now that so many people are being deported, send us those criminals who have outstanding accounts with justice so they can be tried," he urged.  

"The opposition has not expanded its ranks. They are the same people with the same faces. They are the same deserters and mercenaries who recycle themselves over and over because they have no one else. They are the same operators of violence," the Venezuelan minister stressed.

He also reiterated previous warnings about Venezuelan far-right militants seeking refuge in Latin American countries, particularly in Brazil under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration. Despite these alerts, he noted, no action was taken by those governments.  

"Terrorism will have no place in Venezuela," Cabello underlined, confirming that all individuals linked to Operation Aurora have been arrested.

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