US veteran, associated with failed Venezuela coup, is arrested

Jordan Goudreau is a U.S. military veteran associated with the failed attempt to overthrow Nicolás Maduro. Together with Yacsy Alvarez, Goudreau ended up being charged with violating US arms control laws. Goudreau and Alvarez assembled weapons, gathered them with other associated items needed for the coup, and then shipped them to Columbia.

From Associated Press:

A federal indictment unsealed this week in Tampa, Florida, accuses Jordan Goudreau and a Venezuelan partner, Yacsy Alvarez, of violating U.S. arms control laws when they allegedly assembled and sent to Colombia AR-styled weapons, ammunition, silencers, night vision goggles and other defense equipment requiring a U.S. export license.

Goudreau, 48, also was charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods from the United States and unlawful possession of a machine gun, among 14 counts. Goudreau appeared in federal court following his Tuesday arrest in Manhattan but it was not clear a day later whether he would be released from custody pending trial. He was being held at a federal detention center in Brooklyn.

Goudreau, a three-time Bronze Star recipient for bravery in Iraq and Afghanistan, claimed responsibility in 2020 for the amphibious raid by a ragtag group of soldiers that had trained in clandestine camps in Venezuela’s neighbor Colombia. He said he and others were acting to protect Venezuela’s democracy after Maduro’s 2018 reelection was boycotted by the opposition and condemned as undemocratic by the U.S. and dozens of other countries.

Additional Reading:

Goodman, J., Mustian, J., & Tucker, E. (2024, August 1). US arrests a former Green Beret over the failed 2020 raid into Venezuela to remove Maduro. Associated Press. Link.

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