CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A Venezuelan court has sentenced two former U.S. Special Forces soldiers to 20 years in prison for their part in a failed beach attack aimed at overthrowing President Nicolás Maduro, prosecutors announced. The former Green Berets, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, admitted to taking part in the May 4 operation orchestrated by a third former U.S. soldier who remains in the United States, Venezuela’s chief prosecutor, Tarek William Saab, announced on Twitter on Friday. “THEY ADMITTED THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FACTS,” Mr. Saab wrote, adding that the case will continue for dozens of other defendants. The operation — called “Operation Gideon” — was launched from makeshift training camps in neighboring Colombia and left at least eight rebel soldiers dead while a total of 66 were jailed. A former Green Beret named Jordan Goudreau, who operated a private, Florida-based security firm called Silvercorp USA, claimed responsibility for the failed attack.

Source: New York Times August 08, 2020 14:26 UTC