Police in Venezuela makes arrests over base attack

Venezuelan police have arrested 18 suspects over an attack on a military base earlier this month and have issued international arrest warrants for a further 23 people.

Former National Guard captain Juan Caguaripano and first lieutenant Yefferson Garcia, the alleged ringleaders of the attack, have already been caught, according to the Defence Ministry.

The pair are accused of orchestrating the attack on the Paramacay base.

Caguaripano, who had been on the run since 2014 and was wanted for declaring his opposition to the government of President Nicolas Maduro, had posted a video on the internet claiming responsibility.

Venezuela has experienced months of protests against Maduro's efforts to silence the opposition and expand his grip on power amid economic turmoil.

The base attack was linked to the 'ongoing criminality of opposition groups' aimed at the fall of Maduro's socialist government, Venezuelan intelligence chief Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez said.

He added that the attackers who escaped had stolen more than 90 firearms but that 21 of the weapons along with three grenade launchers and military uniforms had been recovered.

Authorities have also seized assets and frozen bank accounts allegedly used to support 'terrorist structures', he said.