Federal investigators say they have uncovered the DNA of a former U.S. Green Beret on some of the 60 automatic weapons he allegedly smuggled from Florida to South America as part of a failed 2020 coup attempt against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Federal investigators say they found the DNA of a decorated former U.S. Green Beret on some of the 60 automatic weapons he allegedly smuggled from Florida to South America as part of a failed 2020 coup attempt against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The plot, exposed by The Associated Press two days before the incursion, was carried out by a ragtag group of Venezuelan army deserters whom Goudreau allegedly helped arm and train in neighboring Colombia. Goudreau later claimed responsibility for the putsch, but said he was acting in concert with the Venezuelan opposition to protect democracy. He also said he was in touch with then-President Donald Trump’s administration, which made no secret of its desire to see Maduro gone, even though there’s no evidence U.S. officials blessed the invasion.

  • TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    586·
    4 months ago

    To be clear this is the 2020 US-backed attempted coup in Venezuela, not the 2024 not-yet-confirmed US-backed attempted coup in Venezuela, right?

    • DancingBear
      81·
      3 months ago

      This is one of the previous coups, I think number 13 or 14, but it might be 12

    • ephemeral_gibbon@aussie.zone
      45·
      3 months ago

      I think the current thing is quite likely an organic uprising. Things have been very very broken in Venezuela for a while now and the people there aren’t happy. Lots of people have been fleeing to Colombia for a while now and there are solid signs the election results were made up.