Plan was to takeover Venezuela on behalf coup leader Juan Guaido
The documents implied Silvercorp USA the attack planner had ties to the Trump Administration. Silvercorp hoped to raise $750 million to finance the Venezuelan coup led by Guaido. Guaido announced himself interim president and was recognized immediately by the US and many other countries.
Once the operation was successful, the government would take over the oilfields and turn a profit for the coup government. One of the investors approached claimed the Sivercorp head Jordan Goudreau said the scheme had the backing of the US State Department.
The botched attack
The budget of the plan called for funding and equipment for hundreds of people and a 30 day operation. However, Venezuela was able to foil a main part of the operation within hours capturing a mere few dozen plotters. Those captured said that the plan was to kidnap Venezuelan President Maduro take the Caracas airport and fly Maduro to the US where they would collect the $15 million bounty the US offered for his arrest. It does not appear that the plotters even came close to achieving their aims.
Venezuelan authorities arrested more than a dozen people including two Americans who worked for Silvercorp USA. A recent article reports: “Maduro showed what he said were the US passports and other identification cards belonging to Airan Berry and Luke Denman, who he said were in custody and had been working with Jordan Goudreau, an American military veteran who leads a Florida-based security company called Silvercorp USA.” The two Americans appeared on TV in Venezuela and admitted they were given the task of kidnapping and flying out Maduro and bringing Guaido into power.
US denies any involvement
When asked about the documents and the appearance of two Americans who described the plot a US State Department spokesperson said: : “There is a major disinformation campaign underway by the Maduro regime, making it difficult to separate facts from propaganda.” Even though there is no definitive proof that the US was directly involved Silvercorp is portraying it as such and certainly the US has been trying for ages to find some way of mounting a coup against the Maduro government.
President Maduro said that even informal communications between Venezuela and the US have gone dead since the failed operation. There had always been links previously Maduro claimed in an interview on TV but now there was total silence.
