VENEZUELAN opposition figure Juan Guaido’s United States-based advisers have quit in the fallout of the latest bungled coup attempt, his press team acknowledged on Monday.

Mr Guaido, who continues to deny involvement in the plot against the Venezuelan government, thanked Juan Rendon and exiled legislator Sergio Vergara for their “dedication and commitment to Venezuela” but did not give a reason for their departure.

The pair were part of Mr Guaido’s so-called strategic committee, which was established in 2016 to explore ways to topple the democratically elected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Mr Rendon, who was granted political asylum in the US in 2016, had been Mr Guaido’s official spokesman and attended White House events in an official capacity.

Washington recognises Mr Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela, using him as a proxy for numerous failed coup attempts since last year.

Mr Rendon has admitted to negotiating with US private-security company Silvercorp and making a $50,000 [£40,600] advance payment to former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau, who carried out the coup attempt, to cover expenses.

He insisted that the talks were only exploratory and claimed to have cut ties with Mr Goudreau in November 2019. 

But the leaked Silvercorp contract cites the removal of Mr Maduro as one of its stated aims and was signed by both Mr Rendon and Mr Vergara.

Mr Guaido’s press team said that the pair “ratified their support for the democratic cause … and called for all national and international sectors to reinforce their support for the interim president.”

They denied knowledge of the coup attempt, dubbed Operation Gideon, and said that the strategic commission was not interested in “participating in violent activities.”

Venezuelan chief prosecutor Tarek Saab confirmed that his office had requested the extradition of Mr Goudreau, Mr Rendon and Mr Vergara for their role in the “design, financing and execution” of the plan.