Venezuelan court sentences 2 US soldiers to 20 years in prison

SANAA, Aug 9 (YPA) –  A Venezuelan court has sentenced two former US soldiers arrested in Venezuela for attempting to carry out an armed “incursion” across the sea in May with the aim of overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro, to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutor Tariq William Saab wrote in a tweet on Friday that Luke Alexander Denman and Aran Perry “confessed” that they were guilty of “conspiracy, forming a criminal gang, arms trade and terrorism, and they were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment,” and explained that they were sentenced during a hearing that was presented. It includes photos of vehicles, weapons and identity documents.

According to Agence France-Presse, Denman and Berry are among 91 people that Venezuela says they have arrested during their attempt to carry out a failed incursion from the sea on May three with the disembarkation of armed men in Makoto, less than an hour from Caracas.

Maduro said at the time that it was a plot to assassinate him, and Caracas held US President Donald Trump directly responsible for the operation in which eight of the participants were killed, and the United States denied any involvement.

Maduro also accused Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who in January 2019 declared himself acting president in a direct challenge to Maduro’s authority, of planning this violation, which Guaidó denied.