A retired Venezuelan army general says U.S. officials at the highest levels of the CIA and other federal agencies were aware of his efforts to oust Nicolás Maduro — a role he says should immediately debunk criminal charges that he worked alongside the socialist leader to flood the U.S. with cocaine.The stunning accusation came in a court filing late Friday by attorneys for Cliver Alcalá seeking to have thrown out narcoterrorist charges filed nearly two years ago by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. BY Joshua Goodman. Full Text -> TorontoCityNews

TRaducción de cortesía -> Un general retirado del ejército venezolano dice que los funcionarios estadounidenses en los niveles más altos de la CIA y otras agencias federales estaban al tanto de sus esfuerzos para derrocar a Nicolás Maduro, un papel que, según él, debería desacreditar de inmediato los cargos criminales que trabajó junto al líder socialista para inundar los EE. UU. con cocaína.La asombrosa acusación se produjo en una presentación judicial presentada el viernes por la noche por los abogados de Cliver Alcalá que buscaban desestimar los cargos de narcoterrorista presentados hace casi dos años por los fiscales federales en Manhattan.To translate into Spanish -> Google Translación

Prosecutors in Colombia said Álvarez helped smuggle weapons to the volunteer army. But she claims she’s being made the scapegoat for the sins of others, including U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who distanced himself from the self-declared freedom fighters. Last month, her attorney asked prosecutors to add Guaidó as a co-conspirator in the case.FullText-> NBCNews

Two of the men, Maj. Juvenal Sequea and Capt. Juven Sequea, are the older brothers of the confessed commander of the failed May 3 incursion, Capt. Antonio Sequea, who is jailed in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. The third, Rayder Ruso, is a civilian who has long sought Maduro’s armed overthrow. By Joshua Goodman. Full Text-> Yahoo! News

“Said gentlemen ADMITTED to having committed the crimes,” he wrote, adding that the trials were ongoing for dozens of others captured. Denman and Berry were charged with conspiracy, terrorism and illicit weapons trafficking, Saab wrote. Alfonso Medina, a lawyer for the two, said their legal team was not allowed into the courtroom. The two men were not available for comment. Full Text-> WIONEws

 Federal prosecutors suggested on Monday that they will seek the death penalty against one of two men accused in the shooting deaths of a Florida couple so they could finance a trip to Venezuela to fight the socialist government. Full Text -> StarTribune

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said he met with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday but was unable to win the release of several Americans jailed in the South American nation. Richardson said he and Maduro talked about the potential release of American prisoners as well as coronavirus humanitarian issues. Full Text-> Yahoo!News

-Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson plans to travel this week to Venezuela to urge President Nicolas Maduro to free several jailed Americans as a goodwill gesture aimed at easing tensions with the U.S. The Richardson Center, which seeks freedom for Americans held by hostile foreign governments and criminal organizations, announced Monday the planned meeting with Maduro on social media. By Joshua Goodman. Full Text -> North West Arkansas Gazette

The politically influential mentor of U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó was behind a monthslong effort to contract mercenaries to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, according to several people involved in the planning. Leopoldo López, founder of Mr. Guaidó’s former political party, and other allies considered at least six proposals from private security contractors to carry out military incursions to spur a rebellion in Venezuela’s armed forces and topple the authoritarian president, these… Original Text-> The Wall Street Journal

A complete but flawed article can be found at Full Text -> APKMetropolitanNews

To get there, Goudreau and two former Green Beret buddies relied on some unusual help: a chartered flight out of Miami’s Opa Locka executive airport on a plane owned by a Venezuelan businessman so close to the government of the late Hugo Chávez that he spent almost four years in a U.S. prison for trying to cover up clandestine cash payments to its allies. By Joshua Goodman. Full Text->  Stars&Stripes

His statements perfectly illustrate the cardinal sin of the Trump administration’s Venezuela policy: the White House has consistently deluded hardline elements of the Venezuelan opposition with the possibility of a quick and easy military solution. Some in the administration say these threats, while obviously hollow, are part of a larger “psy-op” campaign to keep Maduro guessing. Others in the opposition insist they are essential to threatening the Venezuelan military into jumping ship. By Geoff Ramsey. Full Text -> Responsible Statecraft