Venezuelan man pleads guilty in spy case

MIAMI, March 3 (UPI) -- A Venezuelan man pleaded guilty Monday to espionage in a scheme to send $800,000 from the Venezuelan government to Argentina.

Carlos Kauffmann could get up to five years in prison for his role in the scheme to send the money to then-Argentine presidential candidate Cristina Kirchner on behalf of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, The Miami Herald reported online.

Kauffmann, 35, is expected to testify against four other defendants in exchange for a lighter sentence, the newspaper said.

Kirchner, the wife of her presidential predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, has denied any involvement with the alleged payment to her campaign made on behalf of Chavez, a fellow leftist leader.

Antonini Wilson, a dual Venezuelan and U.S. citizen who lives in Miami, was arrested in Argentina in September when authorities discovered the cash in his possession.