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A protestor wrapped in a Venezuelan flag participates in a Hands Off Venezuela protest in London, January 29, 2019.
In the early hours of May 3, and then again on May 4, heavily armed mercenaries on speedboats attempted to enter Venezuela from Colombia. They were confronted by the Venezuelan armed forces, militia, police and local fisherman.
Eight were killed in an ensuing shootout, while the others were arrested. Among those detained were two former United States Army Green Berets. Isolated pockets of the nearly 300 army deserters are still being rounded up at the time of writing.
One of the leaders of the failed coup attempt is Canadian-born Jordan Goudreau, a former US Marine who heads up a private Florida-based security firm called Silvercorps USA. While he did not participate directly in the raid, he did leave behind
a video recorded in Colombia in which he and his Venezuelan military partner, ex-Venezuelan National Guard officer Javier Nieto, take credit for the attempted coup. The other two Americans captured also testified to their involvement.
The confessions lead us through a labyrinth of corruption and shady deals, from Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó all the way up to Donald Trump.
The goal of the coup plotters was the capture and arrest of President Nicolás Maduro. A contract signed by Goudreau, Guaidó and his advisors including exiled lawmaker Sergio Vergara and Juan José Rendon confirm in black and white the plan to overthrow the Venezuelan government. Maduro has blamed Trump and the Colombian government for the chaos, but the US has so far
denied any involvement.
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