Mercenary says U.S. behind Venezuela coup attempt
‘Confession’ tells of plot to kidnap Maduro
• An alleged U. S. mercenary captured in Venezuela said he was part of a plan ordered by U. S. President Donald Trump to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
In an apparent confession on state television, Luke Denman, who was arrested with other alleged mercenaries when their boat tried to land on Venezuela’s coast, said he had been sent by Trump from Colombia to secure an airport to fly Maduro to the United States.
Venezuelan authorities on Monday arrested Denman, another U. S. citizen Airan Berry, and 11 other “terrorists” in what Maduro has called a failed plot coordinated with Washington to enter the country via the Caribbean coast and oust him.
In a separate televised address after the Denman video, Maduro said President Trump was behind the alleged plot to oust him, and ordered the U. S. nationals to be tried in Venezuela.
In the video broadcast Denman admitted his role in the alleged plot.
Denman said his mission was to secure the airport and establish outer security, though it was unclear how they planned to get Maduro on a plane.
“I was helping Venezuelans take back control of their country,” he told an interviewer hidden from the camera.
Denman said he and Berry were contracted by Jordan Goudreau, an American military veteran, reportedly born in Canada, who leads a Florida- based security company called Silvercorp, to train about 50 Venezuelans in Colombia in January for the operation. Goudreau supplied the group with equipment, Denman said.
Venezuelan authorities said they arrested the group by the coastal town of Chuao, about 60 kilometres west of Caracas’ airport, after locals raised suspicions.
The veracity of Denman’s comments is unclear, as were the conditions under which the video had been made.
Denman is being held by the Venezuelan authorities.
The man accused of leading the failed Venezuela coup had provided security for Trump, it was reported Wednesday, as the U. S. administration sought to distance itself from the plot.
Goudreau, 43, a former American special forces soldier, can allegedly be seen in footage with an earpiece at one of the president’s rallies in Charlotte, North Carolina, in October 2018.
On Sunday, his Florida- based private security firm, Silvercorp, tweeted that a strike force was invading Venezuela, “tagging” Maduro in the message.
Trump has denied volvement.
In March, the U. S. Department of Justice charged Maduro and a dozen other current and former Vene
inzuelan officials with “narcoterrorism” and the Trump administration offered a reward of $15 million for information leading to his arrest.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the U. S. government would use “every tool” to secure the Americans return, if they were being held in Venezuela.