A Venezuelan court has sentenced two former United States Army Special Forces soldiers to twenty years in prison for participating in a failed coup attempt to overthrow incumbent President Nicolás Maduro. They were charged with conspiracy, trafficking in illegal arms, and terrorism.
Both Luke Denman and Airan Berry admitted to their part in the unsuccessful May 4 mission, labelled “Operation Gideon”. The operation was launched from the neighboring country of Colombia, and led to the death of eight operatives and the arrest of 66 others. Former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau, the CEO of US-based security firm Silvercorp, took responsibility for Operation Gideon. In fact, Goudreau himself is being investigated in the US for arms trafficking.
The lawyer of Denman and Berry, Alonso Medina Roa, alleges that the judge presiding over the case, Máximo Marquez, has denied the two Americans their constitutional rights to a defense by preventing Roa from meeting or even speaking with his clients.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said that they would now proceed with delivering verdicts for the 66 other co-conspirators who were arrested alongside Denman and Berry.
While the US State Department made no comment on these latest developments, various officials in the US government have worked to secure the release of the former Green Berets. In fact, last month, former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson met with Maduro in Caracas to secure their release, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, too, has previously called for them to be returned to the US. Richardson said at the time: “Luke Denman and Airan Berry are American citizens and military veterans who deserve our support.” He added, “We will continue our dialogue with the Venezuelans to try to find a way to bring them back home to their families.”
However, after the meeting, he said, “I think I caught him on a bad day, when he was airing a lot of grievances. was optimistic in the beginning. We had an hour-and-a-half meeting with Maduro … It was very cordial, very friendly, but he wouldn’t budge.”
US authorities are simultaneously trying to negotiate the release of six jailed American executives of the Houston-based oil company Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned business. After being lured to Caracas under the false pretenses of doing business, the “Citgo 6” were then arrested on corruption charges.
In May, Venezuelan Communication Minister Jorge Rodriguez alleged that opposition leader Juan Guaidó hired mercenaries to overthrow Maduro. He offered the contract Guaidó signed with US private security company Silvercorp as proof of his complicity.
In fact, Silvercorp CEO Goudreau claims that he signed a $212 million contract with Guaidó to “capture–but not kill” Maduro. He alleges that Guaidó had only sent him US$50,000 through political consultant Juan Jose Rendon, and thus he chose to go it alone without approval from Guaidó’s side.
At the time, Guaidó, who is recognized by almost 60 countries—including the US—as the interim president, countered that the incident was a “set up” orchestrated by the regime, and insists that he has no relationship with “any company in the security and defense branch”. However, less than a week later, Guaidó accepted the resignation of Juan Rendon, a United States-based adviser, and Sergio Vergara, an exiled legislator and a staffer on Guaidó’s “crisis strategy commission”, for their role in the failed coup d’état. Rendon admitted that he gave Goudreau $50,000 for initial expenses.
It remains unclear why Goudreau went ahead with Operation Gideon when Guaidó never fulfilled his financial obligations of the contract they signed. However, despite Maduro’s suggestions otherwise, US President Donald Trump has denied the involvement of the US government.
Venezuela Sentences ex-US Special Forces Soldiers to Twenty Years For Role in Failed Coup
Both Luke Denman and Airan Berry admitted to their part in the unsuccessful May 4 mission.
August 10, 2020
IMAGE SOURCE: VENEZUELAN PRESIDENCY VIA AFPVenezuelan President Nicolás Maduro