Venezuela Sentences 2 U.S. Citizens to Jail for Coup Attempt

(Bloomberg) -- Two U.S. citizens who took part in a failed attempt to overthrow Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro were sentenced to 20 years of prison, public prosecutor Tarek William Saab posted on his Twitter account.

• Luke Denman and Airan Berry were captured on May 5, following a failed raid earlier in the month.
• Denman and Barry “admitted their responsibility in the events,” Saab said in the tweet.
• Both men were condemned for criminal association, illicit use of weapons and terrorism.
• The men did not have access to a defense attorney during the court proceedings, lawyer Alonso Molina said in a phone interview separately. “The court did not authorize my swearing-in process as their defense lawyer so they didn’t have a due process,” he said.
• Earlier, Two Americans Held in Venezuela Are Part of Failed Ragtag Coup

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