Caracas, May 7 (IANS) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that two former members of US special forces captured in a failed attempt to topple him will be tried in the South American country.
On Wednesday, Maduro said the two Americans will be judged by the attorney general and the country’s civil courts, reports Xinhua news agency.
On Monday, the President confirmed that authorities had arrested two US citizens, named Luke Denman and Airan Berr, among a group of “mercenaries” who launched an armed incursion on Sunday in the port of La Guaira, 30 km north of the capital Caracas.
Venezuelan state television on Wednesday showed the passports of the two people, who were accused of trying to topple Maduro in an alleged plot backed by the US.
The US army has confirmed that Denman, 34, and Berry, 41, were former members of the Green Berets who served in Iraq.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his government had nothing to do with the operation, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it would “use every tool that we have available to try to get them back”.
–IANS
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