CARACAS (Dow Jones)--An El Salvadoran national arrested at the international airport near Caracas has confessed to planning to commit violence ahead of Venezuela's September legislative elections, according to a top official.

Francisco Chavez Abarca was detained at the Simon Bolivar International Airport earlier this week while trying to enter the country with a false passport. Chavez Abarca, with alleged links to former CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles, is wanted in Cuba.