MAGA Gunmen in Venezuela

President Trump said he didn't have US authorization. And of course, he could be lying. But if the US government doesn't want to talk about it, the head of the mercenary company probably shouldn't want to talk about it either. Especially after the operation is a flop.

Btw, he is now being investigated for arms trafficking by the US and Colombia: https://www.kaaltv.com/national-new...n-beret-for-venezuela-raid/5721654/?cat=10159. It's a pretty good article with a lot more detail than I've seen elsewhere. The way the AP tells it, Goudreau signed a contract with Guaido, Guaido later backed away; Goudreau went forward with it anyway (maybe figuring he had leverage to get paid if he did capture Maduro?), but was infiltrated by Venezuelan intelligence. If we accept that version, maybe Goudreau now thinks he can cut a deal with Maduro to get his men out of prison by exposing Guaido? Maybe. But it seems more likely that he will be in prison himself than that he'll be able to negotiate any deals.

 

he talked about it before it was botched

 

I see references to interviews on Sunday and Monday. As I understand it, the same days as the raid. One article says it was a dawn Sunday raid when some men were killed. Maybe he did interviews before dawn, but it seems like he was doing it at the same time. He says he wanted to catalyze a popular uprising with his small insurgency (note from history, btw: that never ever works), so maybe he thought he needed to get press for the raid so that Venezuelans would know to rise up. But it would seem to me that these guys have to first land their boats, get to the Miraflores Palace, and somehow get in, all while their boss is announcing to the world and Venezuelan security forces that they're doing it. I mean, maybe they are that dumb.

 

Why US placed a $15 million bounty on Venezuela's Maduro

The Trump administration has placed a $15 million reward for the arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro for drug trafficking. The indictment of a ruling head of state is highly unusual.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cs...5-million-bounty-on-Venezuela-s-Maduro?espv=1