CARACAS, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan authorities have arrested a group of soldiers for looting an arsenal of the National Guard, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on Monday.

"The criminals were captured," Padrino said in a signed statement.

The soldiers broke into the arsenal in Petare, in east Caracas, at daybreak on Monday and stole some of the weapons, according to the statement.

They then headed to a military command center known as Waraira Repano, where they encountered "strong resistance on the part of the professional officials and troops stationed there," and were arrested.

"During their arrest, the stolen weapons were recovered," and the suspects were questioned by intelligence agents and the military judicial system.

"The National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) categorically rejects these types of actions, which are most certainly motivated by the shady interests of the extreme right," the statement said.

?The FANB confirmed all military units were operating under "complete and absolute normality."