New York: A U.S. military veteran faces charges for violating U.S. arms export control laws in connection with a failed attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Jordan Goudreau, 48, was indicted in federal court in Tampa, Florida, on accusations of conspiring to ship weapons, including AR-type firearms, night vision devices, and laser sights, to Colombia without the necessary U.S. export licenses. The indictment was made public on Wednesday.
Goudreau, a special forces veteran and founder of the Florida-based security firm Silvercorp USA, was arrested on Tuesday. He is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, according to U.S. Bureau of Prisons records.
Goudreau’s lawyer has not yet responded to requests for comment.
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The charges are linked to a maritime raid launched from Colombia that resulted in the capture of two former Green Berets, Luke Denman and Airan Berry. Denman and Berry were released last year in a prisoner swap involving Colombian businessman Alex Saab, an ally of Maduro.
Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, was recently declared the winner of a weekend election. However, the opposition claims that its tally shows their candidate received more than twice the support of Maduro.
