Venezuela ex-general pleads guilty to US charges of helping FARC

FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro leaves Itamaraty Palace after a meeting with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in Brasilia, Brazil, May 29, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - - A retired Venezuelan general who says he was involved in a plot to oust President Nicolas Maduro has pleaded guilty to U.S. charges of assisting Colombia's FARC rebel group, court records showed on Friday.

Cliver Alcala had been set to go on trial in federal court in Manhattan starting July 10 on charges he and other senior Venezuelan government officials - including Maduro - conspired with the FARC to ship cocaine to the United States.