Alleged plot to stage coup fails in Venezuela
Mission led by Canadian-born mercenary
CARACAS, Venezuela • A former U. S. special forces soldier took responsibility for what he claimed was an attack Sunday aimed at overthrowing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which the socialist government said ended with 10 people being captured or killed.
The comments from Jordan Goudreau, who The Associated Press reported was born in Canada, came in an interview with an exiled Venezuelan journalist and capped a bizarre day that started with reports of a predawn amphibious raid near the South American country’s heavily guarded capital, the wire service reported.
Maduro’s government said it had thwarted an “invasion” off its Caribbean coast, saying its intelligence forces had uncovered a plot, ambushed the attackers and captured or killed 10.
But later Sunday, former U. S. Green Beret Goudreau and former Venezuelan National Guard officer Javier Nieto Quintero released a video announcing the start of “Operation Gideon,” which they described as an effort to capture senior members of Maduro’s government, and calling on Venezuelan soldiers to join them.
The Associated Press has reported that Goudreau, 43, is a veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who runs a security firm in Florida, where both Goudreau and Nieto Quintero live.
Goudreau said by telephone late Sunday that the operation involved 60 troops, including two former U.S. Special Forces members, who had spirited into Venezuela by land and sea. Some, he said, had already engaged Maduro’s forces. None of his claims could be immediately verified.
Goudreau said he had sought U. S. government backing for the effort but was unsuccessful. He claimed that he had discussed cooperation with the mainstream Venezuelan opposition but that the opposition pulled out.
The mainstream Venezuelan opposition, led by Juan Guaidó — who is recognized as the nation’s leader by Canada, the U. S. and more than 50 other countries — denied any links to the La Guaira incursion, and questioned the veracity of the government’s account.
U. S. officials also expressed skepticism.
“The Maduro regime has been consistent in its use of misinformation in order to shift focus from its mismanagement of Venezuela,” the State Department said.