10 Arrested in Laos Takeover Scheme

Plotters led by former Laotian general and US military officer
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 5, 2007 4:43 AM CDT
10 Arrested in Laos Takeover Scheme
'   (Associated Press)

Ten suspects were arrested in six Californian cities today for conspiring to overthrow the government of Laos. The plotters included a former general in the Laotian army and a former US military officer who was a covert operative during the Vietnam War, the AP reports. Most of the group were Hmong, an ethnic minority who supported the US during the war.

An undercover agent foiled the scheme, posing as an arms dealer and leading the suspects to believe he would supply them with explosives, missiles, rockets, and mines, which one conspirator  said were to be used to blow up government buildings in Laos. Many Hmong emigrated to the US after Laos became Communist in 1975. (More Laos stories.)

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