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		</div><h6><span style="color: #332727;"><strong>Pair of U.S. mercenaries have been sentenced to more than two decades in prison by a Venezuelan court for a failed coup attempt to oust President Nicolas Maduro</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #332727;"><strong>Former Green Berets Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, were sentenced on Friday</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #332727;"><strong>Tarek Saab, Venezuela&#8217;s attorney general, announced the sentence of 20 years and 9 days for each man</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #332727;"><strong>Saab said the two Americans had admitted their role in the failed May coup </strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #332727;"><strong>After the pair were arrested on May 4, along with two dozen Venezuelans, they were charged with terrorism and conspiracy </strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #332727;"><strong>The captured coup plotter claimed President Trump gave orders to mercenaries </strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #332727;"><strong>However another former Green Beret, Jordan Goudreau, has identified himself as the person behind the plot, in a video posted to social media </strong></span></h6>
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<h6><strong><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-352467" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Luke-Denman-left-and-Airan-Berry-right-1.jpg" alt="Luke Denman, (left) and Airan Berry, (right) 1" width="667" height="428" /></span>Former US special forces operators turned mercenaries Luke Denman, [left] and Airan Berry, [right] have been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Venezuela for allegedly participating in a botched attempt to oust that country&#8217;s president</strong></h6>
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<div><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;">Former US special forces operators turned mercenaries Luke Denman, [left] and Airan Berry, [right] have been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Venezuela following the botched attempt to oust that country&#8217;s president</span></div>
<div>Two former Green Berets have been sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in Venezuela for their role in a failed coup attempt against President Nicolas Maduro.<br />
Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, <a href="https://konniemoments.com/2020/05/06/venezuelan-army-foils-coup-attempt-led-by-former-green-beret-and-two-special-forces-operators-allegedly-backed-by-shadowy-us-billionaires-intent-on-assassinating-president-maduro-with-300-h/">were arrested on May 4</a> and charged with terrorism and conspiracy following an uprising nicknamed &#8216;Bay of Piglets&#8217; &#8211; a reference to the failed coup, aka &#8216;Bay of Pigs&#8217;, against Fidel Castro in 1961.<br />
On Friday night the Venezuelan attorney general, Tarek William Saab, announced that the pair had been sentenced, following a &#8216;trial&#8217; in which they were reportedly not permitted to see their attorneys.<br />
&#8216;Following on from their arraignment, they have admitted their responsibility for the acts,&#8217; Saab tweeted.<br />
&#8216;The men ADMITTED having committed crimes of conspiracy, illegal association, trafficking of weapons of war and terrorism as defined by the Penal Code: for this they have been sentenced to 20 years, months and nine days in prison.&#8217;<br />
Saab appeared to have omitted the number of months to which they were sentenced.<br />
&#8216;The hearing continues with the remaining accused,&#8217; he concluded.</div>
<div><strong>Related Articles:</strong> <a href="https://konniemoments.com/2020/05/06/venezuelan-army-foils-coup-attempt-led-by-former-green-beret-and-two-special-forces-operators-allegedly-backed-by-shadowy-us-billionaires-intent-on-assassinating-president-maduro-with-300-h/">President Nicolás Maduro Sunday showcased Venezuelan army foiling ‘amateur’ coup attempt led by former US Green Beret and two ex-Special Forces operatives Luke [&#8230;]</a></div>
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<h6><strong><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-352469" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Tarek-William-Saab-1.jpg" alt="Tarek William Saab 1" width="694" height="453" /></span>Venezuela Attorney General Tarek William Saab, [photo], announced Friday that the two Americans each had been sentenced to more than two decades in prison </strong></h6>
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<h6><strong><img class="alignnone wp-image-352471" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Tarek-William-Saab-tweet-1.jpg" alt="Tarek William Saab tweet 1" width="684" height="736" />In this tweet Saab, Venezuela&#8217;s attorney general, claimed that the pair had admitted their role in the coup to overthrow president Maduro</strong></h6>
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<div><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;">Venezuela Attorney General Tarek William Saab, [photo], announced Friday that the two Americans each had been sentenced to more than two decades in prison. According to Saab the pair had admitted their role in the coup. He said that the two have been condemned to &#8217;20 years, months and 9 days&#8217; in prison</span></div>
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<h6><strong><img class="alignnone wp-image-352472" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Tarek-William-Saab-tweet-2.jpg" alt="Tarek William Saab tweet 2" width="952" height="500" />Luke Denman, [left] and Airan Berry, Saab said had been sentenced to 20 months and 9 days in prison</strong></h6>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">Others caught in the snare include two captains in the Venezuelan National Guard, Antonio José Sequea and Víctor Pimienta, were among the Venezuelans arrested in the foiled raid.<br />
They had participated in a previous uprising against Maduro and are believed to have been among those leading the Venezuelans in the coup.<br />
<span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;">The former governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, flew to Venezuela last month to urge Maduro to free several jailed Americans as a goodwill gesture aimed at easing tensions with the U.S.</span></p>
<h6><strong><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;"><img class="" src="https://i1.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Airan-Berry-3.png?resize=620%2C327&;ssl=1" alt="Airan Berry 3" width="697" height="368" /></span>US Special Forces operative, Airan Berry served as a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. military from 1996 and 2013. He is listed as having attended school in Texas.</strong></h6>
<h6><img class="" src="https://i2.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Luke-Denman-3.png?resize=620%2C368&;ssl=1" alt="Luke Denman 3" width="854" height="507" />Announcing the arrest of <strong>Luke Denman, in Caracas on May 4, along with </strong><strong>Airan Berry, President Maduro flashed the IDs of the two Americans </strong></h6>
<p class="mol-para-with-font"><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;">The Richardson Center, which seeks freedom for Americans held by hostile foreign governments and criminal organizations, would not confirm who he was lobbying for.<br />
</span><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;">Denman and Berry were likely on the list, along with six oil executives from Citgo — five Venezuelan-Americans and one a permanent U.S. resident — who were lured to Caracas for a meeting in late 2017 at the offices of the Houston-based company’s parent, state-run oil giant PDVSA, when masked security agents swarmed a boardroom and hauled them away.<br />
</span><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;">Richardson also worked behind the scenes to bring home another American jailed in Caracas, former Mormon missionary Joshua Holt, who won his freedom in 2018. </span></p>
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<h6><strong><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-352473" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Luke-Denman-left-and-Airan-Berry-right-2.jpg" alt="Luke Denman, (left) and Airan Berry, (right) 2" width="751" height="412" /></span>Former US Special Forces operators Luke Denman [right] and Airan Berry [left], were arrested and paraded before the media in Caracas on May 4 for their part in the failed coup plot </strong></h6>
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<div><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;">Denman and Berry were arrested on May 4 alongside the dozens of Venezuelans after Maduro intercepted the plot.</span></div>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">Authorities were said to be lying in wait for the mercenaries after showing ringleader Jordan Goudreau&#8217;s face on state TV and naming the Americans a month before the plot even began.<br />
The former soldiers said they flew to Colombia on January 16 and, after training, they accompanied the troops by boat to Venezuela.<br />
The plan was to capture Maduro, secure an airport and then fly the Venezuelan leader to the United States.<br />
Goudreau, Denman and Berry had served together in Iraq and Afghanistan and Goudreau offered them the job in Venezuela through his Florida-based company Silvercorp USA.</p>
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<h6><strong><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-352478" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Luke-Denman-left-and-Airan-Berry-right-3.jpg" alt="Luke Denman, (left) and Airan Berry, (right) 3" width="668" height="475" /></strong><strong>Luke Denman seen [left] with alleged co-conspirator </strong><strong>Airan Berry [right] </strong><strong>said &#8216;jackpot&#8217; was the codename for President Nicolás Maduro among plotters. According to a taped confession he had taken the job offer from f</strong><strong>ormer Green Beret Jordan </strong><strong>Goudreau because he believed it was working to free the Venezuelan people from Maduro.</strong></h6>
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<h6><strong> <img class="alignnone wp-image-352479" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Luke-Denman-left-and-Airan-Berry-right-4.jpg" alt="Luke Denman, (left) and Airan Berry, (right) 4" width="804" height="443" />Alleged Us mercenaries Luke Denman [left] and Airan Berry [right] are seen as the were paraded along with two dozen Venezuelans after their arrest on May 4 Luke Denman [left] said &#8216;jackpot&#8217; was the codename for President Nicolás Maduro among plotters. Asked </strong></h6>
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<div><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;">The U.S. recognizes Maduro&#8217;s rival Juan Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.</span></div>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">In March, the U.S. announced a $15 million reward for information that let to Maduro&#8217;s arrest or conviction.<br />
Goudreau is currently under federal investigation in the U.S. for arms smuggling after identifying himself as the person behind the plot, in a video posted to social media, claiming that he had provided the coup members with training and equipment.<br />
He claims to have signed a $212 million contract with Guaidó, which the opposition leader has denied.<br />
Maduro has presented the alleged signed contract during press conferences as proof that Guaidó was involved in the plot to overthrow him.</p>
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<h6><strong><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-352475" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Jordan-Goudreau-1.jpg" alt="Jordan Goudreau 1" width="692" height="629" />Former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau [center] is currently under federal investigation in the U.S. for arms smuggling after he claimed responsibility for the failed coup in Venezuela</strong></h6>
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<div><span style="color: var(--color-text); font-size: 1rem;">On May 8, Venezuela requested the extradition of Goudreau and two U.S.-based Venezuelans for their roles in the failed incursion.</span></div>
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<p class="mol-para-with-font">In a previous video broadcast on Venezuelan state TV on May 7, Denman claimed he was first approached about the job by Goudreau in early December but was given limited details about what was involved.<br />
In the interrogation video, Denman also stated that he had taken the job offer from Goudreau because he believed it was working to free the Venezuelan people from Maduro.<br />
He was questioned about the leadership of the plot and, when asked who commanded Goudreau, he claimed it was Donald Trump.<br />
President Trump and the U.S. government have denied any &#8216;direct&#8217; involvement in the botched raid and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that &#8216;every tool&#8217; will be used to secure the release of the Americans involved.<br />
The U.S. broke diplomatic ties with Maduro and closed its embassy in Caracas last year.</p>
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Captured former U.S. soldiers turned mercenaries, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, sentenced to 20 years by Venezuelan court for failed coup attempt to oust president Maduro
