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Venezuela has arrested two Americans after an alleged failed armed invasion, according to the Venezuelan president.
Nicolas Maduro said 13 “terrorists” had been detained on Monday in connection with a foiled plot to enter the South American country from the Caribbean coast and ultimately topple him.
Eight people were killed and two arrested during the alleged attempted beach invasion near La Guaira, a northern port city, in the early hours of Sunday, Venezuelan authorities have said.
The group tried to land by speedboats, according to officials.
Mr Maduro, the Venezuelan president, showed what he claimed were the US passports of two American men in custody in a TV address on Monday.
Show all 22 1 /22In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Yelitza Parra poses with her 7-year-old son Alyeiner Moises in Caracas, Venezuela. Alyeiner has been diagnosed with severe bone marrow aplasia and needs constant treatment and transplants, especially of platelets. Derived from his low defenses, he also suffers from Hepatitis C and Cushing's syndrome
Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Alyeiner was diagnosed at the age of four after routine exams at school. "I had to buy the needles to do the hematology for my son," Yelitza said. She wants the government to pay more attention to the precarious situation of children with terminal illnesses
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Ines Zarza poses with her 7-year-old daughter Maria Elena. Maria Elena was diagnosed with severe sickle cell disease after a cerebrovascular accident in 2016
Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Maria Elena has to take medicine, which Ines usually gets through donations. They need $2,600 for another test. "I don't even have money to eat, where I am going to find that amount?" Ines says
Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Rosa Colina poses with her 17-year-old daughter Cristina. Cristina has been diagnosed with major thalassemia, systemic lupus erythematosus and Hepatitis C
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival "It is not easy to stand the criticism of people on the street," Cristina says. "In December last year we were walking and a group of young people approached. I heard one say to the other: 'Look, she has AIDS'. That was devastating for me because I don't have AIDS and I'm not going to give it to anyone," Cristina said
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Jacqueline Sulbarn poses with her 10-year-old son Carlos. Carlos is a survivor of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but must complete two years of treatment to prevent relapse. ALL is a type of blood and bone marrow cancer that leaves the child unprotected from infections
Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Carlos' treatment has had to be interrupted due to his parent's economic problems. "Sometimes he asks me why he does not have hair, and I tell him it's because his dad wants to see him with the same haircut as him. My husband cut off all his hair too," Jaqueline says. According to the US National Library of Medicine, genetic disorders such as Down syndrome are a high risk factor which can lead to developing ALL.
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Elsa Murillo poses with her 16-year-old son Miguel Alejandro. Miguel was diagnosed with beta thalassemia in 2007, a genetic severe anemia that forces the adolescent to undergo red blood cell transfusions every three weeks. His illness could be solved with a bone marrow transplant, for which he is on an emergency waiting list that's not going down
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Despite the added difficulty of living two hours from the capital, the worst part for Elsa is to see her son lose hope: "I get sad when I see that he loses his temper. Sometimes he tells me that he does not want this anymore"
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Evelline Fernandez poses with her 15-year-old daughter Edenny. Edenny was diagnosed with major thalassemia at the age of one. She hes been receiving blood transfusions since she was seven months old
Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival For Eddeny, the most difficult thing is to miss class and her classmates calling her 'chameleon' or 'zombie' because of her skin color, which sometimes changes from her natural tone to yellow. "When she grows up she wants to be a lawyer," says her mother Evelline
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Verioska Martinez poses with her 14-year-old son Jerson. Jerson has severe bone marrow aplasia, and he is one of the children on the list for an urgent transplant
Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival "Here in Venezuela he does not have any chances, and his brother is not compatible [for a transplant]. The government told us that they cannot do anything because they owe so much money," says Martinez. She adds: "My children are my life. They know they are my everything. It's not only me, there are lots of mums who need help"
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Norlisa Aparicio poses with her 16-year-old son Oscar, who has beta thalassemia. "My son's disease manifested at four months old. His bone marrow does not produce red blood cells," Norlisa says. "The illness is more or less manageable but he has been seeking a transplant for 14 years. It is hereditary. I took the risk to have another child in case they could be compatible, but they aren't. My 10-year-old daughter is also a carrier"
Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival "The hardest part for me has been learning how the be a mother under this circumstances," says Norlisa. "We started bringing him to he hospital every 21 days thanks to much sacrifice. He has had severe dengue two times, at nine and at eleven years old. I feel helpless lots of times when I don't know what to do. There is no day that I don't speak about my son's need to get a transplant"
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Zulema Gonzalez poses with her 9-year-old son Juan Manuel. Juan Manuel was diagnosed with anemia when he was six months old, but it turned severe in January 2017 when he suffered a cerebrovascular accident. He suffered another last February.
Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival 'My son needs a transplant because he has blood transfusions every 21 days," Zulema says. "His blood is B+ and this is the only type he can receive. I have had to buy blood but sometimes I just can't get it and he spends a month without a transfusion. There's no congenital blood here because there are no reagents, and the government has not done anything to solve the problem for children with this condition. Untreated blood means they vomit and get diarrhea. I'd do anything for my child's life, I'd go anywhere. I'm not going to let him die; he is my son"
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Adriana Avariano poses with her 6-year-old daughter Mariana. Mariana has been diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and is in the first phase of chemotherapy. The protocol, that should last two years, has been extended due to the suspension of chemotherapy sessions - meanwhile, her cancer cells are reproducing
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival "Thank God we do not need a bone marrow transplant," Adriana said. "The day they tell us that it is necessary we are going to have to leave the country, because it is a lie that they are going to help us here. Many children have already died waiting for that transplant"
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival Geraldine Labrador holds a photo of her late son Robert. Robert died at the age of seven of acute Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a few days before this picture was taken
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In crisis-hit Venezuela, terminally ill children struggle for survival '"Doctors told me he was very sick; one of them said that they had to put tubes in him because if he had respiratory failure they did not have the tools to help him. They stabilized his tension, but he went into a respiratory failure at 5am. For 40 minutes doctors were assisting him, until one came up to me and said: 'I do not want to be the last person to see the last breath of your son; you are the one who deserves to be there.' I went in there willing to give my son strength to resist, but in the midst of despair I told the doctors to leave him alone. I was with him, I kissed him a lot, and I decided to take all the tubes off. He did not deserve to suffer any longer"
Miguel Gutierrez/EPA
The two arrested US citizens were identified as as Luke Denman and Airan Berry, both former US special forces soldiers.
The Venezuelan president said they had been working with Jordan Goudreau, an US military veteran who leads a security company called Silvercorp USA and who has claimed responsibility for the failed plot.
“They were playing Rambo. They were playing hero,” Mr Maduro said, adding that Venezuel a n authorities learned about the plan beforehand.
He blamed the alleged attacks on the Trump administration and neighbouring Colombia — both of which have denied involvement.
The Venezuelan opposition leader has cast doubt on the government’s version of Sunday’s foiled plot, claiming Mr Maduro was trying to distract from recent events, including a deadly prison riot and a violent gang battle in Caracas.
Mr Goudreau — the US veteran who said he had organised the plot in a video on Sunday — claimed he had reached an agreement with the US-backed Juan Guaido to overthrow Mr Maduro.
The opposition leader has denied this allegation and said he had nothing to do with Sunday’s raid.
Mr Goudreau claimed the opposition leader never fulfilled the alleged agreement, but the veteran pushed ahead anyway with an underfunded operation with just 60 fighters, including the two US veterans.
Kay Denman, the mother of one of the detained Americans, said she last heard from her son a few weeks ago to ask how she was during the coronavirus pandemic. She said she had never heard him speak about Venezuela.
The South American country has been in a deepening political and economic crisis under Mr Maduro’s rule.
Crumbling public services such as running water, electricity and medical care have driven nearly five million people to leave the country.
The South American country and the US — which recently charged Mr Maduro with drug trafficking — broke diplomatic ties last year amid heightened tensions.
The US offered a €15m reward in March for information leading to the arrest of Venezuela’s president, who has also been charged with narcoterrorism and weapons offences.
Additional reporting by agencies
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