CARACAS, Venezuela — The Venezuelan government on Tuesday arrested a former interior minister who had become a prominent government critic, claiming that he had plotted violent attacks in the country.

The arrest of the former minister, Miguel Rodríguez Torres, is the latest of a political opponent as President Nicolás Maduro has sought to consolidate power in Venezuela. Mr. Maduro is running for another six-year term in an election in May, but many of his most popular rivals have been jailed or barred from running.

The authorities announced the arrest of Mr. Rodríguez Torres on state television after he was detained at a hotel in Caracas, the capital, late Tuesday. Mr. Rodríguez Torres, a television announcer said, had planned “armed acts and a conspiracy against the Constitution.” The statement also accused him of having had ties to United States intelligence agencies.

The government said Mr. Rodríguez Torres had worked with unnamed accomplices, raising the prospect that more people could be arrested.