Caracas, Venezuela ? A military court sentenced three former Venezuelan military officers and 27 Colombians to prison terms ranging from two to nine years Tuesday for an alleged plot to kill President Hugo Chavez, the state news agency reported.

The court also found 73 other Colombians innocent and ordered they be freed from prison, where they have been held for more than 17 months, the state-run Bolivarian News Agency, or ABN, reported.

The freed Colombians arrived Tuesday at the Simon Bolivar border crossing on the outskirts of the Colombian town of Cucuta and were taken by authorities to have their fingerprints and photographs taken.

The cases stem from the May 2004 arrest of 118 Colombians at a ranch outside Caracas. Venezuelan authorities said the Colombians were wearing military uniforms and described them as suspected members of a paramilitary group that was plotting to sow “chaos” in the country and to assassinate Chavez.

Charges were dropped against 18 of the Colombians and they were released days after their capture.

Six Venezuelan military officers, both active and retired, were later arrested on charges of military rebellion linked to the case. Three of them were convicted early Tuesday and sentenced to prison terms between two and nine years, ABN reported. Three other former officers were acquitted while 27 Colombians were sentenced to six years in prison.