Venezuela Update

Firn

Active Member
Venezuela is an excellent example for the whole world about just how bad things can become when a totally corrupt regimes destroys the political, economical and social fabric and pretty much every other strand of a society. The higher elements of party and the military are extracting all the dwindling resources out of the captured state and give some crumbs to those hungry which pledge their loyalty and faith for survival.

The first lessons is not to vote for autocrats especially not this lot which just about manages to cling to power but is unable to do anything else.
 

Feanor

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A US private security firm, Silvercorp, based out of Florida announced Operation Gideon, an attempt to enter Venezuela by groups of armed men, including Venezuelan nationals that fled the country, and some former US military personnel. The operation appears to have failed miserably, with 8 dead, and 2 captured, and the Venezuelan government and military on high alert. Allegedly 52 other fighters were involved. Goudreau, head of Silvercorp, claims that Venezuela opposition politician Guiado contracted Silvercorp for this operation, but Guaido denies this. There are unsubstantiated claims that the US DEA was involved in this, possibly due to the drug charges brought against Maduro. It appears that the team in question was so confident of their success, that they carried passports and identification with them including US military ID. There are also allegations that one of the men involved has ties to the Secret Service as of 2018. The exact level of US government involvement, if any, is unclear.

Arrests continue in Venezuela as further accomplices of this attempted coup d'etat are sought.


EDIT: More photos.

 
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swerve

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Seems to have been amazingly amateurish. Goudreau was shown on TV here. He seemed to be trapped in some self-reinforcing wish-fulfilment bubble.
 

Feanor

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Seems to have been amazingly amateurish. Goudreau was shown on TV here. He seemed to be trapped in some self-reinforcing wish-fulfilment bubble.
I would be inclined to write it off as a poorly executed attempt by Venezuelan opposition, but there are former US service members, including one that was spotted as part of Trump's security detail at least at one point. If this was done completely without the knowledge of any US government officials, that's pretty shocking because it means that a US-based private security company is taking steps with state-level international repercussions against another country. If this was done with some knowledge, the question becomes who knew, and how high this went. And Goudreau himself has been seen at the White House.

According to one of the captured Venezuelans, Victor Piminento Salazar, the operation was planned by the US government, and Silvercorps was to train and supply the Venezuelans. Meanwhile Trump denies any US government involvement.


Here's another interesting piece on it, with more details.

 

Sandhi Yudha

Well-Known Member
Seems to have been amazingly amateurish. Goudreau was shown on TV here. He seemed to be trapped in some self-reinforcing wish-fulfilment bubble.
Agree, this is totally amateuristic.
"The Americans, he said, were fellow former Special Forces members he had known for years who had joined the operation as "supervisors." He said he has engaged a lawyer in Venezuela and was reaching out to the State Department to try to secure their release.

The U.S. government "should engage and try to get these guys back," Goudreau said. "They are Americans. They are ex-Green Berets. Come on."


Probably they watch too much Hollywood films, they not only think the operation will become 100% successful, they also just expect that the arrested members will be released easily.
 

ngatimozart

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Looks like it was a pretty Mickey Mouse op with very poor OPSEC when US participants take documentation with them identifying them as US citizens and in some cases as US military personnel. Also exhibs arrogance on part of the command chain and planners, because IF there is any US govt involvement, this denies it any plausible deniability. At the moment I think that thereare two possibilities for responsibility. The first being that the Florida security company was hired by a Venezuelan opposition group. And the second that the Florida security company was hired by a group with links to Trump, but who have little or no idea how to run a clandestine operation. Even the CIA on its worst day wouldn't be so amateurish.
 

Todjaeger

Potstirrer
In respects this brings to mind Operation Red Dog. I do wonder if any of the US citizens might find themselves on the wrong side of the Neutrality Act (1794). That of if there was actual involvement on the part of the US gov't, or IMO more likely certain US citizens/businesses with ties to officials in the US gov't...
 

Volkodav

The Bunker Group
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Probably more an example of a distracted, hollowed out US government, than any deliberate or coordinated action. Could possibly be something like a Black Adder series one, couple of drunken knights over hearing the king part way through a story and acting, thinking they are doing the kings will. Chaos breeds chaos.
 

ngatimozart

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Probably more an example of a distracted, hollowed out US government, than any deliberate or coordinated action. Could possibly be something like a Black Adder series one, couple of drunken knights over hearing the king part way through a story and acting, thinking they are doing the kings will. Chaos breeds chaos.
Baldrick would've come up with a better cunning plan.
 

spoz

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Given the ease with which it was defeated, the possibility that it was a put up job probably can’t be ruled out.
 

ngatimozart

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Given the ease with which it was defeated, the possibility that it was a put up job probably can’t be ruled out.
Are you suggesting a false flag OP run by the Madura govt or the Russians on their behalf? Well it does have possibilities and plausibility.
 

spoz

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Yes, and they do have form, of a sort, for that kind of thing. Possibly not a high probability but certainly a possibility.
 

Feanor

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Arrests continue all around Venezuela. Some of those arrested are deserters from the armed forces, while others are allegedly local collaborators.

Venezuelan air defense shot down a small private jet, that was allegedly being used to smuggle drugs.

There are rumors circulating of Russian special operations soldiers participating in Shark 2020, the operation to counter the attempted coup/invasion.

Maduro is also apparently accusing James Story, the US ambassador to Venezuela, of being involved in this attempt.


Personally I can't help but wonder how much of this is a witch hunt, or an attempt to get rid of potential political problems inside the country.
 

swerve

Super Moderator
Given the ease with which it was defeated, the possibility that it was a put up job probably can’t be ruled out.
Possibly, but even if initiated by an agent provocateur, the idiots engaged in it were still committing quite a few very serious crimes. You don't get a free pass for willingly participating in a criminal conspiracy to overthrow a government just because it was organised by a double agent.

IIRC it's said that the rebel group which the American contingent was working with was infiltrated by the Venezuelan security forces, which is consistent with it being set up by the Venezuelan state, but with comically amateurish groups like the American participants out there & eager to join in, I don't see it as being necessary. Maybe the Venezuelan would-be rebels thought it up on their own. Maybe a government infiltrator suggested it. Ultimately, I don't think it matters.
 

Feanor

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Possibly, but even if initiated by an agent provocateur, the idiots engaged in it were still committing quite a few very serious crimes. You don't get a free pass for willingly participating in a criminal conspiracy to overthrow a government just because it was organised by a double agent.

IIRC it's said that the rebel group which the American contingent was working with was infiltrated by the Venezuelan security forces, which is consistent with it being set up by the Venezuelan state, but with comically amateurish groups like the American participants out there & eager to join in, I don't see it as being necessary. Maybe the Venezuelan would-be rebels thought it up on their own. Maybe a government infiltrator suggested it. Ultimately, I don't think it matters.
I think it does. It would speak to how much the Venezuela opposition is infiltrated by government agents, and therefore how much the US can treat them as a credible party to engage with. If they did this of their own accord they're stupid and incompetent. If they were set up by the Venezuelan government then they are unreliable in the extreme.
 

ngatimozart

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I think it does. It would speak to how much the Venezuela opposition is infiltrated by government agents, and therefore how much the US can treat them as a credible party to engage with. If they did this of their own accord they're stupid and incompetent. If they were set up by the Venezuelan government then they are unreliable in the extreme.
Yep, I would agree and the other thing to take into account is that the Russians probably are advising the Maduro administration on counter intelligence, and they have 100 years of institutional experience in that field.
 

swerve

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I think it does. It would speak to how much the Venezuela opposition is infiltrated by government agents, and therefore how much the US can treat them as a credible party to engage with. If they did this of their own accord they're stupid and incompetent. If they were set up by the Venezuelan government then they are unreliable in the extreme.
That's a good point. But it doesn't really affect how much the USA can treat them as credible, so much as why they're not. In either case, any engagement should be sufficiently arms length & limited to be deniable.

There may be other opposition groups with which more engagement is feasible, but if I had anything to do with any decisions I'd advise extreme caution.
 

Todjaeger

Potstirrer
Honestly, I still do not rule out an amateur hour plan put together by certain foreign (to Venezuela) interests opposed to the current Venezuelan gov't, who then found an opposition group that was willing to go along.
 

swerve

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Nor do I. I suspect that there are quite a few amateurish opposition groups. I wouldn't be surprised if it's normal for them to be infiltrated, but that doesn't mean that everything they do is initiated by the infilitrators.
 

Feanor

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Iranian tankers are on the way to Venezuela with supplies of oil, and Iranian specialists are reportedly assisting Venezuela with getting their oil refineries running. Some the equipment reportedly comes from China.

 
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