Venezuela says it deported alleged French agent

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan authorities say they have deported a man they describe as a French intelligence agent who was jailed for alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate President Hugo Chavez.

Prisons minister Iris Varela announced the expulsion of Frederic Laurent Bouquet in a Twitter message Saturday. Varela says Bouquet was arrested on June 18, 2009, and confessed that he came to Venezuela to assassinate Chavez. She says he was caught with weapons.

Varela has offered no other details on the case. It's unclear if the man was ever formally charged.