Venezuela will try two Americans allegedly captured during a failed bid by mercenaries to invade the country, President Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday, as the US vowed to "use every tool available" to bring them home.

Venezuela announced Monday that it had arrested the two former US special forces soldiers on suspicion of trying to topple Maduro in an operation supported by the US-backed opposition.

"They are convicts, confessed, caught red-handed and are being judged by the republic's attorney general, by Venezuela's civil courts, and the process will be full of guarantees and fair," said Maduro.

The leader of the crisis-wracked South American country insisted the Americans, identified as Luke Denman and Airan Berry, were being "well treated, with respect."

Maduro showed the passports of Denman, 34, and Berry, 41, on state television. The US army has confirmed they were former members of the Green Berets who were deployed to Iraq.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the government would "use every tool that we have available to try to get them back."

US President Donald Trump had denied any involvement by his administration with the mission, and Washington accused Maduro of launching a "disinformation campaign."

Russia, a close ally of Maduro's, hit out at Trump on Wednesday and described his denials as "unconvincing."

Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab said Monday that opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is backed by the US and more than 50 countries, had signed a $212 million contract with "hired mercenaries" using funds seized by the United States from the state oil company PDVSA.

Denman and Berry are among 17 people arrested for allegedly being part of an invasion force that was intercepted early Sunday just off the coast, about 40 minutes from the capital Caracas.

Another eight alleged attackers were killed.

"They have confessed their guilt, they broke international law, they broke Venezuelan law," Maduro said.

"They're in the hands of justice now and we guarantee there will be justice in this case with these two Americans and with the rest of the mercenaries, and that the truth will come out."

- Bay of Pigs 'remake' -

The president repeated his accusation that Trump was directly behind the attack, claiming he contracted with a former US army medic, Jordan Goudreau, to train the mercenary force.

"President Donald Trump is the direct leader of the whole incursion," said Maduro, who showed a video in which Denman confesses he was hired by Goudreau for the mission, which first aimed to take control of the international airport in Caracas.

Maduro described the raid as a "remake" of the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, when Cuban exiles covertly financed and directed by the US government attempted to overthrow then Cuba leader Fidel Castro.

Pompeo mocked Maduro's claims, saying that if the United States "had been involved, it would have gone differently."

Canadian-born Goudreau, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, has admitted the existence of the operation in a video, and claims the private security firm he runs, Silvercorp USA, was contracted by Venezuela's opposition.

He told The Washington Post that he hired Denman and Berry as "supervisors" and had known them for years.

In the video, Goudreau shows what he claims is a contract signed by Guaido, whose press team subsequently denied having any agreements with private security firms.

Maduro -- who has also accused the president of neighboring Colombia, Ivan Duque, of involvement -- said he would ask the United States to extradite Goudreau.

The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that "all options are on the table" when discussing possible measures to help Guaido force Maduro from office.

Washington has also ramped up sanctions against Maduro, top members of his government, and PDVSA.

Venezuela, which is almost entirely dependent on its oil revenues, is reeling from six years of recession, with millions of people facing a shortage of basic necessities.

Poverty has soared while around five million people have fled the country, according to United Nations figures.

Pompeo says US to use 'every tool' to free Americans in Venezuela
Washington (AFP) May 6, 2020 - The United States will use all options to free two Americans said to be detained in a failed mercenary attack in Venezuela, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday.

"If the Maduro regime decides to hold them, we will use every tool that we have available to try to get them back," Pompeo told reporters.

He reiterated President Donald Trump's denial of US involvement, quipping: "If we had been involved, it would have gone differently."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the United States has been seeking to topple for more than a year, on Monday displayed the passports of two Americans he said were arrested in a plot to bring him down.

While it was unclear where they were detained, Venezuelan officials earlier said they had foiled an attempted landing by mercenaries on a beach near Caracas in which eight people were killed.

Maduro tried to tie the alleged plot to Juan Guaido -- the opposition leader considered interim president by the United States and some 60 other countries.

Venezuelan officials said that Guaido had a $212 million contract with a Florida-based security firm founded by former US special forces soldier Jordan Goudreau, who has openly said he is working to oust Maduro.

Guaido denied the contract and Pompeo declined comment.

"As for who bank-rolled it, we're not prepared to share any more information about what we know," Pompeo said.

The State Department earlier dismissed Maduro's account as "melodrama" and accused him of concocting details to deflect from mounting troubles at home.

US denial over Venezuela alleged plot 'unconvincing': Moscow
Moscow (AFP) May 6, 2020 - The Russian foreign ministry said Wednesday that it found Washington's denial of being involved in an alleged mercenary attack in Venezuela "unconvincing."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appeared on state television on Monday showing the US passports of two men he said were captured during a failed sea attack by mercenaries.

US President Donald Trump had told reporters on Tuesday: "It has nothing to do with our government."

In a statement, the Russian ministry said that "Washington's statements that 'the US government has nothing to do with what happened in Venezuela over the last few days' sound unconvincing."

It pointed to earlier warnings by Trump's administration that "all options" are on the table, implying the possibility of military action.

Russia supports Maduro, whom the United States has been unsuccessfully trying to topple for more than a year.

The US and some 60 other countries consider opposition leader Juan Guaido to be the interim president.

Maduro said Wednesday the two Americans would be tried in Venezuela.

The Russian ministry said "the actions of the mercenaries deserve unequivocal and decisive condemnation," especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

"There should be no place on Venezuelan soil for mercenaries sent from elsewhere," the ministry said.

It pointed to Venezuela's claim that the captured men are linked to US special forces.

It condemned "certain countries" for their "political tunnel vision and obsession with removing the lawful president of Venezuela from power."

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Venezuela says it foiled an incursion by 'mercenaries'
Caracas (AFP) May 4, 2020
Venezuela's leftist government said Sunday it foiled an incursion from the sea, killing eight members of a group of alleged mercenaries bent on "terrorist acts" aimed at overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro. Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said the group, which he said originated in Colombia, tried to land aboard fast boats before dawn in the northern coastal state of La Guaira but were intercepted by the military and special police units. "Thanks to the opportune, effective action of our Boli ... read more