US detains military veteran who claimed responsibility for plot to oust Maduro
2024.07.31 14:01
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. military veteran who claimed responsibility for a May 2020 failed armed incursion aimed at ousting socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been arrested, records showed on Wednesday.
Jordan Goudreau, 48, was being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. A criminal case against him was filed in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, court records showed, but further details were not immediately available.
A lawyer for Goudreau could not immediately be reached for comment.
Goudreau, a special forces veteran who ran Florida-based security firm Silvercorp USA, claimed responsibility for a maritime raid launched from Colombia that led to the arrests of two former Green Berets, Luke Denman and Airan Berry.
Denman and Berry were released last year in a prisoner swap, in exchange for an ally of Maduro, Colombian businessman Alex Saab.
Maduro, who has ruled Venezuela since 2013, was declared the winner of a weekend election. But the opposition says its tally shows its candidate received more than double Maduro’s support.
