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. | Seems like everybody selling illegal arms these days is either FBI or ATF |
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. |