(Photo: DEA/Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.)
A military raid by only 60 mercenaries to kidnap Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro ended in failure Sunday with the deaths of eight of the invaders and the capture of at least 21 more. Two of those taken prisoner are former U.S. Special Forces operators.
In addition, the Venezuelan government said it had also arrested 114 people suspected of taking part in the raid. Ninety-two other persons are being hunted down.
The United States denied any involvement in this alleged attempt at a coup d'état. The U.S. Department of State also denied any attempt to oust Maduro took place, and accused Maduro of inventing a "melodrama," possibly with the help of Cuban intelligence.
The amphibious raid called "Operation Gideon" sought to "liberate" Venezuela and kidnap Maduro, according to Jordan Goudreau, a former Green Beret based in Florida. Goudreau claimed responsibility for the botched operation.
He admitted that he and a retired Venezuelan army general launched the failed attack. He claimed his forces had attempted to reach the capital city of Caracas using fishing boats early Sunday morning. The Venezuelan government said the invaders landed at La Guaira State (also called Vargas State) to the southeast of Caracas.
Goudreau and retired Venezuelan Army Capt. Javier Nieto posted a video announcing a "daring amphibious raid" in Venezuela. The video claimed the 60 men were still on the ground and fighting. The Associated Press, however, reported "there was no sign of any fighting in the capital or elsewhere as night fell" on Sunday.
Maduro said the invaders were attacked by security forces that killed eight of the mercenaries and captured 13 others as they landed from their boats. Two of the captured men were later identified as Luke Denman and Airan Berry, both former U.S. Special Forces soldiers. Denman and Berry were also employees of Silvercorp USA, a Florida-based company owned by Goudreau.
Addressing the nation on TV, Maduro said Venezuelan soldiers captured 13 "terrorists", including two US citizens he described as mercenaries. He said these men were involved in a failed plot to invade the country and oust him. Maduro showed the passports and other identification cards of Berry and Denman.
Maduro showed pictures of the fishing boats used by the attackers. He also displayed military equipment like walkie-talkies and night-vision glasses seized in a military operation that lasted an "intense" couple of days. He blamed the attacks on the Trump administration and neighboring Colombia, both of which denied involvement.
"The United States government is fully and completely involved in this defeated raid," declared Maduro. He praised the population of a fishing village for capturing the "professional American mercenaries."
Venezuelan authorities said they arrested another eight mercenaries in a coastal town. They broadcast images on state TV of several unidentified men handcuffed and lying prone on a street. The Venezuelan government said more than 25,000 troops were mobilized to hunt down the remnants of the invading force.
Goudreau claims he has an agreement with U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó to overthrow Maduro. Guaidó denied this allegation and said he had nothing to do with Sunday's raid.
Opposition politicians and the Trump administration issued statements saying Maduro and his allies had fabricated the assault to draw attention away from the country's massive economic problems.
