How the Campaign to Free Venezuelan Political Prisoner Alex Saab Succeeded

[Judi Lynn]

1. A couple of prisoners Venezuela gave to Washington had been arrested trying to assassinate Maduro, Trump-backed.

Trump denies ties to Americans linked to Venezuela ‘coup plot’
Two US citizens among dozens arrested by Venezuela after a beach invasion allegedly aimed at overthrowing Maduro.

6 May 2020

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States government had nothing to do with an alleged incursion into Venezuela that landed two US citizens behind bars in the crisis-stricken South American country.

Trump said he had just learned of the detention of the pair, accused by Venezuela of being mercenaries. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said they were part of an operation to kill him that was backed by neighbouring Colombia and the US.

“Whatever it is, we’ll let you know,” Trump told reporters in Washington, DC, before departing from the White House to Arizona. “But it has nothing to do with our government.”

Maduro said: “The United States government is fully and completely involved in this defeated raid” and praised members of a fishing village for cornering one group and netting the “professional American mercenaries”.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper echoed Trump’s comments later on Tuesday, saying “The United States government had nothing to do with what’s happened in Venezuela in the last few days.”

More:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/5/6/trump-denies-ties-to-americans-linked-to-venezuela-coup-plot