Maduro Accused US of Organizing Invasion of Venezuela

Earlier, Venezuelan authorities captured a group of mercenaries who intended to carry out a coup. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused the U.S. leader Donald Trump and the U.S. State Secretary Michael Pompeo of organizing on May 3, an invasion of the republic. He made the corresponding statement during a press conference in Caracas on May 6, broadcast on Twitter. “If this (invasion) were successful, then they (the US) would try to escalate the conflict. <...> Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo are behind this,” Maduro emphasized. He pointed out that the country will appeal to the UN Security Council with a request to evaluate the attempts to invade the Bolivarian Republic and is also preparing an appeal to the International Criminal Court to investigate the incident. Recall, on May 3, the Venezuelan authorities reported they managed to prevent the entry of a group of mercenaries from Colombia, which intended to carry out a coup in the republic and kill Maduro. According to the Venezuelan leader, among the mercenaries were US citizens, employees of the White House’s Security Service headed by Donald Trump. In March, Maduro announced to his compatriots that the United States was preparing a plan of war against the Bolivarian Republic.