Venezuelan government says it foiled a sea-based incursion by ‘mercenaries’
- The group was said to have attempted to land with fast boats before dawn in the northern coastal state of La Guaira but were intercepted by the military
Venezuela’s leftist government said Sunday it foiled an incursion from the sea, killing eight members of a group of alleged mercenaries bent on “terrorist acts” aimed at overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro.
Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said the group, which he said originated in Colombia, attempted to land with fast boats before dawn in the northern coastal state of La Guaira but were intercepted by the military and special police units.
“Thanks to the opportune, effective action of our Bolivarian Armed Forces and special police action forces of the National Bolivarian Police, some were shot down and some were detained,” he said on state television.
Reverol said the group had used speedboats in an attempt to land on a beach at Macuto, about an hour north of the capital Caracas.
A massive air, sea and land search was under way for remnants of the attackers, he said.
Diosdado Cabello, deputy leader of the ruling Socialist Party, said later that clashes had so far resulted in “eight people dead and two detained.”