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Laos 'coup plot' uncovered in US |
US prosecutors have charged nine people with plotting a coup in
Laos, in a conspiracy to murder thousands.
The suspects were seized in dawn raids across California following
a six-month covert investigation by US police. Officials say the
detained ringleaders include Gen Vang Pao, a prominent member of
the ethnic Hmong group who emigrated to the US in the 1970s. As a
Laotian general, he led CIA-backed forces that fought communist
guerrillas before they seized power in 1975.
The accused allegedly conspired to buy hundreds of machine-guns,
rockets and explosives from US federal agents who were working
undercover as arms dealers. They are said to have sought to spend
millions of dollars on weapons to carry out attacks. Prosecutors
said the coup leaders planned to blow up government buildings and
kill "thousands of people". The "Hmong insurgency planned to use
AK-47 automatic rifles, Stinger missiles, LAW rockets, anti-tank
rockets and other arms and munitions to topple [the] Lao government
and reduce government buildings in Vientiane to rubble," a public
prosecutor in California said in a statement. Laos Foreign Ministry
spokesman Yong Chanhthalansy said it was "great news" for Laos. "We
hope the United States will prosecute them strictly under the
Patriot Act and punish the violators of the law severely," he told
the Reuters news agency. Mr Yong said he hoped the development
would improve relations with neighbouring Thailand, whom Vientiane
has suspected of turning a blind eye to Hmong militant activity
within its borders. "I am sure that such vigorous investigation
will lead to the uprooting of the network of the villains who have
caused the most difficulty in bilateral relations between the Lao
and Thai governments," he said. The defendants could face life in
prison if found guilty. A 10th person was arrested but has not been
charged.
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