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A28 WORLD NEWS
Monday 4 May 2020
Venezuela says it foiled attack by boat on main port city

By SCOTT SMITH But in addition to U.S. eco-
Associlated Press nomic and diplomatic
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) pressure, Maduro's govern-
— Venezuelan officials said ment has faced several
they foiled an early morn- small-scale military threats,
ing attempt by a group including an attempt to
of armed "mercenaries" assassinate Maduro with
to invade the country in a a drone and Guaidó's call
beach landing on speed- for a military uprising, which
boats Sunday, killing eight was joined by few soldiers.
attackers and arresting two The Associated Press re-
more. ported on Friday that an
Socialist party chief Diosda- apparently ill-funded at-
do Cabello said that two tempt to amass an invasion
of the attackers were inter- force of 300 men in Co-
rogated by authorities. Ca- lombia involving a former
bello said it was carried out Venezuelan military officer
by neighboring Colombia and an ex-Green Beret,
with United States backing suffered setbacks in March
in a plot to overthrow Presi- when a main organizer was
dent Nicolás Maduro. Both arrested, an arms cache
countries have repeatedly was seized and some par-
denied earlier Venezuelan Security forces patrol near the shore in the port city of La Guaira, Venezuela, Sunday, May 3, 2020. ticipants abandoned its
allegations of backing for Associated Press. camps. Cabello linked Sun-
military plots against the so- tackers as "mercenary ter- electricity and medical creased stiff sanctions, cut- day's attack to key players
cialist government. rorists" bent on destabilizing care has driven nearly 5 ting off Venezuela's oil sec- in that alleged plot. One of
"Those who assume they Venezuela's institutions and million to migrate. tor to choke Maduro from a the men he said was killed,
can attack the institutional creating "chaos." Officials A coalition of nearly 60 na- key source of hard cash. a man nicknamed "the
framework in Venezuela said the attack took place tions back opposition lead- Iván Simonovis, a former Panther," had been identi-
will have to assume the on a beach in La Guaira, er Juan Guaidó as Venezu- high-ranking Venezuelan fied as involved in obtain-
consequences of their ac- about 20 miles (32 kilome- ela's legitimate leader, say- police official who now ing weapons for the force
tion," said Cabello, adding ters) from Caracas and ing Maduro's 2018 election advises opposition lead- in Colombia.
that one of the detained home to the nation's larg- was a sham because the ers on intelligence strategy Maduro and his allies say
claimed to be an agent of est airport. most popular opposition from Washington, specu- the Trump administration
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Authorities say the attack- candidates were banned lated on Twitter that there is determined to end Ven-
Administration. ers had vehicles and heavy from running. might have been a clash ezuela's socialist govern-
Authorities said they found arms waiting for them in the The United States has led a between security forces ment to exploit the South
Peruvian documents, high- port city. campaign to oust Maduro, on Sunday and suggested American nation's vast
caliber weapons, satellite Venezuela has been in a increasing pressure in re- Maduro's government cre- underground oil reserves.
phones, uniforms and hel- deepening political and cent weeks by indicting the ated the story of a plot to Maduro remains in power,
mets adorned with the U.S. economic crisis in recent socialist leader as a nar- justify "repression against backed by the military and
flag. years under Maduro's rule. cotrafficker and offering the interim government iwith nternational support
Interior Minister Nestor Crumbling public services a $15 million reward for his and any Venezuelan who from Cuba, Russia, China
Reverol described the at- such as running water, arrest. The U.S. also has in- opposes the dictatorship." and Iran.

North and South Korean troops exchange fire along border

By HYUNG-JIN KIM South Korea responded tinue examining whether
Associated Press with a total of 20 rounds of there was any motivation
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) warning shots on two oc- for the action, a South Ko-
— North and South Kore- casions before issuing a rean defense official said.
an troops exchanged fire warning broadcast, it said. He spoke on condition of
along their tense border South Korea suffered no anonymity, citing depart-
on Sunday, the South's mili- casualties, the military ment rules.
tary said, the first such inci- said. Defense officials said U.S. Secretary of State
dent since the rivals took it's also unlikely that North Mike Pompeo also said it
unprecedented steps to Korea had any casualties, was believed that North
lower front-line animosities since the South Korean Korea's firing was not inten-
in late 2018. warning shots were fired at tional. Farming activities
Violent confrontations uninhibited North Korean around the North Korean
have occasionally oc- territory. The North's offi- area where the firing oc-
curred along the border, cial Korean Central News curred continued through-
the world's most heav- People in a park wearing masks watch news broadcasted Agency, or KCNA, did not out Sunday and North
ily fortified. While Sunday's on a giant screen showing leader Kim Jong Un attending the immediately report about Korea's military didn't dis-
incident is a reminder of opening ceremony of the Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory the incident. play any other suspicious
persistent tensions, it didn't Saturday, May, 2nd. 2020, in Pyongyang, North Korea. A preliminary South Korean activities after the gunfire,
cause any known casual- Associated Press. analysis showed that North the South Korean defense
ties on either side and is The Joint Chiefs of Staff in fired several bullets at a Korea's firing was probably official said. He said there
unlikely to escalate, ob- Seoul said in a statement South Korean guard post not a calculated provoca- was thick fog in the area at
servers said. that North Korean troops inside the border zone. tion, though Seoul will con- the time of the incident.q