US convicts 'suitcase cash' man
 Mr Duran's lawyer has vowed to appeal the conviction |
An US court has convicted a Venezuelan businessman over an alleged Venezuelan government plot to influence last year's Argentine presidential election.
Franklin Duran, 41, acted as an illegal foreign agent in the US.
The US says Mr Duran went to Miami to silence a man who smuggled an $800,000 (£500,000) campaign donation from Venezuela to the Argentine president.
The Venezuelan and Argentine presidents have rejected the charges, saying the trial was politically motivated.
Jurors deliberated for seven days, at one point indicating they were hopelessly deadlocked, before handing down a conviction.
Mr Duran faces up to 15 years in prison and will appear before a Miami court on 12 January for sentencing.
Mr Duran's attorney Ed Shohat said his client was entrapped by the FBI and vowed to appeal.
He called the eight-week trial "a political circus" orchestrated by the US to embarrass Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his allies.
The alleged plot first came to light when Guido Antonini Wilson, a Venezuelan-American businessman based in Florida, was stopped in August 2007 as he tried to enter Argentina carrying $800,000 in a suitcase.
 Mr Antonini says he did not know he was carrying the money |
Mr Antonini was not charged with any crime and returned home to Florida, where he agreed to co-operate with US investigators in an operation that led to Mr Duran's arrest.
Prosecutors said the evidence clearly showed that Mr Duran had come to Miami to cover up the source of the suitcase cash at the request of the Venezuelan intelligence service.
They say the money was intended as a campaign contribution from Mr Chavez's government to Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who was elected Argentine president in October that year.* * * *
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Terrorists wearing POLICE BADGES
End, across the board police misconduct and brutality. Everyone, even the US President, should be accountable.
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The Top Forgotten CIA Agent
Top honors needed for top CIA Operative. Top agent's daughter's main mission is to prosecute George W. Bush for murder in Vermont.
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My break with George W. Bush (1 comments)
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