CARACAS, Aug 11: President Hugo Chavez said on Friday that a US “mercenary” arrested for entering Venezuela illegally confessed to having served in the Marines and had been to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US State Department earlier said it had not been informed about the arrest of any US citizen in Venezuela but that Caracas should “uphold its obligations” and allow consular staff to meet with the detainee if he is indeed an American. A day after saying said the man of Latino descent appeared to be a “mercenary,” Chavez told reporters he had “confessed” to having served in the US Marines.

“He confessed to having been a Marine. He said he had served in the Marines, (but) he refuses to cooperate,” Chavez said.—AFP