Invasion foiled in Venezuela

venezuela

Venezuelan authorities have foiled a raid by “foreign mercenaries” trying to reach the anti-imperialist country. The first aim of the failed mercenary incursion into Venezuela was assassinating the country’s President Nicolas Maduro. The mercenaries tried to reach the Latin American country by sea to launch terrorist attacks and assassinate government officials.

Venezuela’s Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said in a televised address that a group of mercenaries tried to infiltrate Venezuela’s major port of La Guaira, located just north of the nation’s capital of Caracas.

He said: The incident, which the minister called “an invasion by sea,” was part of preparations for another coup attempt.

The mercenaries tried to reach Venezuelan shores on speedboats. But the police, National Guard and military counterintelligence units intercepted them.

The minister published photos of arms and equipment seized from the imperialism engaged “invaders” on his Instagram account.

Reverol said that six militants were killed. The killed mercenaries include a local field commander. Two mercenaries were detained. One of the captured militants admitted to being a “veteran agent” of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Venezuela Foreign Ministry said. A local anti-government cell supported the mercenary group.

The Venezuelan security forces confiscated six trucks, a boat, ten assault rifles and two machine guns with a large number of munitions.

Reverol said the operation against the militants was still ongoing and did not rule out “more arrests.”

The photos published by the minister demonstrate one of the trucks with a machine gun mounted on it and the pick-up body cluttered with ammunition belts.

The minister denounced the “invasion” as another desperate attempt by the imperialists to overthrow the government of President Nicolas Maduro. He did not accuse any particular nation of orchestrating the incursion, but said the militants came from Colombia.

The incident comes around a year after a failed military coup attempt led by the Venezuelan opposition headed by Juan Guaido. Guaido, a lawmaker, declared himself “interim president” months prior and has been actively supported by the U.S. and its allies ever since. His self-declaration as “interim president” in 2019 has no constitutional backing.

President’s assassination was ultimate goal of the invasion

The aim of the failed mercenary incursion into Venezuela was the death of the country’s President Nicolas Maduro, he has claimed.

Citing the uncovered “evidence, testimonies and videos” of the incident, Maduro said on Monday: “The objective was to kill the president of Venezuela.”

Earlier in the day, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry squarely pinned the blame for the failed incursion on the US and Colombia.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces to the international community a new mercenary and terrorist aggression organized from the territory of the Republic of Colombia and planned by U.S. agent, against peace, democracy and sovereignty of Venezuela,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Colombia has denied any responsibility, dismissing the Venezuelan accusations as “unfounded.”

The U.S. has been actively involved in attempts to oust the government of President Maduro for over a year.

Back in March, the US government ramped up its anti-Maduro game again, placing an eye-watering bounty of $15 million on the Venezuelan president. The US indicted the president for “drug trafficking” and accused him of conspiring to “flood the United States with cocaine.” However, Venezuela stood defiant in the face of all the allegations, branding the indictment “a new form of coup d’état.”

Despite the broad foreign support, all of Guaido’s attempts to topple Maduro that ranged from mass protests to a botched military coup have so far been unsuccessful.

Another report said:

The imperialist attempt for incursion took place in the early morning hours.

“A group of terrorist mercenaries, organized and trained in Colombia, tried to disembark with war material off the coast of La Guaira,” said a statement released by the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB).

“The Bolivarian National Armed Forces categorically rejects these irrational acts of violence,” said the statement.

The FANB statement detailed that intelligence work and defense exercises allowed the FANB and police units to respond immediately.

There are no reports of casualties on the Venezuelan side.

The captured military gear and weapons matched equipment stolen in the failed April 30, 2019-coup attempt.

The Venezuelan armed forces informed that divers are deployed to recover additional weapons and that Navy ships are patrolling the coastline in search of other vessels involved in the incursion.

Speaking to the press on Sunday, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said that the defensive operation was ongoing and there could be further arrests in the coming days.

Padrino also announced that a new set of “Bolivarian Shield” military exercises would begin immediately on orders of President Maduro.

National Constituent Assembly President Diosdado Cabello claimed that GPS trackers in the captured boats used by the mercenaries indicated they had departed from Colombia.

Only days ago, an AP report revealed that former U.S. Special Operations soldier Jordan Goudreau had played a leading role in a plan to invade Venezuela led by retired Venezuelan Major General Cliver Alcala.

According to the AP report, Goudreau was responsible for training a contingent of 300 Venezuelan army deserters who were to enter Venezuela in a heavily armed caravan and seize the capital within 96 hours.

Both the Venezuelan opposition and the Colombian government were reportedly aware of the plot.

In a video released on social media, Goudreau confirmed that the amphibious landing attempt had been launched from Colombia, as part of “Operation Gedeon” and that “other units” were active in the “south, west, and east of Venezuela.”

In the video, he appeared alongside retired National Guard Captain Javier Nieto Quintero, who claimed that the operation aimed to “capture” high-ranking officials and “liberate” the Venezuelan people.

Nieto spent 18 months in prison starting in 2004 for alleged connections to Colombian paramilitary groups before leaving the country. In a press conference in Florida in October 2019, he announced the creation of a “Military Command,” made up of former officials, with the stated goal of setting up an armed force to back a “transition government.”

A video of purported participants in “Operation Gedeon” was likewise released on Sunday. A man identifying himself as Antonio Jose Sequea, whom Goudreau identifies as the commander of the operation, appears on a beach flanked by heavily armed soldiers. Sequea is additionally seen with a blue armband similar to those worn by mutinous FANB soldiers who took part in last year’s failed April 30 putsch led by opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Among the other soldiers seen in the video is National Guard Captain Robert Colina, aka “Panther,” who reportedly died in the operation. In March, the Venezuelan government accused Colina of planning the assassination of top Caracas officials as part of Alcala’s Colombia-based paramilitary activities. Sequea was also identified at the time as a participant in the April 30 coup attempt.

For his part, opposition leader Guaido issued a statement Sunday afternoon dismissing the operation as a “false flag” allegedly perpetrated by the Maduro government.

Guaido has yet to comment on Goudreau and Nieto’s video announcing the military operation.

Guaido, the former National Assembly president, had previously denied any connection to Alcala and Goudreau.

For his part, Alcala claimed that a contract had been signed with Guaido, opposition strategist J. J. Rendon, and “US advisors.”

Miami-based Venezuelan journalist Patricia Poleo published a document Sunday evening, which she purported to be a copy of the contract. Poleo interviewed Goudreau, who produced a document with Guaido’s signature, which contracts Goudreau’s company Silvercorp to provide services, including “strategic planning,” “equipment procuring” and “project execution advisement,” for a fee of U.S. $212 million.

Poleo also released several audio recordings of an alleged conference call between Guaido, Goudreau, and senior Guaido envoy Sergio Vergara, in which they agreed to sign the contract.

During the interview, Goudreau accused the Venezuelan opposition of not fulfilling their end of the contract, but that the operation (“Gedeon”) had gone ahead.

contract

Alleged contract signed between Juan Guaido and Jordan Goudreau’s company Silvercorp for $212 million. (@FactoresdePoder)


SIGN UP FOR COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWS LETTER


 

Tags:

Support Countercurrents

Countercurrents is answerable only to our readers. Support honest journalism because we have no PLANET B.
Become a Patron at Patreon

Join Our Newsletter

GET COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWSLETTER STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX

Join our WhatsApp and Telegram Channels

Get CounterCurrents updates on our WhatsApp and Telegram Channels

Related Posts

Join Our Newsletter


Annual Subscription

Join Countercurrents Annual Fund Raising Campaign and help us

Latest News