Colombian police investigate conspiracy against President Iván Duque | World

According to Colombia's Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Venezuelan citizens detained with weapons of war have been arrested.

Without providing details, Trujillo said in a video message that information indicated plans to attack right-wing Duke Duke, who took office in August. He added that three Venezuelans had been arrested in recent days with heavy weapons.

"The intelligence services have investigated possible attacks for several months," Trujillo said. "To this is added the recent capture of three Venezuelan citizens found in possession of weapons of war, which adds to the worries".

Police and military sources told Reuters that on 21 December, two Venezuelan men were arrested on a bus in Valledupar, in the north of the country, with two 5.56-caliber rifles. A third, also armed, was arrested in Barranquilla.

The sources said the authorities were trying to link the plot to attack Duque with the presence in Colombia of the three armed men.

Duke, also an economist, strongly criticized the government of Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, whom he described as "dictator".

Maduro accused Colombia of helping "terrorists" after an attempted drone attack in early August. Colombia refuted the allegations.

Relations between the two neighboring countries have been strained for years. Soldiers and helicopters from the Bolivarian National Guard often crossed the border with Colombia.