© Venezuelan Foreign Ministry
Items found on Heath at the time of his arrest according to Venezuelan authorities.
Items found on Heath at the time of his arrest according to Venezuelan authorities.
Matthew John Heath was arrested in September outside Amuay and Cardon oil refineries in possession of a submachine gun, a grenade launcher, C4 explosives, a satellite phone and bricks of $20 bills. The Venezuelan government also alleges that he was found carrying a small coin or badge that CIA employees use to prove their identity to one another without raising suspicions. On Wednesday, Heath pled not guilty to all charges.
Situated in Falcon state in the west of the country, the Amuay and Cardon facilities are the largest refineries in the oil-rich nation, considered an enemy of the United States since it elected socialist president Hugo Chavez in 1998. The facilities have been the site of controversy before: in 2012, a fire at the plants killed 55 people; after conducting hundreds of interviews with experts and witnesses and carrying out over 200 inspections and technical tests, the Venezuelan government claimed that the evidence of sabotage was "overwhelming."
Comment: It is hard to see any upside to Biden's free-for-all policies. The job of the government is to keep 'the balance' of the country steady as it tweaks this and that or introduces new legislation. It must constantly weigh and manage the consequences to its citizens as well as consider their input. There is no indication this administration has any concept of how to do this. Instead it shoots from the hip with all Americans in its cross-hairs.