Eleven people were arrested this weekend in Venezuela over an armed attack on a synagogue in Caracas more than a week ago, dpa reported.
According to Venezuelan media reports from late Sunday which cited the public prosecutor's office, seven police officers were among those arrested. They are alleged to have taken part in the attack on the main synagogue in Caracas.
In several searches, the authorities gathered evidence related to the attack and seized two police motorcycles.
A group of armed vandals overpowered two guards at the synagogue in the early hours of January 30 and caused substantial damage in the library and in several study halls in the building. The cupboard holding the sacred Tora was also profaned, and the attackers also sprayed anti-Semitic words on the walls.
The attack caused an international wave of concern.
The Confederation of Israelite Associations in Venezuela (CAIV) spoke of an "unprecedented" act of vandalism, but also described the attack as a consequence of the anti-Jewish comments made by the government.
In protest over the most recent Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip, Venezuela expelled Israeli Ambassador Schlomo Cohen.
The government in Caracas, however, has complained of a campaign to portray Venezuela as an anti-Semitic country.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced efforts by some leaders of the country's Jewish community to link the government to the attack.
"How long are they going to keep playing that game?" he said.
Chavez stressed that he respects Jews and that this community "has the love" of other Venezuelans.