Feds arrest former Green Beret accused of smuggling weapons for failed coup attempt to oust Maduro

Jordan Goudreau, the former U.S. Green Beret who coordinated a failed coup attempt to oust Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro in 2020, was arrested Tuesday in a weapons-smuggling case filed in Tampa federal court.

Goudreau, who is being held in a Brooklyn, New York, detention center after his arrest, awaits transfer to Florida to face an indictment charging him and a Venezuelan partner, Yacsy Alexandra Alvarez, with violating U.S. arms control laws. They’re accused of assembling and sending dozens of AR-styled weapons, laser sights, night vision devices and other equipment from the United States to Colombia without a required a U.S. export license.

Goudreau, 48, of Melbourne, and Alvarez, 43, who was living in Colombia but now resides in Tampa, are charged with conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and smuggling goods from the United States. Goudreau is also charged with “unlawful possession of machine guns,” among other items.

A 14-count indictment charging the pair was unsealed Wednesday, three days after Venezuela held a presidential election that Maduro claims to have won but his opponents assert was riddled with fraud.

Goudreau had his first appearance in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday night. Goudreau was granted a bond by a magistrate judge, but his release was put on hold while prosecutors in Tampa moved to have it revoked. Seeking his detention, they noted that he violated “export and firearms laws relating to a conspiracy to carry out an armed incursion into Venezuela to remove a sitting Venezuelan president from power,” according to a court filing.

Gustavo J. Garcia-Montes, an attorney for Goudreau, confirmed his client’s arrest in New York but declined further comment.

Alvarez was also arrested Tuesday in Tampa. Christophir Kerr, an attorney for Alvarez, said she turned herself in as soon as she heard about the charges and entered a not guilty plea. Kerr also said she was granted a bond and released Wednesday.

As part of the conspiracy, Goudreau, Alvarez and their co-conspirators procured firearms and military-related equipment through Goudreau’s Melbourne-based company, Silvercorp, and exported them to Colombia. Some of the items were seized by the Colombia National Police.

The unlicensed exports supported an attempt organized by Goudreau in May 2020 to remove Maduro from office, which failed. The Miami Herald detailed the botched coup attempt in a story on Goudreau’s Operation Gideon.

If convicted, Goudreau and Alvarez face the following maximum penalties: five years in prison for conspiracy, 10 years in prison for smuggling, 20 years in prison for violations of export control laws, and 10 years in prison for each violation of the National Firearms Act and unlawful possession of a machine gun.

The indictment also says federal authorities plan to forfeit firearms and other military equipment traceable to proceeds of the defendants’ alleged activity.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security are investigating the case, with assistance by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.