Former Green Beret Behind Failed Venezuelan Coup Flees Ahead Of Trial And Is Now Considered a Fugitive

Jordan Goudreau, the former green beret accused of being behind a failed plot to oust former authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro, has fled ahead of a trial in the U.S. and is now considered a fugitive, federal prosecutors said.

Marissel Dezcalzo, a lawyer for Goudreau, confirmed his escape, saying "we do not know where he is."

Goudreau was arrested in New York City in 2024 on federal arms smuggling charges. He, alongside Venezuelan partner Yacsy Alvarez, were accused of violating U.S. arms control laws for allegedly assembling and sending AR-styled weapons, ammo, night vision goggles and other defense equipment to Colombia. Doing so requires a U.S. export license.

The former contractor led the botched "Operation Gideon" in May 2020, where a he attempted to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro along with a small group of armed volunteers trained in Colombia. The plan collapsed within hours of landing on Venezuelan shores.

The Trump administration denied involvement in the operation, dubbed the "Bay of Piglets," which left several dead and two U.S. citizens imprisoned in Venezuela.

Reflecting on that failed mission in an interview last year, he accused the CIA of sabotaging it, saying the operation "crashed against the hard rocks of CIA interference," as the agency "had other interests and was not interested in removing Maduro."

He alleged that officials close to then-Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were aware of the plot, adding that political enthusiasm in Washington was high before support was withdrawn.

If convicted, Goudreau face the following penalties: up to five years in prison for conspiracy, 10 years in prison for smuggling, 20 years in prison for violations of export control laws, and 10 years in prison for each violation of the National Firearms Act and unlawful possession of a machinegun.

In April last year, one of Goudreau's partners in the failed coup, Cliver Alcalá, a retired three-star Venezuelan army general, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to 21 years in prison for providing weapons to drug-funded rebels.

In addition to Alcalá and Alvarez, U.S. authorities have also captured Luke Denman and Airan Berry, former U.S. special forces colleagues of Goudreau. The two former agents returned to the U.S. in December of 2023 as part of a prisoner swap in which the Biden administration released a close ally of Maduro accused in the U.S. of money laundering.