CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan authorities have detained two members of opposition leader Juan Guaidó's security team and accused them of trying to sell weapons belonging to the state.

Socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello said Saturday that the suspects planned to sell four guns allegedly used during Guaidó's failed military rebellion on April 30.

Guaidó on Friday tweeted that two members of his team, Erick Sánchez y Jason Parisi, had been taken into custody in Caracas while providing security for his family as he traveled outside the capital. He addressed supporters in the western state of Trujillo on Saturday.

The arrests come after several days of talks between the Venezuelan government and the opposition as the two sides seek a solution to the country's political standoff. </s> Venezuelan authorities have detained two members of opposition leader Juan Guaidó's security team, keeping pressure on their U.S.-backed adversary even as the two sides hold talks aimed at finding a solution to the country's political standoff.

The two men planned to sell four guns belonging to the state that were allegedly used during Guaidó's failed military rebellion on April 30, socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello said Saturday. Information Minister Jorge Rodríguez also said on national television that the alleged attempt to sell weapons while negotiating with the government reflected opposition deceit.

Guaidó on Friday tweeted that two members of his team, Erick Sánchez y Jason Parisi, had been taken into custody in Caracas while providing security for his family as he traveled outside the capital. He said the allegations against them were false and speculated that authorities would plant weapons on the two men in order to frame them.

"We know what we're fighting against: A dictatorship," said Guaidó, who addressed supporters in the western state of Trujillo on Saturday.

Despite tension over the arrests, there was no immediate indication that plans to resume talks between the Venezuelan government and the opposition would be disrupted. The two sides held several days of discussions on the Caribbean island of Barbados last week, and said they will continue negotiations next week.

The government of Nicolás Maduro and the opposition gave upbeat assessments after the last round of talks, though negotiations in previous years have collapsed and major issues remain contentious. Guaidó contends Maduro's re-election last year was invalid and wants early presidential elections: the government accuses the opposition of fomenting violence.

As the political dispute drags on, Venezuela is sinking deeper into an economic and humanitarian crisis that has forced millions of people to leave the country in recent years.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Venezuela to try to dislodge Maduro, compounding hardship in a country whose economy, including its key oil industry, has been in sharp decline for many years.

Also Saturday, Cabello and other key supporters of Maduro held a demonstration to condemn a scathing report on Venezuela by Michele Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Rally speakers said the report, which chronicles torture, sexual abuse and extrajudicial killings by government security forces, is inaccurate and biased. </s> CARACAS (Reuters) - Two members of Venezuelan National Assembly chief Juan Guaido’s security detail were detained on Friday, both the opposition leader and government officials said on Saturday, during a pause in negotiations between the two divided political factions.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said in a television broadcast that Erick Sanchez and Jason Parisi were arrested for attempting to sell rifles he said were taken from a National Guard armoury at the legislative palace in preparation for Guaido’s failed attempt to unseat President Nicolas Maduro on April 30.

The arrests came just days after representatives of both Maduro and Guaido returned from negotiations in Barbados to resolve a political crisis that began in January, when Guaido invoked the constitution to assume a rival interim presidency, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

Norway’s government, which is mediating the talks, has said they are expected to continue. But the arrests could exacerbate tensions between the two sides at a time when other members of Guaido’s inner circle, including his chief of staff Roberto Marrero and National Assembly deputy chief Edgar Zambrano, remain in state custody.

“They are going to plant arms on them, like with Roberto Marrero. This is not new: we know what we are up against,” Guaido said in a speech in the western state of Trujillo, where he is rallying supporters this weekend.

Marrero was accused of smuggling guns and explosives from Colombia when he was arrested in March. His lawyer, Joel Garcia, has said Marrero denies all the charges and alleges that the Sebin intelligence agency planted weapons in Marrero’s home.

Venezuela’s chief prosecutor’s office has not commented on the arrest of Sanchez and Parisi.

Rodriguez said he would bring evidence of the weapons accusations against the two guards to the next round of negotiations with the opposition.

“We have to play clean,” Rodriguez said. “There cannot continue to be different agendas.”

Maduro calls Guaido a puppet of the United States seeking to oust him in a coup.
The Venezuelan government arrests two members of disputed Interim President Juan Guaidó's personal security. The government claims that the pair were trying to sell weapons stolen from the national army and organising the failed coup attempt on 30 April. The opposition denies the weapons charges.