Operation Gideon (Spanish: Operación Gedeón) was an unsuccessful attempt by the Active Coalition of the Venezuelan International Reserve, Venezuelan dissidents, and a private security firm, Jordan Goudreau's Silvercorp USA, to infiltrate Venezuela by sea and remove Nicolás Maduro from power. The plan executed from 3 to 4 May 2020 was for expatriate Venezuelan former military personnel living in Colombia to enter the country by boat at Macuto, take control of an airfield, capture Maduro and other high-level figures in his administration, and expel them from the country.
A landing attempt to initiate the operation went forward despite its impracticality. Two boats were launched from eastern Colombia toward the Caribbean coast of Venezuela north of Caracas, carrying approximately 60 Venezuelan dissidents and two American former Green Berets employed as mercenaries by Silvercorp. Both boats were intercepted before they reached land. At least six Venezuelan dissidents in the first boat were killed, and all but four of the invaders were captured during the attempted landing or subsequent search operations, including the two Americans from the second boat, whose interrogations were broadcast on state television.
Venezuelan intelligence agencies and the Associated Press (AP) had prior knowledge of the operation. Commentators and observers described the operation as amateurish, underfunded, poorly organized, impossible, and a suicide mission, and divergent narratives led to questions about how the plot unfolded. Sources criticized the poor planning and execution, alternating between characterizing the operation as an attempted invasion, infiltration, raid, ambush, assassination or coup. Maduro and his representatives described the attacking force as terrorists who planned to kill him in a plot coordinated by Colombia and the United States. Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaidó and some supporters described the event as a false flag orchestrated by Maduro, and Goudreau described the team as freedom fighters seeking to restore democracy.
Background
Nicolás Maduro first took office as president of Venezuela in 2013 as the hand-picked successor of Hugo Chávez after Chávez's death from cancer. Javier Corrales wrote in a Journal of Democracy article that the "questionable electoral integrity" and the "slim margin" by which Maduro won the 2013 Venezuelan presidential election brought resistance to his mandate from "opposition parties, the media, civil society, elements of the military, and international actors". Corrales states that Maduro "presided over one of the most devastating national economic crises seen anywhere in modern times." Beginning with the 2014 Venezuelan protests, Popular Will leader Leopoldo López had sought to expel Maduro, calling for "direct action to remove" him, according to an article published by The Wall Street Journal.
According to Rafael Villa – writing in Defence Studies in 2022 – "Maduro's leadership [was] not consensual" and among the changes he had made to overcome his "political fragility" was promoting an excessive number of officers within the military, and the election of a 2017 Constituent National Assembly to replace the opposition-led National Assembly, which had been elected in 2015. Victor Mijares writes, in the book Latin American Politics and Development, that increased authoritarianism and control of the military in an environment of extreme poverty and inflation during a period marked by protests and repression, brought about a "legitimacy crisis coming from dubious elections" with the "combination of these tactics of political control and illegal rule" leading to the presidential crisis between Maduro and Popular Will politician Juan Guaidó. According to unnamed sources cited by The Wall Street Journal article, the 2018 election – "widely seen as fraudulent" – convinced López that negotiations with Maduro were not an option.
A power struggle for the presidency of Venezuela began in January 2019 following the 2018 presidential election; The Wall Street Journal stated that the 2018 election was "widely seen as fraudulent", and according to The Washington Post, incumbent Nicolás Maduro was "accused of stealing the 2018 elections" and leading a repressive administration. In January 2019, Guaidó was named president of the National Assembly – the "nation's last democratic institution" according to The Washington Post. He was later recognized by more than 50 countries, including the United States, as interim president of Venezuela. James DeFronzo wrote in the 2021 book, Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements, that: "Critics questioned whether there was really constitutional justification for Guaidó to become interim president in place of Maduro." The US administration of Donald Trump pressured for the exit of Maduro, charged him with narcoterrorism, and put a US$15 million reward for information leading to his capture and arrest. Throughout 2019, the Maduro administration maintained control of Venezuela's military agencies and key governmental institutions. Maduro enjoyed the support of the higher ranks of the military, but less so among the middle and lower ranks.
Establishing a government in Venezuela required three crucial elements: according to Villa, "the people, the international community, and the armed forces." Following the failed 2019 Venezuelan uprising attempt led by Guaidó against Maduro on 30 April, Guaidó's movement lost momentum. William Neuman wrote in the 2022 book Things Are Never So Bad That They Can't Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela that, with waning support and other options not materializing, Guaidó and López sought "another way out of Venezuela's impasse". A Wall Street Journal article stated that unnamed sources said López and his closest aides began seeking a security firm and contemplated hiring mercenaries without the knowledge of other opposition parties. Guaidó and López have said that the meetings rarely went beyond informal conversations.
After the unsuccessful April 2019 uprising, some former military and police defectors who sided with Guaidó took refuge in Colombia; they considered their aim was to "liberate their homeland from the socialist government of [an] autocratic" president, according to The Washington Post. Businesses began to approach the Guaidó administration, seeking to profit from contracts they expected to become available as Guaidó replaced Maduro, and proposals of an armed operation to support Guaidó began to be discussed.
Planning
Operation Gideon was primarily planned by Clíver Alcalá Cordones and Jordan Goudreau.
Alcalá was a Major General in the Venezuelan Army with close ties to the Hugo Chávez government until he defected under Maduro to Colombia in 2013 and began gathering other defectors, stationing them in the La Guajira Peninsula. In 2011, he was charged by the US with providing the Colombian FARC with arms, and was indicted for narcoterrorism in March 2020 as a member of the Cartel of the Suns.
Goudreau served in the Canadian Armed Forces and later moved to Washington, D.C. and enlisted in the United States Army, eventually reaching the rank of Sergeant First Class in the 10th Special Forces Group. He became a naturalized US citizen and retired at the age of 40 due to injuries. In 2018, he founded Silvercorp USA, with the initial idea being "to embed counter-terror agents in schools disguised as teachers".
Goudreau is reported to have provided security at a political rally for Donald Trump in Charlotte, North Carolina in October 2018 based on material on the Silvercorp website and Instagram account. In February 2019, Silvercorp provided security services at the Venezuela Aid Live concert in Colombia, and Goudreau turned his attention to Venezuela. According to Goudreau's friend and business partner, Drew White, he saw a business opportunity in the Trump administration's intensified efforts to remove Maduro from power. White said he distanced himself from Silvercorp and Goudreau when Goudreau began discussing launching a military operation in Venezuela.
Journalist Sebastiana Barráez, who specializes in Venezuelan military reporting, writes that what came to be known as Operation Gideon was three different plans at different times: one was the preparation in the Colombian camps of exiled Venezuelan military led by Alcalá until he was extradited to the U.S. in March 2020; another was the period after that when Antonio Sequea took over the camps until he led the men on what she calls a "suicide mission" to an ambush at Macuto; and yet another phase was what related to SilverCorp and Diosdado Cabello, who had infiltrated the camps and had advance knowledge of the plans. The raid has also been called the “Stupid Bay of Pigs,” a reference to the failed CIA-backed invasion of Cuba in 1961.
Alcalá openly discussed his plans to overthrow the Maduro government with a 1,000 men strong force with The Wall Street Journal, saying "If you don't do this now, the republic is lost." The Wall Street Journal reported that Alcalá planned to use dissident soldiers from the Venezuelan army and national guard, hoping to involve officers in the operation prior to their purging by the Maduro government.
Through connections within the private security community, Goudreau was acquainted with Keith Schiller, the longtime director of security for Donald Trump. Schiller brought Goudreau to a March 2019 fundraising event focused on security in Venezuela and future investments in the nation following a potential end of the Maduro government, which took place at the University Club of Washington, DC. Lester Toledo, the director of humanitarian aid for Guaidó's government, also attended.
Weeks later, according to an AP article, Toledo introduced Goudreau to Alcalá at JW Marriott Bogotá during a conference where groups of Venezuelan exiles, some of whom were involved in Guaidó's failed uprising, gathered. The Wall Street Journal reported that Alcalá and Goudreau had been introduced by "associates" of Leopoldo López and that opposition officials were convinced about the plot's feasibility. During the two-day meeting with Toledo and Goudreau, Alcalá disclosed that he had recruited some 300 men stationed at training camps on the Guajira Peninsula near Riohacha, Colombia, ready to carry out "a 'mad plan' to push across the western border, take the oil center of Maracaibo and force their way to Caracas, the capital". Goudreau indicated that instead of 300 as Alcalá promised, there were only 60 trainees. Goudreau proposed an alternative approach, suggesting that his company, Silvercorp, could train and equip the soldiers for a rapid strike at a cost of US$1.5 million. Goudreau said he had contacts with Trump administration officials, though reportedly did not provide support for his statements. Men familiar with the missions said Goudreau "had convinced the men that they were training for a U.S.-backed incursion into Venezuela", according to The Washington Post. Following the meeting at JW Marriott, Toledo and some Guaidó officials indicated that they ended contact with Goudreau because they believed the operation was a suicide mission and they did not trust Alcalá.
In May 2019, Schiller and Goudreau met with Guaidó administration officials in Miami, Florida, where Goudreau promoted the idea of providing security for Guaidó officials. Schiller distanced himself from Goudreau following the meeting, believing that Goudreau was incapable of providing the services he was offering.
Goudreau's October 2020 lawsuit stated that a $500-million proposal had been submitted by Blackwater founder Erik Prince that involved 5,000 troops and mercenaries. Guaidó and his representatives, as well as Prince and his representatives, denied such reports.
Colombia Silvercorp established: June 2019
A Colombian branch of Silvercorp was opened in mid-2019 by Goudreau and Yacsy Alezandra Álvarez Mirabal, who acted as a translator for Alcalá and Goudreau. Álvarez was an assistant of Franklin Durán, a Venezuelan businessman who had business ties with the Venezuelan government for about two decades until his company was expropriated by the government; one of his businesses had a history of importing military equipment. Durán and his brothers were friends with Alcalá prior to the event; the AP described Durán as "close to the government of the late Hugo Chávez".
In June 2019, Alcalá met with the National Intelligence Directorate of Colombia asking for support, saying Goudreau was a former CIA agent. CIA contacts in Bogotá reportedly denied that Goudreau had ever been a CIA agent. According to Álvarez, former president of Colombia Álvaro Uribe and then president Iván Duque expressed support for Goudreau's efforts, offering them a training camp, an airstrip and safe passage for individuals in exchange for combatting militants of the National Liberation Army in the area. US officials learned of the "hundreds of Venezuelan soldiers who had defected and were living precariously in Colombia" and discussed a plan to reorganize them to assist victims of the Venezuelan refugee crisis, thus diverting them from illegal activities. When reports emerged that they might be used for an armed operation, one anonymous US official described the notion as "completely insane".
By 16 June 2019, Goudreau had compiled a list of required equipment, according to former United States Navy SEAL Ephraim Mattos, who met with Alcalá's troops while working in Colombia. The list included "320 M4 assault rifles, an anti-tank rocket launcher, Zodiac boats, US$1 million in cash and state-of-the-art night vision goggles". According to Mattos, the trainees believed they had the backing of the U.S. government; after reviewing Silvercorp on the internet, he said: "I was like, 'Guys, guys, guys, this guy is not who he says he is.'"