Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025

Venezuela attack: Former US special forces soldier says he led botched plot to overthrow President Maduro

Jordan Goudreau said he directed the secret military operation with the backing of Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido.

A former US special forces soldier has claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to invade Venezuela in a plot to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro.

Jordan Goudreau, a former Army Green Beret, said he directed the secret military operation with the backing of Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido in the anti-Maduro coup called "Operation Gideon".

Venezuela's government said it had killed at least eight of the attackers and arrested two others from the attack on Sunday involving a group of armed men.

The incident took place in La Guaira, about 20 miles from Caracas, and is understood to have launched from neighbouring Colombia.

"A group of terrorist mercenaries, organised and trained in Colombia, tried to disembark with war material off the coast of La Guaira," a statement released by the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) read.

Socialist party chief Diosdado Cabello said on state television that the attack was carried out by Colombia with US backing in a plot to overthrow Mr Maduro, whose presidency has been under dispute since last year.

Mr Goudreau and Javier Nieto, a retired Venezuela captain, posted a video from an undisclosed location saying they had launched the attack.

An investigation by the Associated Press found that the pair had been working to train dozens of deserting Venezuelan soldiers at secret camps inside Colombia.

The goal was to mount a cross-border raid that would end in Mr Maduro's arrest.

Both men, who live in Florida, declined to speak to journalists on Sunday.

Wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap, Mr Goudreau says in the video: "A daring amphibious raid was launched from the border of Colombia deep into the heart of Caracas".

He stands next to Mr Nieto in the clip, who is dressed in an armoured vest with a rolled-up Venezuelan flag pinned to his shoulder.

Mr Goudreau claimed that cells of his men were still on the ground and activating inside Venezuela, and said he hoped to join the rebels soon.

He also invited Venezuelans and Mr Maduro's troops to join the would-be insurgency.

In an interview with Miami-based journalist Patricia Poleo, Mr Goudreau provided a contradictory account of his activities.

He also spoke about the support he allegedly had - and then lost - from Mr Guaido.

Mr Maduro is believed to have rigged the last elections, and some 60 countries, including the US, now recognise Mr Guaido as Venezuela's interim president.

Mr Goudreau also revealed what he claimed was an eight-page contract signed by Mr Guaido and two political advisers for alleged "general services".

Venezuela's interior minister Nestor Reverol had described the attackers as "mercenary terrorists" who were threatening to destabilise the country's institutions and creating "chaos".

He said the defensive operation was ongoing and there could be further arrests in the coming days.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
×