Venezuela government says eight killed in foiled mercenary 'incursion'

 

Venezuelan security forces boats are seen, after Venezuela's government announced a failed "mercenary" incursion, in Macuto, Venezuela, May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

 

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government said it foiled a marine incursion on Sunday by "terrorist mercenaries" who attempted to enter the country on speedboats from neighboring Colombia, which opposition leaders dismissed as a staged incident.

 

President Nicolas Maduro frequently accuses political adversaries of attempting to overthrow him with the backing of Washington, which has vowed to force him from office through sanctions that have crippled the OPEC nation's oil exports.

 

Critics of the ruling Socialist Party often dismiss such accusations as stunts used as an excuse to detain opponents of the government.

 

The group landed early on Sunday on the coast of La Guaira, about 20 miles (32 km) from the capital Caracas, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said in a televised address.

 

"They tried to carry out an invasion by sea, a group of terrorist mercenaries from Colombia, in order to commit terrorist acts in the country, murdering leaders of the revolutionary government," he said.

 

Opposition leader Juan Guaido said the government was seeking to distract from recent violent events including a deadly prison riot on Friday and bloody Caracas gang battle on Saturday night.

 

"The regime is seeking to divert attention with a supposed incident (in La Guaira) plagued with inconsistencies, doubts and contradictions," the press team for Guaido, who is recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's legitimate leader, said in a statement.

 

Socialist Party leader Diosdado Cabello said eight people were killed and two detained.

 

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said one of the speedboats had sunk, and that military vessels were searching the coast for survivors.

 

The assertions by Maduro's government of Colombian involvement were "unfounded", Colombia's foreign ministry said in a statement, and were an attempt to distract attention from "the true problems that the Venezuelan people are living."

 

Maduro has overseen a six-year economic crisis that has left many citizens unable to obtain basic food and medicine and forced nearly five million people to emigrate.

 

The United States and dozens of other countries disavowed Maduro after his disputed 2018 election, which they say was rigged. They instead recognize Guaido, who is head of the country's legislature.

 

But Maduro retains the backing of the country's armed forces as well as countries including China and Russia, which have harshly criticized the U.S. sanctions.

 

(Reporting Vivian Sequera, additional reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb in Bogota; Writing by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-05-04

 

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Shameful behavior from the supposed free world.

Trying to close down the drug supply through Venezuela but leaving Columbia alone because... allies.

Guido is not the opposition leader in Venezuela, the opposition want nothing to do with him.

The west are doing black ops into Venezuela, same as Israel doing illegal ops into Syria.

All to steal resources under the guise of humanitarian intervention, it's sickening.

15 minutes ago, piewarmer said:

Shameful behavior from the supposed free world.

Trying to close down the drug supply through Venezuela but leaving Columbia alone because... allies.

Guido is not the opposition leader in Venezuela, the opposition want nothing to do with him.

The west are doing black ops into Venezuela, same as Israel doing illegal ops into Syria.

All to steal resources under the guise of humanitarian intervention, it's sickening.

 

But you think Maduro dissolving the elected parliament, because it wouldn't be his rubber stamp, and replacing it with an appointed "congress" he selected is o k?

 

You probably do think that if you believe this twaddle propaganda fairy story.

 

There is a good reason more than 50 countries recognize Guaido as the legitimate leader.

 

Of course you see no wrong with Maduro letting the Russians rape gold and other resources from Venezuela.

 

Wonder how much Maduro, his family and cronies bank balances are worth?

Sounds like another Bay of Pigs fiasco.  Will the CIA never learn?

2 hours ago, ThaiFelix said:

Sounds like another Bay of Pigs fiasco.  Will the CIA never learn?

AP's investigation found no US involvement. And the snippet below indicates there was no US funding of the operation:

 

"Mattos said he was surprised by the barren conditions. There was no running water and men were sleeping on the floors, skipping meals and training with sawed-off broomsticks in place of assault rifles. Five Belgian shepherds trained to sniff out explosives were as poorly fed as their handlers and had to be given away."

 

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/green-beret-led-failed-attempt-oust-venezuelas-maduro-70463070

 

Do you have any evidence to show the CIA was involved?

16 hours ago, piewarmer said:

Shameful behavior from the supposed free world.

Trying to close down the drug supply through Venezuela but leaving Columbia alone because... allies.

Guido is not the opposition leader in Venezuela, the opposition want nothing to do with him.

The west are doing black ops into Venezuela, same as Israel doing illegal ops into Syria.

All to steal resources under the guise of humanitarian intervention, it's sickening.

Steal resources?  

Are you aware there's an oil glut so bad that companies don't even want to store it anymore?  What good is wealth still in the ground and broken infrastructure unable to access it?

 

BTW, the richest person in Venezuela is Hugo Chavez's daughter.  While president, Hugo Chavez', who grew up poor, monthly salary was around $160/month.  So where did her wealth come from?  

On 5/5/2020 at 7:59 AM, Iron Tongue said:

Steal resources?  

Are you aware there's an oil glut so bad that companies don't even want to store it anymore?  What good is wealth still in the ground and broken infrastructure unable to access it?

And still they try, crazy huh!