CARACAS — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Monday denied having anything to do with a former Green Beret who claimed responsibility for a failed beach invasion aimed at arresting socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.
The government, meanwhile, said it has mobilized more than 25,000 troops to hunt for other rebel cells.
Mr. Guaido said he has “no relationship nor responsibility for any actions” taken by the U.S. war veteran, Jordan Goudreau.
Mr. Goudreau repeated assertions that Mr. Guaido had a contract with his security company, though he said he was paid only a tiny share of the amount agreed upon.
That claim could pose a danger for Mr. Guaido, who has been harassed but not arrested in the year since he declared himself Venezuela’s legitimate leader, a role recognized by the U.S. government and 60 other nations.
The three-time Bronze Star U.S. combat veteran claims to have helped organize a seaborne raid from Colombia early Sunday on the Venezuelan coast, which the government said it foiled, killing eight insurgents and arresting two others.
Mr. Goudreau said the operation received no aid from Mr. Guaido, the United States, or Colombia.
Mr. Goudreau said by phone Monday that 52 other fighters — including two U.S. veterans — had infiltrated Venezuelan territory and were in the first stage of a mission to recruit members of the security forces to join their cause.
“That’s going to take time,” Mr. Goudreau told the Associated Press by phone. “The ultimate goal has never changed — it’s to liberate Venezuela.”
The government’s chief of strategic operations, Adm. Remigio Ceballos, announced that more than 25,000 soldiers were conducting search operations to ensure the country is free of “mercenaries and paramilitaries.”
Venezuelan authorities said Monday they arrested another eight accused “mercenaries” in a coastal town and showed images on state TV of several unidentified men handcuffed and lying prone on a street.
One video depicted security forces handling a man authorities identified as Venezuelan National Guardsman Capt. Antonio Sequea, who participated in a barracks revolt against Mr. Maduro a year ago.
Mr. Goudreau had identified Captain Sequea as a commander working with him on the ground in Venezuela.
“Venezuela holds the governments of Donald Trump and Colombia’s Ivan Duque responsible for the unknown and dangerous consequences of this provocative mercenary aggression,” the Maduro government said in a letter to the international community.
The Associated Press was unable to verify either the government’s or Mr. Goudreau’s version of events. Opposition politicians and U.S. authorities suggested Mr. Maduro’s allies had fabricated the assault.
First Published May 5, 2020, 3:25 a.m.
