Former Army Green Beret Who Organized Failed Coup in Venezuela Charged by Feds
SHARE

Former Army Green Beret Who Organized Failed Coup in Venezuela Charged by Feds

Teresa Tennyson

Aug 5, 2024

The feds arrested former Army Special Forces soldier Jordan Goudreau of Melbourne, Florida and Yacsy Alexandra Alvarez of Tampa, Florida on July 30 for allegedly illegally exporting firearms and other equipment to Colombia in violation of U.S. export laws, according to a DOJ press release. These weapons were to be used in the failed 2020 coup against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The federal grand jury also indicted Goudreau for illegally possessing machine guns and silencers.

The items that Goudreau and Alvarez illegally sent to Colombia included AR-style rifles, night vision devices, laser sights and helmets, according to the indictment.

An excerpt from Jordan Goudreau’s indictment, obtained by The Daily Muck. Prosecutors accuse Goudreau of illegally exporting firearms to Colombia in support of a failed coup in Venezuela.

Many of the allegations in the indictment surround Goudreau allegedly illegally exporting firearms from the U.S. to Colombia in late 2019 to be used in the 2020 coup against the Venezuelan government.

Goudreau’s Silvercorp USA

Jordan Goudreau conducted the activities in Venezuela under the auspices of his private military company, Silvercorp USA, which he operated out of Melbourne, Florida. The company also provides crisis leadership, security and advisory consulting services, according to its website. Silvercorps USA claims to “operate in over 50 countries.”

Jordan Goudreau’s Silvercorp USA claims to have advised elite military units in the U.S. and around the world. Excerpted from the Silvercorp USA website.

Silvercorps USA’s promotional literature offers consulting services to law enforcement and claims that its employees have advised secretive Tier-1 military units, including Delta Force, Israel’s Unit 217 and the British SAS.

Promotional Materials from Silvercorp USA show Jordan Goudreau providing consulting services.

A screenshot from the Silvercorp USA Instagram account purports to show Gourdreau in Colombia in the months before the alleged smuggling trips.

 

Silvercorp USA’s Instagram Account shows a photo of Jordan Goudreau (right) in Colombia in the months before he allegedly illegally exported firearms and other military equipment to the country in support of the failed 2020 Venezuelan coup, which Goudreau called “Operation Gideon.”

The Failed Venezuelan Coup

Jordan Goudreau is most well-known for his role in planning an attempted coup in Venezuela in 2020 to overthrow dictator Nicolas Maduro at the behest of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and in conjunction with the Venezuelan International Reserve, a paramilitary group. Goudreau even contracted with Guaido’s government to orchestrate the coup, according to a signed agreement between Silvercorp USA and Guaido’s administration.

The contract stipulated payment of a non-refundable $1.5 million retainer, which included assessment and initial planning by Goudreau’s Silvercorp USA. After payment of the retainer, the contract specified a cost of the 45-day “initial project phase” as being $50 million.

An excerpt from the contract between Guaido’s Administration and Goudreau’s Silvercorp USA stipulates a retainer payment of $1.5 million to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and provide post-coup security services.

After “project completion,” Guaido’s administration was supposed to continue to pay Silvercorp monthly payments averaging $14.8 million. The contract defined project completion as “the exit/removal of current Venezuelan Regime and entrance/installation of recognized Venezuelan Government.”

Guaido’s administration was to pay Silvercorp USA an average of $14.8 million per month for a year and a half for services rendered during and after the Venezuelan coup.

Those monthly payments were supposed to continue for 450 days after the removal of Maduro’s government.

Jordan Goudreau appears to have signed the contract with Guaido’s administration as the CEO of Silvercorp USA.

While The Daily Muck could not independently verify the authenticity of this contract, Goudreau did take credit for orchestrating the Venezuelan coup in this video posted by CARIVE, a Venezuelan dissident group. CARIVE stands for Active Coalition of the Venezuelan International Reserve.

A screenshot of a video in which Jordan Goudreau discusses his role orchestrating the 2020 Venezuelan coup, which ultimately failed.

Also appearing in the video was a man identified as Cap. Javier Nieto Quintero, a retired Venezuelan National Guard Captain and opposition member. The video statement was posted on May 3, 2020, the day the coup began.

“At 1700 hours, a daring amphibious raid was launched from the border of Colombia deep into the heart of Caracas,” Goudreau said in the video. “Our men are continuing to fight right now. Our units have been activated in the south, west and east of Venezuela.”

The Effects of the Coup

Jordan Goudreau dubbed the planned coup “Operation Gideon,” presumably after a Biblical figure who liberated Israel.

Unlike the events that inspired it, Operation Gideon was ill-conceived and poorly executed, resulting in the deaths of six paramilitaries and the arrest of 13 others, including two Americans, also former Special Forces soldiers. Venezuela returned the two Americans to the U.S. in a prisoner exchange in 2023, according to New York Times coverage.

Goudreau’s Service History

Jordan Goudreau served in the U.S. Army from 2001 until his medical discharge in 2016, according to service records obtained by Military.com. Goudreau’s overseas deployments while on active duty include Iraq (Nov. 2006 – Apr. 2007 and March 2010 – Sep. 2010) and Afghanistan (Jan. 2014 – June 2014). His service awards include three Bronze Star medals, Ranger Tab, Special Forces Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge and Parachutist Badge.

Goudreau served on active duty in the U.S. as both a Special Forces medical sergeant and an indirect fire infantryman, according to his records. His rank as of his medical retirement in 2016 was Sergeant First Class.

A promotional image from Silvercorp USA shows Jordan Goudreau shirtless and in military pants in a deployed environment. Goudreau stands accused of illegally exporting weapons to Colombia.

Goudreau obtained his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Calgary, Canada in 1998, according to his LinkedIn Account. Prior to his U.S. service, he served in the Canadian Armed Forces from 1994-1997. He founded Silvercorp USA in Feb. 2018.

What’s Next for Jordan Goudreau?

The federal judge has placed Goudreau in home detention pending the outcome of the case, according to bail documents obtained by The Daily Muck. The judge also ordered Goudreau to avoid contact with co-defendants, and Goudreau is not allowed to possess firearms and other weapons. Goudreau’s next scheduled court date is Aug. 29.

An excerpt from Jordan Goudreau’s bail hearing documents shows he will be detained at home with location monitoring during his court case.

The Daily Muck will continue to report on this case as it develops.

Teresa Tennyson
Teresa Tennyson is the Editor-in-Chief for The Daily Muck. As a journalist, her work has appeared in Veteran.com, The Military Wallet, Mortgage Research Center and Yahoo Finance. She has a passion for factual and fair reporting. Along with The Daily Muck’s writing team, she reports on fraud, scams, and corruption and researches practical advice on how people can protect themselves and their communities from these crimes.
If you spot an error in any of our articles, please contact us at
Email
And we will look into it.

Weekly Muck

Keep current on The Daily Muck’s latest by subscribing to our newsletter– the best of our weekly stories plus insights from our senior writers.

By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Daily Muck’s journalism. You may unsubscribe or adjust your preferences at any time. You can read our Privacy Policy here.

Weekly
Muck

Keep current on The Daily Muck’s latest by subscribing to our newsletter– the best of our weekly stories plus insights from our senior writers.

By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Daily Muck’s journalism. You may unsubscribe or adjust your preferences at any time. You can read our Privacy Policy here

We encourage dialogue with our readers, and although we go to great lengths to verify the veracity of our stories, we are not immune from making mistakes.