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.
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