Venezuela says it deported alleged French agent
CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuelan authorities said Saturday that they had deported a man they described as a French intelligence agent who was jailed for alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate President Hugo Chavez.
The minister of prisons, Iris Varela, announced the expulsion of Frederic Laurent Bouquet in a Twitter message Saturday.
Varela said Bouquet was arrested on June 18, 2009, and confessed that he came to Venezuela to assassinate Chavez. She said he was caught with weapons.
She offered no other details on the case. It was unclear if the man was ever formally charged.
Varela did not say where Bouquet was being sent. She said only that he was being deported under a law that allows the government to expel anyone who threatens Venezuela's security.
A photo that accompanied Varela's tweet showed a handcuffed man wearing a bullet-proof vest and being escorted by police.
Officials at the ministry of prisons did not return phone calls asking for further comment on the announcement.
Nobody answered the phone at the French Embassy in Caracas.
Popular on CBSNews.com
- Man dead in "truly shocking" London attack 154 Comments
- Mexican volcano on verge of eruption 15 Photos
- N. Korea sends top envoy to China as tensions mount
- People cling to car in "sidewalk skiing" stunt Play Video
- Graphic video: Man dead in "truly shocking" London attack Play Video
- 12 years post-Taliban, Afghan women's rights under fire
- Costa Concordia captain ordered to stand trial
- Volcano's rumbles may signal coming to life Play Video
I fail to see how Chavez would even show up on France's radar for ANYTHING let alone being singled out for an assassination attempt. Sounds like a load of BS to me. Nothing more than poor Chavez, liberator of the people, playing the victim to the masses in some make believe story of a western country threatening his life. Oh, and see how nice and benevolent Chavez was to someone that was suppose to kill him? Just let him go. Please.