CNN — 

The US State Department has rejected claims of CIA involvement in an alleged plot to kill Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro, after Venezuelan authorities said they had arrested six foreigners, including a US Navy SEAL.

The State Department called the allegations “categorically false,” adding in a statement that the United States “continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela.”

The comments come after Venezuela said it had arrested the six for an alleged plot to “destabilize” the country that has been in crisis since disputed elections earlier this year.