Prosecutors: US veteran lived as fugitive after trying to overthrow Maduro

A U.S. military veteran responsible for a failed attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in 2020 is expected to be held on weapons trafficking charges, reflecting his history of online research on how to be a “successful fugitive,” federal prosecutors said Wednesday (7).

Jordan Goudreau was arrested in New York last week, accused of violating U.S. gun control laws by shipping weapons to Colombia for a May 3, 2020, seaborne invasion aimed at overthrowing Nicolás Maduro, a Venezuelan leader considered an adversary of the United States.

Prosecutors in Tampa, Florida, where the charges were filed, asked District Judge Virginia Covington to keep Goudreau in pretrial detention because they believe he poses a flight risk.

They cited Google searches Goudreau made shortly after the raid, including “how to escape and stay hidden from authorities,” “what happens if I run from the law” and “how do you prove gun smuggling.”

Federal prosecutors believe Goudreau subsequently traveled to Mexico and back, without using normal channels that could have alerted authorities to his whereabouts.

“He did not flee, nor did he attempt to prevent his arrest or detention. He is not a risk or a danger,” his attorney Hannah McCrea said by phone.

Goudreau, a special forces veteran who ran the security firm Silvercorp USA, claimed responsibility for the botched attack organized by Venezuelan exiles and U.S. military veterans, although he himself did not take part in the attack.

The botched operation left eight people dead and more than a dozen people arrested in Venezuela, including Luke Denman and Airan Berry, former members of the US Army Special Forces.

Goudreau’s DNA was recovered from two rifles seized by Colombian authorities in 2020, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Denman and Berry returned to the United States in December as part of a prisoner swap in exchange for Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman and Maduro ally.