CARACAS -- The Venezuelan Vice President-designate said Friday the government had evidence of a new coup attempt being hatched in the country, including a plot to kill President Hugo Chavez, AFP reported.

"We have information that there exist determined people who are preparing a new adventure," Defense Minister Jose Vicente Rangel, who has been chosen by Chavez to become Venezuela's next vice president, told a commission of the National Assembly.

Chavez was briefly removed from power last month as a result of a civilian-military coup, but he was quickly restored to power when the coup fizzled after key military units refused to support it.

"I have important information about some people, who still believe they can persuade some military units to take part in a new adventure aimed at seizing power," Rangel told the Commission that is probing last month's coup attempt.

The Defense Minister did not name names or publicly present any specific evidence. But he indicated that his information was "well-founded" and came "from impeccable sources."

He also said he had evidence of a possible conspiracy to assassinate Chavez but did not offer any details.

The warning came as part of an expanding parliamentary probe into the dramatic events of April 11-14, when the president was briefly jailed after a junta led by prominent businessman Pedro Carmona installed itself in power and dissolved the National Assembly and other civic institutions.

The botched coup was preceded by mass street protests against Chavez's rule, during which at least 17 people were killed.