Venezuela detains US citizens

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Saturday his government had detained US citizens, including a pilot, on suspicion of espionage, in a move likely to strain already tense relations between Washington and Caracas.

Maduro also said his government would order a reduction in the number of US embassy staff in Caracas and prohibit some US officials from entering Venezuela in retaliation for a similar US measure last year. Venezuela would also require US citizens to obtain visas before visiting, he told a rally.

The Venezuelan president has renewed accusations in recent weeks that the US is seeking to topple him. Maduro's political opponents at home call this a smokescreen aimed at distracting from an increasingly severe economic crisis in the oil-exporting nation.