U.S. Veteran Charged Over Failed Venezuela Incursion

Jordan Goudreau, a U.S. military veteran, has been charged with violating U.S. arms export laws by conspiring to ship weapons for a failed 2020 incursion aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Goudreau and co-conspirator Yacsy Alvarez face charges related to this plan, according to federal prosecutors.

Jordan Goudreau, a 48-year-old U.S. military veteran, has been indicted in federal court in Tampa, Florida, for allegedly violating U.S. arms export control laws. The indictment claims that Goudreau conspired to send firearms and military equipment to Colombia without the necessary U.S. export licenses, with the intention of using them in a failed May 2020 armed incursion to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Goudreau, who was apprehended in New York and is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, reportedly managed a Florida-based security firm named Silvercorp USA. He has been accused of purchasing weapon parts and transporting them to Colombia via his co-conspirator, Yacsy Alvarez, a Venezuelan citizen residing in Colombia, who was also arrested. Alvarez has pleaded not guilty.

The unsuccessful raid resulted in eight casualties and multiple apprehensions, including former U.S. Green Berets Luke Denman and Airan Berry. In May 2020, Denman stated on Venezuelan state television that they had been recruited by Goudreau for the operation. Prosecutors claim Alvarez further facilitated the operation by organizing training sessions and transporting the illicit equipment seized by Colombian police.