Venezuela said Thursday it has arrested a US national accused of being an intelligence agent tasked with sowing chaos and civil unrest throughout the country.

Venezuela said Thursday it has arrested a US national accused of being an intelligence agent tasked with sowing chaos and civil unrest throughout the country.

The alleged agent, Timothy Hallet Tracy, was detained Wednesday at an airport near Caracas as he tried to leave the country, according to Venezuelan officials, who also released pictures of the American.

"Judging from the way this gentleman behaved, we presume that he belongs to some intelligence organization, because he is trained and he knows how to infiltrate, and how to handle sources and security information," Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres said.

Rodriguez further said at a press conference that Tracy was part of a supposed plot that sought "to bring the country to civil war... which would immediately provoke the intervention of a foreign power to restore order and reestablish democracy," in reference to the United States.