The Colonels Corner Corporate Coup Venezuela Part 14

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Transcript

0:00 Okay, hopefully Bridget will be joining us in a minute. We're going to go ahead and get started. X is acting a little weird, trying to kick me out of my own space, but we're just going to go with it. So where we left off in the Corporate Coup book is talking about Sitco and the plan to basically, as part of the economic warfare on Venezuela,

0:34 to confiscate their U.S. assets, as we've been known to do in the past. And where we left off, Vecchio was supporting Haussmann, the Harvard economist turned economic advisor, turned international development bank for the Americas, then back to Harvard when he found out he couldn't draw two salaries at the same time.

1:04 He says that the attorney general that we were talking about, the pretend one, or the fake one, I should say, has been an honest professional who has contributed greatly to protect our assets and joint efforts to cease the usurpation, meaning that the real government of Venezuela was trying to usurp the fake government. It's kind of hard to...

1:36 follow along. Considering Hernandez had done the complete opposite of protecting Venezuelan's asset as the fake Attorney General, instead taking deliberate actions that placed Sitko's entire existence on the line. Vecchio and Haasman's homage to the lawyer was comical at best and deeply deceitful at the worst.

2:04 Renee, I'm going to bring you up as co-host until Bridget or with Bridget if she shows up. So the fraud of Mr. Hernandez is against Guaido and the National Assembly. Jorge Alondra Rodriguez said, who again is part of the opposition.

2:35 but not in support of a coup. Did you get the request? Let me try it again. I'm going to send you the co-host, Renee. Though it was impossible to prove the motivation behind Vecchio's deceptive acts, a closer look at Setko's legal wrangling offered a potential clue. I don't know what's going on. I keep sending it to you, Renee. Oh, I don't know.

3:21 She just got kicked out of the space, too. When a court rules that one corporation, such as Corelix, can see shares belonging to another, such as Sitco, as a debt payment, the shares are not directly transferred company to company. Rather, the court sells off a portion of the indebted company's assets and uses funds raised.

3:55 to pay the claim. That's the normal process. Their auction, Rodriguez explained, in Sitko's case, this meant the court would oversee the fire sale of roughly $1.2 billion worth of assets, including gas stations, oil pipelines, oil terminals, refineries throughout the U.S. In order to satisfy this fake debt,

4:27 that was settled by this fake court. Through the process, oil industry rivals, including Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil, would gain a chance to expand their share of U.S. oil market by scarfing up Sitco's assets. As established in Chapter 9, though he posed as a disgruntled opposition figure,

4:58 Vecchio was, in fact, a leading functionary for the U.S. oil industry that stood to gain from this shenanigan. And he spent much of his career employed as a lawyer for ExxonMobil. Vecchio's intimate ties to Exxon provided a possible explanation for his consistent defense of Hernandez. And Hernandez is the lawyer.

5:30 It was not hard to imagine a scenario in which an oil giant profited from Sitko's liquidation. Quote, I was not aware of any of his relationships, said Rodriguez of Vecchio, telling me he was quite annoyed when he read Anya's expose on the lawyer's past.

5:57 Not that I criticize anybody for working for Exxon, but to me, this sounds like the lawyers of Standard Oil Company in New Jersey 100 years ago writing Venezuelan laws. It's unacceptable. Yes, yes it is. Even to the opposition, it was very unacceptable. Though Hernandez endeavors to distance himself from Kirill X, his actions as Venezuela's fake

6:27 top legal representative in the eyes of the U.S. courts reverberated beyond this single case. A quick review of the website for this fake court reveals they are roughly a dozen cases against Venezuela pending before the tribunal at the time this book was written. Meanwhile, since Kirillic's victory in Delaware, the fake court

6:57 had granted additional corporate behemoths, including Koch Industries and Air Canada, favorable rulings against Venezuela's government. Taken together, these interests threatened to kill Sitco once and for all because they had already set the precedent. With the Carillex precedent in hand, Koch Industries immediately headed to Delaware to collect its debt by claiming

7:27 its own stake in Sitco. The Kirillix case has a lot of implications because it completely opens the door to the whole of Venezuelan assets in the United States. Remarkably, Kirillix was not the only corporate vulture that weaponized Hernandez's in its legal hunt for Sitco. According to the fake court records, U.S. glassmaker Owens, Illinois retained Hernandez as an

7:59 quote-unquote expert witness in its own arbitration claims against Venezuela. The World Bank ruled in favor of Owens, Illinois in 2015, determining Venezuela's government owed it more than $455 million over a 2010 decision to nationalize two plants owned by the Ohio-based company.

8:25 Owens, Illinois proceeded to mimic Krillick's legal strategy against Sitco. So it's literally a takedown of Sitco. The essence of the complaint was familiar, including Sitco's holding and Sitco Petroleum as Delaware corporations. Like Krillick's, it seemed Owens, Illinois had directly benefited from Hernandez's failure to ensure Venezuela's coup regime.

9:05 followed proper procedure while managing the PDVSA, which is the mother company in Venezuela of Zitco Oil. When confronted about his relationship with Owens Illinois by a newspaper, Hernandez simply remarked, I was not a lawyer for the company, nor did I promote their interest. Public court documents directly contradict that claim.

9:33 revealing Owens, Illinois, had in fact paid Hernandez $163,000 in exchange for his quote-unquote expert witness testimony. Yet the lawyer dishonestly said that was not true, and it didn't end with questions over his compensation. Stunningly, in a bid to skirt responsibility for Sitko's imminent destruction, Hernandez even claimed,

10:03 that he never analyzed the alter ego thesis nor its merits on behalf of the corporate clients like Owens, Illinois, and Krillix. Krillix characterized his contribution to their lawsuit quite differently, explicitly stating in a March 2019 court filing that before assuming his current position, Jose Ignacio Hernandez

10:33 special counsel to the Venezuelan National Assembly, because again, Guaido was basically the Speaker of the House, not the President, and had zero authority to be doing any of this. He was tasked with evaluating creditor claims against Venezuela, provided expert testimony supporting Krillic's alter ego arguments, easily dispelled by a

11:03 trail of court records, Hernandez's lies were apparent not only to Anya, but to Venezuelan governments and their opposition alike. On October 1st, 2019, Vice President Delaney Rodriguez delivered a nationally televised press conference based on Anya's investigation into the Krillix case.

11:27 detailing what she described as a grand plot of organized transnational crime. Before a crowd of reporters gathered in her office, Rodriguez summarized the history as we just outlined, explaining the legal concept of alter ego and Hernandez's role in proving it applied to Sitco. While detailing the corporate conspiracy, Rodriguez accompanied her.

11:57 Denunciation of Hernandez, Vecchio, and Guaido with handheld photos of each coup official plastered with text reading, thief. Jose Ignacio Hernandez is a criminal mastermind behind the whole process to deprive Venezuela of its assets and resources abroad. Despite the well-deserved public shaming, Hernandez did not resign from Guaido's shadow government.

12:25 until June of 2020. Though the lawyer offered no explanation for his sudden departure, it came on the heels of yet another scandal regarding his conduct as a fake Attorney General. On June 18th, Vice President Rodriguez's office published an audio recording of Hernandez's testimony before the opposition-controlled National Assembly Energy Commission earlier that month.

12:53 during which the lawyer boasted of directing a strategy for Venezuela's legal fight with multinational corporations at the World Bank. In his own words, quote, I personally oversaw a strategy directly with the World Bank president, unquote. Hernandez remarks compromised not only his authority, but that of the World Bank president and former U.S. treasurer.

13:24 Treasury Secretary, U.S. Treasury official David Malpass, M-A-L-P-A-S-S. Malpass's alleged coordination with Hernandez flew in the face of the World Bank rules, which stipulated its officers shall not interfere in political affairs of any member.

13:49 nor should it be influenced in their decisions by political character of the member or members concerned, meaning the countries, which they clearly violated. While Ma Paz's office ignored the leak, Hernandez announced his resignation from Guaido's fake government hours after the recording surfaced. Like his mentor, Ricardo Haasman, before him, Hernandez completely

14:18 bungled his departure from the Venezuelan fake regime. Though he publicly announced his exit from Guaido's team on June 18, Hernandez claimed to have submitted his resignation on May 28, a clear attempt to downplay the significance of the embarrassing auto leak. Jorge Alondro Rodriguez

14:46 The Guaido critic among Venezuelan opposition personally offered a $1,000 prize to anyone who could prove the lawyer did in fact resign in May. The circumstances surrounding Hernandez's resignation demonstrated the anti-Chavista opposition growing discontent with Guaido's fake regime. At the time of Hernandez's testimony in June of 2020,

15:14 Several opposition parties were boycotting legislative committee hearings in protest of Guaido, having recognized opposition lawmaker Louis Parta as the interim president. So they basically fired Guaido from the only semi-legitimate, because remember, he staged the whole thing. He wasn't there. He tried to climb over the fence, all that stuff.

15:45 He has no authority in Venezuela at all at this point. As a result, the only parties present for Hernandez's statement were those representing the extreme opposition of the G4 coalition. This meant that unless Venezuela's government spied on the meeting, Hernandez's comments had been leaked to the vice president's office by one of his supposed allies.

16:12 The lawyer acknowledged the betrayal moments after the recording surfaced, complaining on X that the leak was only possible if there were internal participants. To fully illustrate, Hernandez's corrupt character within the single chapter of a book represents a great task. Following his resignation from Guaido's fake regime,

16:42 Anya discovered yet another nefarious mark on the lawyer's record, this time related to his work on behalf of foreign oil giants that had successfully defrauded Venezuela's government out of billions of dollars. The investigation was difficult, requiring Anya to go through heaps of court documents containing corporate and legal jargon.

17:10 until she reached the inner workings of a multi-billion dollar fraud racket. From there, she traced the blueprints of a scheme that saw foreign oil companies coordinate with corrupt PDVSA functionaries in order to win favorable contracts with the state-run company, bilking Venezuelans' government of billions of dollars. The plot centered around a shady Panama-based consulting firm

17:40 called H-I-L-S-I-N-G-E, Helsinge Incorporated. Having established this consulting firm, Helsinge, amid Chavez's efforts to reform Venezuela's oil sector in early 2000s,

18:11 Vacario, officially fled the country for Miami in 2004. From there, the pair leveraged their contacts within the PDVSA Caracas office to gain confidential information regarding Venezuela's future oil contracts. Helsinge then shared that information with its corporate oil industry clients, including Russia's Lukoil

18:40 and Singapore's oil company, enabling them to crush competing bids with ease. Essentially, this consulting firm provided cover for a textbook insider trading trader conspiracy. The consulting fees it collected were simply bribes for corporate patrons furnished in exchange for an unauthorized leak of internal operations.

19:09 of the Venezuelan oil company. Clients like Luke Oil from Russia compensated this consulting firm through Panama bank accounts, which served as money washing for funds that Murillo and Banquero then transferred to their corrupt PDVSA collaborators in Caracas. Classic insider trading. As a result of this contract rigging ploy,

19:39 PDVSA purchased products from its international partners at inflated prices while selling its oil below market rate for years. One oil industry source familiar with the case estimated the scheme cost Venezuela's government at least $15 billion in losses for PDVSA. Venezuela's government eventually caught wind of the racket and established a U.S.-based legal trust to investigate it.

20:09 headed by hotshot corporate attorney David Boyce, B-O-I-E-S, in 2018, that trust filed a lawsuit against Helsing, its oil clients, and PDVSA collaborators, and the international financial institutions that facilitated it. Despite a mountain of evidence presented to a Florida court,

20:37 including emails, bank ledgers, sworn witness testimony detailing the fraud. Magistrate Judge Alicia Otero Reyes ultimately dismissed the suit just one year after it was filed. Her decision was not based on the merits of the case, however, but on a technical argument put forward by the corporate defendants. Perhaps at this point in the tale of Venezuela's corporate coup,

21:08 Readers will be unsurprised to learn that Jose Hernandez applied the main line of defense for the multinational enterprise accused in the Helsing scheme. So he was employed on behalf of the defendants to steal or justify the stealing of $15 billion.

21:38 from Venezuela. That's crazy. In August 2018, just five months before Guaido's tapped the lawyer as his top legal representative, you know, the fake AG to the fake House of Representatives in Venezuela, the oil companies charged in the contract rigging scheme sought Hernandez's expert advice to save themselves in court.

22:13 Hernandez's task was not to prove his clients innocent, but to invalidate the case brought against them by arguing the litigation trust that assembled the lawsuit was not valid under Venezuela law. The same Venezuelan law that he completely ignored in the Crelex case. His strategy was a success. On March 8, 2019, the Florida court announced that relying on the testimony of

22:46 Professor Hernandez, it found that the trust agreement was void under Venezuela law, which it was not. Hernandez was handsomely rewarded for his corporate collaboration amid the pages of his August 2018 witness testimony. Hernandez disclosed that he had received $350 an hour for his work on behalf of the defendants. As with Krelix and Owens-Coring, their investment in Hernandez paid big.

23:15 Prior to his ascent within the Guaido coup regime, Hernandez served as the opposing team's star witness at at least three separate legal battles involving the Venezuelan government in U.S. courts and international arbitration tribunals. Hernandez demonstrated habitual fidelity to his corporate clients after gaining nominal status as a fake attorney general in U.S. courts.

23:45 a perverted allegiance that ultimately placed his country's most valuable asset, Sitco Petroleum, in peril. A Delaware court confirmed this fact in March 2023 when it ruled that four additional foreign corporations could collect debts owed by the Venezuelan state by seizing assets belonging to Sitco. Through this same alter ego argument that informed the judgment,

24:16 was nothing new. This time, the court explicitly cited the actions of Guaido's government that really didn't even exist for its basis. The court specifically asserted that Guaido's policy of treating Venezuelan sovereign debt as equal to debt incurred by its state oil company, PDVSA, in negotiations with foreign creditors, term crafted by the Harvard

24:44 Economic wizzo Ricardo Haussmann himself proved that Sitco's assets were, in fact, indistinguishable from the state. Beneficiaries of this March 2023 ruling included U.S. defense contractor Northrop Drummond and Ohio-based glassmaker Owens Corning, Owens, Illinois, the latter of which contracted Hernandez as an expert witness in its legal pursuit of Sitco.

25:13 Days after the Delaware decision, members of Venezuela's once solidly pro-Guido G4 coalition called for a formal investigation into the conduct of these U.S.-based traitors. Though Hernandez's manner eventually forced his departure from official public life, his critics among Venezuelan opposition assured Aña their fight to hold him accountable.

25:41 did not end alongside the lawyer's service to Guaido. We have reasons to believe that Hernandez's conduct has to be investigated. And that came from the opposition leaders. The previous summer, Rodriguez and his party filed a former complaint with the U.S. Justice Department urging an investigation to investigate Hernandez under the foreign corruption practices.

26:13 which barred U.S. citizens and entities from bribing foreign government officials in pursuit of business interests. Hernandez's braven behavior also appeared to violate American Bar Association rules of professional conduct for attorneys, which stipulate, quote, a lawyer shall not represent a client if the representation involves

26:42 a concurrent conflict of interest, unquote. At the time that the book was written, Washington continues to ignore Hernandez's probable violation of U.S. legal standards. Knowing that political instability in countries usually brings about white-collar crime, which we saw in Russia and other former republics, in the case of Venezuela right now,

27:09 With this political turmoil, it is obvious the DOJ has to investigate Hernandez. This case, Rodriguez, the guy involved, must be investigated. Washington's continued refusal to investigate Hernandez raised questions. Was the corporate coup enabled by Washington?

27:39 in their recognition of Guido, merely a veil to grab Sitco, because that's, in fact, what it was used for, which is absolutely crazy. I just sent you a co-host, Bridget, into SR. Renee here was here earlier, but then she disappeared.

28:13 Next area, I'm going to try to get through the whole thing, so you'll have to bear with me because this one's very important. It's called Operation Gideon, G-I-D-E-O-N. We've talked about gold. We've talked about oil. Venezuela is also known for large deposits of iron ore. The country is also home to what's called

28:51 CACA, CACO, C-A-C-A-O, which of course is the ingredient for chocolate. And they are one of the top crop producers for the coca plant. Though Venezuela is no longer a leading exporter of it, luxury chocolatiers still covet its crop.

29:24 and its center of production are among the country's top tourist destinations because we all love our chocolate. Spend enough time in Venezuela at a local area, and they will eventually get you to visit the area. It is a Caribbean beach town called Corani that is accessible via a two-hour boat ride.

29:57 and a car ride down a dirt road winding through a cloud forest located in the country's oldest national park, Henry Pitier. The steamy mountain ranges that envelop Korani provide a perfect climate for the plants. Its neighbor, where do they get these names? C-H-U-A-O.

30:30 Chuo is also a base of this plant's production because it has rainforest mountainous areas next to the Caribbean Sea. The peaks of the mountains surrounding the area seem impenetrable. In fact, the village is only accessible by boat. Early on the morning of May 4, 2020, local authorities

31:03 in the area noticed a suspicious vessel bobbing in the distant sea. The fishermen alerted the colectivos and Venezuela's state security forces. And remember, the colectivos are their militia. They coordinated to apprehend the boat. On board, they discovered a cache of military equipment, as well as eight apparent mercenaries, two of which were U.S. citizens.

31:34 The raid was part of Venezuela's response to what is known as Operation Gideon, a foiled plot to capture or kill President Maduro, led by former U.S. Green Beret named Jordan, I don't know how you pronounce his last name, Godreau, G-O-U-D-R-E-A-U. While the conspiracy is subject to routine popular ridicule,

32:06 Often dubbed the Bay of Piglets in reference to a bungled CIA invasion, attempted invasion of Cuba, Operation Gideon reminded ordinary Venezuelans of the threat they faced as the U.S. actively sought their government's overthrow. It also raised questions about how far the ideologues in Washington would go to achieve regime change.

32:34 Perhaps one day there will be a dramatic biopic about Gordon Gaudreau and his background. He was a he had professional ties to what he actually set up a security firm, private security firm. His entry into the world of made for TV intelligence ops began.

33:10 with a childhood admiration of U.S. military. He was born in Canada and moved to the U.S. as a young man so that he could enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces, telling a family friend that he believed it would give him more challenges. Goudreau fought in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as part of an elite Charlie Company in the 1st Battalion.

33:42 10th Special Forces Group before injuring himself and retiring from combat in 2016. Two years later, he founded a private Florida-based security firm called Silver Corp USA. Silver Corp early promotional material had nothing to do with Latin America or mercenary missions.

34:05 The first video posted on his Instagram page featured audio of a news report and 9-11 calls filed from the scene of U.S. school shootings from Stoneman Douglas to Sandy Hook, playing over grainy video of police, etc., saying last year more than 750,000 instances of violent crimes took place within the U.S. school system.

34:36 That was Godot's narration of his promotion video. After portraying U.S. school children as sitting ducks surrounded by mass shooters, he went on to offer his solution to the bloodshed. A slow, eerie background music suddenly faded to electronic optimism as he informed the viewers that Silver Corp USA existed to remove threats, keep your family safe, and create opportunities.

35:05 for those who protect and serve our country. His plan was to hire a bunch of prior military people as security guards. Though through Silver Corp, Goudreau hoped to cash in on the elevated parental anxiety while bringing the counterinsurgency tactics he learned fighting the war on terror abroad back to the U.S.

35:36 In his mind, his employees would apply their experience in Kabul and Columbine and move us on to a safer school environment. Silver Corp USA is there for you, he said in his video. Beyond the promotional video, it was unclear how he took his school security venture.

36:08 into actually applying it, there wasn't a lot on the website. The beauty of it is it's all for the price of a Netflix subscription. What he was trying to say is if you got all the parents to chip in like $12 a month, that the school could afford to have it self-guarded, basically is the nuts and bolts of it. According to his vision, parents would pay

36:38 $8.99 a month to obtain security services for the children's school. On campus, Silver Corp employees would not only train school staff in tactics, but embed themselves in the faculty and deploy counterintelligence tactics against students. Speaking with the Post, he conjured up a highly implausible scenario during which he would root out potential school shooters.

37:07 pretending to be a teacher. He'd be just, you know, a cool shop teacher or something. His fantasies reflected a mentality that would soon lead him into directing an undermanned, undersupply invasion of a foreign country that he had never visited and didn't understand. Though no schools nor parents had contracted his services at the time,

37:36 His November 2018 rendezvous with the Post, Goudreau and Silvercorp would soon attain international notoriety that he craved. When his name first surfaced in media reports connected to Venezuela, the story was almost too absurd to believe. On May 1, 2020, the AP, Joshua Goodman, published a story.

38:04 revealing the existence of a covert plan to ignite a popular rebellion in Venezuela that would culminate with the arrest of President Maduro. The plot dubbed Operation Gideon was to be carried out by 300 volunteer combatants, many of them Venezuelan defectors, who planned to sneak into the country from Colombia, raid military bases in an effort to turn soldiers

38:33 toward their cause and marched towards Caracas in pursuit of the president. At the center of the blueprint was his private security company, Silver Corp USA, which had reportedly been contracted to oversee training and weapons procurement for the operation. Goodman based his report on interviews with over two dozen opposition activists and would-be mercenaries with direct knowledge of or involvement in the operation.

39:02 According to their accounts, Goudreau first linked up with Venezuelan opposition in February 2019 when he traveled to Colombia to provide security for the Live Aid concert that we talked about earlier in the book for Richard Branson. So it was infiltrated. The whole thing was a scam. He made contacts.

39:32 within Guaido's team that eventually led him to a Venezuelan military vet named Cliver Alcala. He was a former army general, you know, like the National Guard generals that the CIA turned into Cartel de la Sol. Yeah, same kind of operation. Alcala had been organizing low-level Venezuelan military deserters in Colombia.

40:03 since his own defection from Caracas in early 2019. Over the course of two days meeting at a Marriott, Alcala informed Gaudreau that he was overseeing roughly 300 men, including participants in previously botched assassination attempts against Maduro in camps scattered along Colombian's border with Venezuela.

40:33 So we're going with a bunch of losers. But this time, it's not going to work either. Hoping to capitalize on the Trump administration's growing interest in toppling Maduro, Goodman explained to Goudreau and Akala, and they hatched a plan to train and equip these men for the plot that became Operation Gideon. Goudreau told his new Venezuelan friends,

41:06 that the plan to kidnap or kill the country's president came with a high cost, what he estimated to be around $1.5 million. Thankfully, the gun-for-hire claim his high-level contacts in the Trump administration would help iron out operational kinks. And I'm sure that's probably Elliot Abrams and John Bolton. Indeed, Goudreau had previously made contact with...

41:37 one of a security team by the name of Keith Schiller, S-C-H-I-L-L-E-R, through industry contacts, and won a single silver court contract to provide security for President Trump in November 2018. Still no evidence ever materialized to prove the Oval Office had any role in Operation Gideon at all.

42:08 In fact, sources close to Schiller told Goodman that he ended all contact with the ex-Green Beret after May 2019 meeting in Miami because he thought it was crazy. Despite limited resources and wanting interest from would-be patrons, Goudreau and Alcala pushed ahead with their plot. Ephraim Matos, a retired Navy SEAL who spent two weeks training,

42:41 With the men, in September 2019, told Goodman that soldiers lived in squalid conditions with no running water. They rationed food, they slept on the floor, and they were forced to train with sawed-off broomsticks in place of assault rifles. Nothing spells success like using brooms for guns. Unfortunately, there's a lot of cowboys in this business who try to peddle their military credentials into a big payday.

43:10 Matos told Goodman. Though Goodman declined to speak on the record, Operation Gideon came to life within hours of the report's May 1st publication. Goodrow, day in the sun, finally arrived in early morning hours of May 3rd when Venezuela's government announced it had repelled an attempted maritime invasion of its borders. In a video statement posted on X,

43:44 That evening, Goodrow sported a New York Yankees baseball cap as he knelt on one leg before a backdrop of trees. At 1700 hours, a daring amphibious raid was launched from the border of Columbia, deep into the heart of Caracas. The life-size G.I. Joe announced with his...

44:12 like in a sleeveless shirt. To Guttro's left, a Venezuelan military defector named Javier Quintero mimicked the former Green Beret's manufactured pose, clad in a flak vest, complete with a rolled up Venezuelan flak. Quintero appeared to be auditioning for a supporting role. Quoted as saying, our units have a...

44:46 activated in the southwest and east of Venezuelan, Goudreau said, declaring with confidence before he turned to his partner, who proceeded to deliver the Spanish equivalent, announcing Operation Gideon. The number one objective is the capture of the criminal organization that today unfortunately directs the destiny of the nation, Quintero said.

45:16 According to Goudreau, a Venezuelan National Guard captain named Antonio Jose Sequela Torres was commanding the ongoing raid. He fled Venezuela in April of 2019 after he participated in Guaido's failed military rebellion and helped coordinated opposition leader Leopardo Lopez's escape from house arrest.

45:49 Quintero's decision to publicize Operation Gideon's launch was bizarre. By the time they published their statement, Venezuelan authorities had already captured two of their men and killed at least six others. Yet they pressed ahead, undeterred. Juan Jose Riordan was also an operator, at least according to...

46:18 a mythology he built around himself as a Latin American most coveted political consultant, known as the Latin American version of Karl Rove. Rendon's infamous gutter-style tactics led the region's most notorious U.S. collaborators to political victory in Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, and Dominican Republic. During Colombia's 2010 presidential campaign,

46:48 A left of center Green Party contender threatened to defeat Washington's preferred candidate, Juan Manuel Santos. Faced with sinking poll numbers, the Santos team hired Rendon just 21 days before the election. In that short time, Rendon was credited with converting what had been a split race into a comfortable victory for Santos.

47:16 who walked away with 69% of the vote. Colombian and U.S. media claimed the result was delivered by a Rendon-directed internet whisper campaign that spread rumors asserting Santos' opponent was a gay, foreign-born atheist. So, Rendon is infamous for smear campaigns.

47:46 He also counted a number of high-profile clients beyond Bogota, including Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who won office in 2012, and Honduras' President Sosa, Lobo Sosa, who came to power in 2010 after a U.S.-backed coup that removed the democratically elected leader, José Manuel Zelaya.

48:14 A psychologist by training. Where have we seen that before? Rendon received two post doctorates in psychology, which is in a weird psychology. Well, that's kind of redundant. That examines the links of one's physical well-being to a subconscious, positing that diseases like cancer are the product.

48:44 of your inner manifestations. He presented himself as a political mystic, typically assenting his soft features and designer dress that looked like it belonged in Miami. Journalists granted the privilege of visiting Rendon's residence in Miami and their financial center tend to produce fawning profiles of him with

49:17 talking about the gold trinket, samurai swords, and Buddha shrine, all that makes up his house. Throughout 2019, the condo in the upscale district provided the backdrop for planning for Operation Gideon. The political consultant's involvement in Operation Gideon came to light in the botched raids' immediate aftermath when Goudreau

49:45 turned to the media to blame the plot's failure on Rendon and his colleagues in Guaido's shadow government. Around the time that Goudreau took responsibility for the attack via X, he hopped online for an interview with a Miami-based YouTuber, a popular personality among Venezuela's anti-Chevista expat community. In a since-deleted live stream called Proof That Guaido Signed The Contract,

50:15 Goudreau shared his side of Operation Gideon for the first time, explaining that while he initially refused an offer with the AP to discuss his contract with Venezuelan opposition out of professionalism, he decided it was time to publicize the agreement after associates failed to uphold their end of the bargain. Typically, I'm never going to come out and share a contract, but men's lives are at stake, he said.

50:46 He appeared to be in the same mystery outdoor location as well with early evening sun and the foliage behind him. The contract later partially published online established a general service agreement to help liberate Venezuela. The former Green Beret claimed that dozens of his men had spent the preceding weeks living in a cemetery located near

51:14 the Colombian border with Venezuela, evading local police to carry out Operation Gideon. You had 60 Venezuelans who were hungry, still training, thinking about liberation. His men's dire conditions was the fault of Guaido and his allies, who Goudreau claimed failed to follow through on their contracted obligations to finance the mission. Who violated, he was asked.

51:42 He flipped through a stack of papers and held a singular sheet up for the camera, revealing four signatures, his own, Rendon's, that of Guido advisor Sergio Vergara, and a purportedly scribbled signature, which was purported to be Guido's. The fifth signature was a lawyer named as a witness, Manuel J.

52:13 You're rid of. I have never seen the level of backstabbing and complete disregard for men in the field, Goudreau went on. Mercenaries get paid. No one paid me and my team a cent. Claiming he ultimately crowdfunded the operation by soliciting support from average Venezuelans around the world. I want these guys to live and I want them to succeed. Within hours of this interview.

52:46 On May 4th, a second group of Gaudreau's men attempted to invade Venezuela via a remote northern coastal town. That's the people we were talking about at the beginning. These were the ones apprehended by the local fishermen, militia, and police. By the time Operation Gideon ended, Venezuelan authorities had killed at least six of his troops and captured 47.

53:15 including Sequia and two U.S. citizens, Luke Denman and Arian Berry. A second high-level Venezuelan military defector, Army Captain Robert Colina Yabera, was among those killed. Venezuelan's government published images of the equipment that was recovered.

53:40 In the raids, including rifles, satellite phones, and helmets emblazoned with U.S. flags on state television. Photographs of the arrest showed several of Goudreau's grunts, including Denman and Berry, face down on the pavement of a small fishing village with their hands behind their backs. Another image, members of the intelligence branch.

54:07 stood with the detainees, which included Denman and Berry, on the beach next to a police van. The photos were a morale boost to the Venezuelan population. Speedboats, mercenaries, large-scale weapons, vehicles with machine guns installed, said the television host over Venezuelan TV. They underestimated us again, the reporter said.

54:36 According to the Venezuelan intelligence, they had been monitoring Operation Gideon from across the border. AP press was told we knew everything, some of their meetings, everything. Goudreau himself contended that Operation Gideon had been compromised, making vague references to Cubans from the regime.

55:07 who had infiltrated the plot. Goudreau's claim to an alleged contract with Guaido and his advisors placed Rendon's on the defensive. With the responsibility for dead men and captured ex-Venezuelans placed directly on his high-rent doorstep, the political spinmeister launched a damage control campaign.

55:34 Rendon's version of events appeared on May 6th in none other than the Washington Post, reporting how Venezuelan opposition leaders had smooched with Goudreau at the consultant's glittering Miami high-rise, complete with obligatory mention of Rendon's room. Guaido's tapped Rendon, a Venezuelan native, to lead a covert strategic committee.

56:03 tasked with investigating ways to forcibly remove Maduro from power. We went through every law possible, Rendon later told Vice. In our process, we discovered we cannot use law. So we studied what it is possible if someone else, a third party, whoever, to pick up like bounty hunters in the U.S. and present him to justice.

56:32 Maybe to collect the reward. Rendon's search for bounty hunters eventually led him to Goudreau, who claimed to be training hundreds of men in Colombia for a mission to capture Maduro. Though he admitted to signing the civil court contract and paying Goudreau $50,000, Rendon said he ceased all communication with the former Green Beret after he demanded the $1.5 million retainer fee.

56:59 Rendon insisted that he and others within Guaido's circle, including the interim president, the fake president, eventually grew suspicious, you think, and began to doubt key elements of the plan. Rendon told the Post that as of November 2019, he and his allies believed Operation Gideon was defunct. While much of Rendon's story matched with Gaudreau's version of events,

57:33 ex-Green Beret's statements. Hush! Hold on a second. My husband's coming back from his meeting. Though Gaudreau had published a contract that included Guaido's signature, Rendon insisted Venezuelan coup leader never signed the agreement and only had limited information regarding the outline. But he knew. So did Rendon. They were actively involved as civilians in a coup against a foreign government.

58:11 Even this admission undermined Guaido's official statement on Operation Gideon, which not only asserted he didn't sign the contract, but that he had no idea it was even going on. In response to Guaido's cries of innocence, Goodrow published an audio recording purporting to document the moment Venezuelans, U.S.-backed fake government, whom he referred to as President Guaido,

58:40 Sign the agreement. I do have concerns, but we are doing the right thing for our country. The voice that's Guido's said. Who was telling the truth? Anya tried to call as many as the characters involved in Operation Gideon while she was writing the book. The phone rang once and Guido answered it on her first attempt to reach him. It was May 4th.

59:14 hardly a day since Venezuelan authorities first responded to Operation Gideon, and hours after they had detained a second group of Gaudreau's men, including two U.S. citizens. He admitted that they were his guys. In light of the open disdain he expressed for Venezuelans' opposition figures while speaking on the video that had been published already and now taken down,

59:42 Anya tried to establish a connection with Goudreau based on their shared experience dealing with Guido's unsavory characters. He told her, I would definitely talk to you tomorrow. It's just that I'm kind of in the middle of containing this crisis. The former special ops soldier sounded stressed and who could blame him? She agreed to call him back. But by then, he had went off the radar.

1:00:13 The following afternoon, AP revealed the U.S. government had opened a federal investigation into the former Green Beret for arms trafficking, a move that virtually muzzled him from any future media events. Though she was interested in his dealings with Guaido, she was far more preoccupied with his relationship to Washington, which U.S. officials knew about Operation Gideon, she wanted to know.

1:00:41 had any of them provided any logistical support. And it was very interesting that Washington immediately gagged him. Drew White was listed as Silver Corp's chief operating officer on tax documents. On May 5th, Anya spoke with White for roughly 17 minutes. According to White, Gaudreau was a great guy whom he considered a brother. He was a best man at my wedding, he said.

1:01:15 White was also an ex-U.S. Special Forces operative who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He told me that he fought alongside him overseas as a teammate, then partnered with him to launch Silvercorp following their respective departures from the military. Yet at its inception, Silvercorp's mission was a far cry from regime change. White was concerned about that.

1:01:44 Because he had founded a private security company, not a mercenary firm. Like many of Goudreau's friends and allies, White said he declined his colleague's proposal to participate in Operation Gideon. White has now had left the company and was running a company out in Colorado Springs. He said, I own several companies around here. I have priorities. And it's not regime change.

1:02:19 Reflecting on Goudreau's pitch for Operation Gideon, White recalled, my gut check was like, I don't want to be part of this. White explained the original, when he was originally contacted and offered to participate in what Goudreau called a State Department operation. Huh, who was running the State Department? Oh, that would be the guy that used to run the CIA called Mike Pompeo. He said his friend.

1:02:51 produced what was presented as a State Department contract. That, upon further review, seemed a bit odd. Though he confessed prior knowledge of the harebrained plot, like Rendon, White expressed surprise at Goudreau's decision to follow through with it, given all the problems. He was especially preoccupied with the fate of Luke Denman and Arian Barry.

1:03:20 who had all been teammates with them. I just wish the guys went back to doing the school security stuff. Why did Jordan Gaudreau claim to have a State Department contract? Was he a patsy placed in the line of fire for more powerful forces behind Operation Gideon? Though Venezuela's government charged Washington with overseeing the scheme and had arrested two U.S. citizens involved in it,

1:03:52 The Trump administration said they had nothing to do with it. Mike Pompeo denied any knowledge. If we had been involved, it would have gone differently, Mike Pompeo said. Yeah, I'm not so sure. Who knows? We've had a lot more failures in coup regime changes than we have successes, even though we've had over 90 successes. We've attempted at least 400.

1:04:25 If there are, in fact, Americans that are there, then we can figure a path forward, Mike Pompeo went on to say. At the time of his press conference, Venezuelan had already published images of the two U.S. and their passports, so he knew damn good and well we had Americans there. On the same afternoon that Pompeo fielded questions from reporters, Venezuelan authorities broadcast video statements from the two Americans.

1:04:56 In their confession, Berry and Denman discussed their respective experiences in the U.S. military and explained that they had met Gaudreau while serving overseas. Both men told their interrogators they traveled to Colombia in January of 2020 to carry out a job on behalf of their former special ops teammate. According to Denman, their agenda was to meet a group of Venezuelans in Colombia, train them,

1:05:26 and come with them to Venezuela to Caracas. He was told the U.S. government would dispatch a plane to collect Maduro. When Denman and Berry departed from the Colombian coast aboard a fishing boat accompanied with a team of 60 or so hungry men, they genuinely expected to be greeted as liberators. Upon their arrival, the high-level military commander

1:05:56 rank-and-file soldiers and average citizens joined their march. They expected them to join their march to the capital, sweeping out Maduro. They didn't know they were going to end up in handcuffs. It is difficult to explain why they went ahead with what many neutral observers considered a suicide mission, if not for Venezuela's prior knowledge of the plot.

1:06:31 those involved, there's a good chance both men would have been killed during the operation because they went ashore where armed militia was. According to Drew White, Denman and Berry had been pretty closed about their participation in Operation Gideon. Still, he insisted he told everyone with the plan that it didn't seem viable. Shortly,

1:07:00 After Anya published her phone call with White, Luke Denman's younger brother, Mark, reached out to Anya on X. Though the Denman and Berry families opted to avoid public spotlight in the following days, Mark talked to Anya. Quote, as far as I know, my brother Luke was deep sea diving, unquote.

1:07:25 He went on to say, obviously, I know my brother's history and background. And when I saw Operation Gideon in the news, it piqued my interest. And then it really piqued my interest when I saw Gordon's name attached to it because he was one of Luke's unit buddies. During their phone call, Mark said that he was relieved to know that Luke and Arian was alive and that they appeared to be healthy. And the video confessions aired on Venezuelan television.

1:07:52 He related that although he comes from a large family that included six siblings, Luke talked with Arian and Jordan as if they were brothers. They're like six-man teams, special units. They all treat each other as brothers. According to Mark, that trust ultimately convinced his big brother to travel to Columbia with Goodrow, who offered him a job.

1:08:22 in Operation Gideon. Arian, meanwhile, left his wife and kids behind in Germany, where he had settled following his 2013 departure from the military. Luke Denman told Venezuelan authorities that he expected to receive somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 for the operation. Instead, he and Barry received charges of terrorism, illegal weapons trafficking, conspiracy, and each faced up to 35 years in prison.

1:08:52 for their involvement in the attempted coup. In October 2020, Goudreau filed a $1.4 million lawsuit against Rendon and Florida Corp, accusing the Venezuelan political consultant of contract breach. As part of the lawsuit, Goudreau revealed more details to support his claim that Operation Gideon was a U.S.-backed plot, naming two mid-level federal officials that he was aware of.

1:09:21 that was involved in the planning. Goudreau contended that Silvercorp beat out competing proposals for a private military operation to Alice Maduro, including one that had been put forward by Eric Prince, but Prince denied that. He also insisted the knowledge of the plot permeated at a much higher level than mid-level in U.S. government. According to Goudreau, not only did Guaido

1:09:51 become involved, but Leopardo Lopez, the ringleader of Venezuela's U.S.-backed opposition, had been briefed on the operation as well. I mean, otherwise, how would he even know his name? Goudreau's honesty was immediately questioned. His lawsuit was designed to make Operation Gideon seem legitimate, yet the only U.S. government officials he claimed to have met with was Jason Beasley.

1:10:22 an advisor to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Andrew Horn, an advisor to Mike Pence. Both men refused to speak with the media while Pence's office denied any knowledge. Regardless of their relationship with Goodrow, neither man held the rank of someone that would be tasked with overseeing a covert operation on behalf of the U.S. government. Now, I would not have expected...

1:10:49 Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North to be tasked with that either, but he was. So the rank of the individual has literally nothing to do with that. And it was out of the vice president's office using his national security advisor that Iran-Contra was ran with Donald Gregg and Felix Rodriguez. So, and Felix Rodriguez was basically the four deployed guy running.

1:11:18 the El Salvador El Pobotango or whatever the name of that airport was. And he didn't even have an official job in the administration other than being attached to the CIA. So who knows? Goudreau was not the only player swept up in Gideon drama who claimed the U.S. government had operational knowledge. Cliver Alcala, the retired Venezuelan general who initially hatched the plot.

1:11:51 alongside Gaudreau, also asserted the CIA and other U.S. agencies was aware. According to his attorneys, Alcala's effort to overthrow Maduro's government was reported to the CIA, National Security Council, John Bolton, and the Department of Treasury. Alcala character...

1:12:15 His character climaxed weeks before details of Operation Gideon even surfaced in the media. On March 23, 2020, Colombian authorities intercepted a truck carrying arms that appeared destined for the Venezuela border. While authorities initially believed the supplies were meant for local guerrillas or gangs, Alcala posted a video statement on March 26 claiming responsibility for the weapons shipment.

1:12:46 On his ex-account from his apartment in Colombia, Alcala proceeded to announce his involvement in a military operation against the Maduro government, which he claimed to have planned alongside Guaido and Rendon, which seems very odd. You don't usually announce coups on ex, I'm just saying. On the day of Alcala's...

1:13:11 extraordinary confession, the U.S. State Department just happened to indict President Maduro on drug trafficking charges and announced a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. You see the problem with that? When you do that, it's almost as if you want somebody to plan one of these events. That's very problematic. In conjunction with the prize Maduro

1:13:47 The State Department issued bounties for other officials, including Dios Cado Cabello and Tariq L. Asami. Huh, that's weird. They were the Minister of Industry and Production. And oddly, Cliver Alcala. Huh. And don't forget.

1:14:19 When they do this, when they announce those indictments in the past, it has been done to protect them. So the coup plotter in Colombia was on the list of people that was targeted by the State Department, meaning you can't investigate them if you find them. The episode intensified intelligence intrigue surrounding Gideon. Why did U.S. file charges against Alcala?

1:14:50 even though he had already defected from Venezuelan's government. We know why. Why did Alcala reveal details of Gideon, including the involvement of Guaido and Rendon, before turning himself in to U.S. authorities? Most puzzling, why did Operation Gideon move forward even after Alcala, its commander, had been arrested and taken to the U.S.?

1:15:18 These are some of the most bewildering questions to emerge on the plotline of Operation Gideon, an event that marked perhaps singularly most fantastic chapter in the fake Guaido coup. The Venezuelan government source once posited to Aña that a faction of Colombia's intelligence service opposed Operation Gideon and had set out to sabotage the plot.

1:15:48 with its March 23rd weapons seizure. If that were the case, perhaps Alcala saw the writing on the wall. Operation Gideon was doomed. On top of possible reservations in Bogota, a vice investigation later asserted the CIA gained prior knowledge of the operation and had dispatched a representative to advise Goudreau against proceeding with it. These details suggested that some figures involved in Gideon,

1:16:18 such as Alcala, may have gotten cold feet as the mission approached. But why would U.S. authorities charge and detain him if he had cooperated? Because that's how they protect him. Images of Alcala's arrest may provide an answer to the first question. In a video footage of the moment the former Venezuelan general boarded a DEA plane in Colombia, a DEA plane, he is seen wearing a

1:16:49 dress shirt, black slacks, and shakes hands with and even hugs a group of suited-up men on the tarmac. That's coming to get him like he knew him. Following his goodbye, Alcala carried his own luggage aboard the DEA plane and flew to New York City. Though they had charged him with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and other drug-related crimes,

1:17:20 U.S. authorities did not handcuff their prisoner, instead presenting a perplexing image of him being a buddy. Had Alcala U.S. handlers merely offered him a comfortable exit from Columbia and Operation Gideon as the plot fell apart? Although mystifying images invited speculations, we may never know. And oh, by the way, they charged him with drugs. He had nothing to do with drugs. He was trafficking weapons. So eventually the case will get dismissed.

1:17:50 if it hasn't already. At the center of the State Department operation in Venezuela was James Story. James Story, that name keeps coming up. He's a career Foreign Service officer from South Carolina who took over Washington's Caracas, charged in Le Verre, in July 2018. In February 2019, AP profiled him as a steely huntsman at the helm.

1:18:21 of the embattled U.S. embassy in Caracas. Story arrived in Venezuela just five months before the U.S. recognition of the Guaido regime. In his memoirs, Pompeo personally credited Story with spearheading the campaign to whip up Venezuelan opposition in support of Guaido. Though Story served in a global array of U.S. embassies, including

1:18:53 Mosabek in Afghanistan, which is where I ran across him first, the diplomat's fluency in Spanish and Portuguese eventually grounded him in Latin America. Story held a variety of posts in the region before moving to Caracas, including Rio, Brazil. His other resume highlights included a stint of the Bureau.

1:19:19 of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Office for Foreign Western Hemisphere, as well as assignments directing INI operations in Colombia. Founded in 1978, INL was a division of the State Department that monitored international narcotics and did nothing about them. They monitored them for the CIA. During his time at INL,

1:19:51 in Bogota. Story oversaw the U.S. government's controversial fumigation program in Colombia, which we've talked about, which was supposed to get rid of the coca plants, but actually was getting rid of crops that farmers were using because they wanted the land to grow coca plants. It also caused widespread cancer and health defects in people.

1:20:22 Because they didn't pay any attention to any of the peasants that were in the area. So that was what Story oversaw. Upon landing in Caracas years later, Story's strong command of the Spanish language and Southern charm enabled him to ingratiate himself into Venezuelan opposition circles with ease. Throughout his brief stay in Venezuela, Story was unashamed of his close collaboration with

1:20:57 the opposition forces. You're supposed to be there working with the government, not their opposition. In a Facebook post from March 3rd, 2019, he shared a photo of himself hiking with a former opposition presidential candidate and said the Venezuelan people love him, not their president, this other guy who's the opposition to the president.

1:21:27 When Guaido returned to Venezuela from a regional tour the following afternoon, Story was on the freshly minted coup leader's heels almost immediately. Venezuela's fake president is back. He actually called him an interim president. On Facebook postings, Story's overtly partisan activities represented the kind of behavior considered uncouth for diplomats in foreign assignments.

1:21:56 You're not supposed to just be walking around with the opposition. You're supposed to at least pretend you're there to work on behalf of the U.S. government with the actual government. Venezuelan's government kicked Story out of the country shortly following Washington's recognition of Guaido. Venezuela's fake president had no power to ensure Story remained in the country, which tells you everything about who was actually running the country.

1:22:27 After a brief return to the state, Story established a virtual U.S. embassy in Venezuela to Venezuela, housed in a Washington diplomatic office in Bogota. So he went back to Colombia. From there, he managed a command post for Venezuela U.S.-backed opposition as they mapped out regime changes in Caracas. Story was so fond of Venezuela opposition, in fact, that he eventually hosted private gatherings of Guaido allies at his Bogota.

1:22:58 In February of 2021, Venezuelan opposition leaders, including Leopardo Lopez and Vecchio, traveled to Colombia's capital to attend a closed-door summit at a local Marriott. There, over the course of several days, they enjoyed valuable face time with U.S. officials and mulled over options for transitioning the Venezuelan government, as in the Office of Transition Initiatives.

1:23:27 The secret meetings agenda was subsequently leaked to Venezuelan's government and published online. According to the leaked details, the summit kicked off with a barbecue at Story's private home. Story later confirmed the party took place, boasting in his weekly YouTube live stream. Holy crap. Story complimented his open affection for Washington's anti-democratic Venezuelan shock troops with raging contempt for.

1:24:00 The government actually running Venezuela. When a military coup ousted Bolivian President Evo Morales in 2019, Story took to his Facebook book in celebration. You know, the guy that got rid of the coca plants being illegally trafficked over to Colombia. They were really excited about that. Proud the brave people of Bolivia. Proud of. It was a military coup. They installed a dictator.

1:24:34 overthrowing the democratically elected president, and then went on to say Venezuela will also one day be free of tyranny. Several months following Story's forecast of regime change in Venezuela, Goudreau's ragtag ban made its way to the coast. Alcala and Goudreau planned Operation Gideon in Bogota, where Story is also planning regime change in Venezuela. Just saying.

1:25:09 What gave Goudreau the impression that he was working on a State Department contract? Could it have been the State Department representative in the fake Venezuelan embassy in Bogota? Did Story have any knowledge of Operation Gideon? Then there's the obvious question. How many U.S. citizens able to travel to Colombia, ship arms into the country, and oversee military training camps inside a sovereign country called...

1:25:41 Colombia, without the ambassador knowing it, including Americans who had to issue the visas to get in this country to begin with. Just a few questions I have. Then consider the statement Secretary Pompeo delivered April 29th, days before Gideon went into effect. Quote, in Venezuela, I am pleased to report that a multilateral effort to restore democracy is continuing to build momentum.

1:26:12 I've asked my team to update our plans to reopen the U.S. embassy in Caracas so we're able to go, be ready. As soon as Maduro steps aside, I am confident that we will raise the flag again in Caracas, like literally days before this mission launches. What made Pompeo so optimistic that Maduro was going to be regime changed and

1:26:43 Story was going to go back to Caracas. Considering Story's past work in the State Department Narcotics Division, did he have any role in the decision to offer $15 million rewards for information leading to Maduro's capture day before Gideon's launch, providing a direct incentive for any wannabe bounty hunters? We may never know the answer to that. However, on May 6th,

1:27:22 President Trump upgraded stories. His title at the time was charge de l'affaire for Venezuela because they don't actually have an ambassador because they're not actually in Venezuela. But he was nominated to be the ambassador of Venezuela located in Colombia. Crazy. Though the deepest questions concerning Gideon.

1:27:53 remain unanswered. There's increasing evidence that at least high-level U.S. officials had prior knowledge of the plan. In his memoirs, A Sacred Oath, Mark Esper shared his impression that members of Trump's National Security Council, i.e. John Bolton, were collaborating with Venezuelan extremist oppositions in a mysterious plot. He described a February 2020 White House Cabinet Room meeting

1:28:22 during which U.S. and Guaido officials discussed possible scenarios of a small special operations targeted directly at Maduro. Then, out of the blue, one of Guaido's colleagues looked at Esper across the table and said something like, we have some plans you, the U.S. government, know we are working on. They're not ready yet.

1:28:54 It was also noted that Guaido's ally made some quick reference to Florida before making eye contact with another person in the room that was working for John Bolton. That person was Cliver Carone. Cliver, Claver, C-L-A-V-E-R dash C-A-R-O-N-E, smiled back and nodded.

1:29:27 Esper continued in his description of the meeting. I looked directly at him about 15 feet away from me down the table to my left. He turned to me and our eyes met. His face immediately went blank. Something was up. Esper let his suspicion pass, relating that he proceeded to dismiss himself from the meeting to tend to obligations at the Pentagon. Yet other participants in the Venezuelan NSC summit stayed for quite some time.

1:29:57 Esper noted, I probably should have stayed too. When Operation Gideon went into effect roughly three months later, Esper said he wondered if this was the plan referred to by Guaido's team at the White House back in February. Though Venezuelan's government and its supporters characterize Esper's narrative as a confession of U.S. involvement in Operation Gideon.

1:30:25 His words could just as easily have been interpreted as spin. By emphasizing his exit from the meeting once discussions turned to a covert Venezuelan plot, Esper separated himself as a representative of Washington and the military from the planning.

1:30:49 Regardless of whether Washington was directly involved in Operation Gideon, there's no question the U.S. policy towards Venezuelan drove Goudreau and his friends to follow through with their reckless plot. What purpose did the State Department decision in offering $15 million reward for Maduro's arrest otherwise serve? According to Esper, the narco-trafficking charges against Maduro were the brainchild of William Barr, who convinced the U.S. president.

1:31:18 that a renewed focus on Washington's drug war in Latin America was the most effective way to pressure Venezuelan's government, a proposal the defense secretary accepted as a reasonable alternative to direct military invention. Except Venezuela isn't the one responsible for the drugs. That would be Colombia. Barr's hand in crafting the premium on Maduro's head was revealing. In 1989, Barr, then the advisor to the Justice Department, authored...

1:31:48 Excuse me, a legal memo that provided justification for the U.S. invasion of Panama. I'm sure that's a coincidence. The ensuing Operation Just Cause, which George H.W. Bush administration launched in December 20th, 1989, resulted in the arrest of Panama's then President Manuel Noriega on traffic trafficking charges, the exact same thing they were trying to do to Maduro. After 30 years later, Barr did basically the same thing.

1:32:18 to Maduro. The end of that chapter. That's freaking crazy. Weird how these same names keep coming up, doing the exact same thing, time after time after time. I believe Bridget and I call that a pattern. Bridget, I tried to throw you, go ahead, SR. I tried to throw Bridget the mic. Thank you, Colonel.

1:32:58 And thank everyone for adjusting time zones and everything else for us to be here with us on X and Rumble. And we know the Colonel's busy and, boy, we enjoy every minute we get with her. But I came out with three points out of all of this. First of all, I think I heard you say, and if I'm wrong, I'll be corrected, that the AP stated they knew all about this operation.

1:33:28 which means to me somebody leaked it. Second, there's still a Twitter presence of James Story. He's on Twitter now for anybody that wants to tag him if you want to. I've posted it in the pill. But given that and given where we see in my third point, you have the press that makes these accusations or.

1:34:00 shall I say pushes people into doing things they want them to do or want them to believe. And to me that coincides with the government and your exact statement concerning $15 million on the head of this man. So, yeah, I mean, I see it tracking all together. It just blows my mind. It's.

1:34:31 It's crazy. And the timing of it was all perfectly orchestrated. But yet they say it's all just a coincidence. We've learned probably two or three weeks into our research of Operation Gladio is there's no such thing as a coincidence. Well put. Patterns, rinse, wash, repeat. Patterns, patterns, over and over and over again. And I posted a bunch of articles and interesting links on Operation Gideon up in the...

1:35:07 Or down in the pill and up in the Megatron. Cool. Oh. I did want to mention something else about Story. Not only is he on Twitter, he's affiliated with institutions with Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Which is one of the CIA's favorite recruiting tools. You got it, Colonel. Yeah. And obviously.

1:35:42 As we have learned, the State Department people that follow the drugs around are all part and parcel of the coup regimes as well. So, yeah, that's very interesting. Bridget, did you have anything else that you wanted to add? There was one of the articles that I posted with the ex-Marine who was involved in it and how it came out.

1:36:14 and did scream quite loudly about how this was all planned, this was all set up, and he was being abandoned by our government. Geez, doesn't that sound familiar? Just saying. Yeah, definitely sounds familiar. Yeah, very familiar, actually. Yeah, since your earlier post, I thought that would, you know, it's just a shame that they...

1:36:48 They use us? That they use the military? Yes. Yes, ma'am. Over and over and over again. Whenever it's convenient and then they abandon you. Yeah. It's crazy. Absolutely crazy. And that actually goes back to that interview. I mean, yours is a perfect example. The interview that was done the other day that I forwarded to you.

1:37:23 um on what was it not bin laden yeah it was anyway um and all this other it you know they don't take care of their people and it's a shame and it's embarrassing and it needs to be brought to light yeah because i don't think most normal civilians know how how trampled on our military is oh yeah i mean i had to tell that one story there's so many stories

1:37:56 There's so many stories, so many stories and not just my story. I definitely have a story, but I spent 22 years trying to fix other people's bad stories through the board of.

1:38:25 Corrections of your military records, BCMR process, when the military would screw them over in trying to help them because of my extensive knowledge of the regulations, laws and directives. I had a greater insight than normal military members into how to right wrongs done to people. And so it's.

1:38:54 There are so many stories that need to be told about how the military goes about their business and not in a very flattering way. But since it is an institution that is paid for by the American people, the American people need to have that information to demand change. So anyway.

1:39:28 I mean, and it's kind of a dual ed sword. It's the military is such a camaraderie and family. It's like talking to strangers about shit that goes on in your family. You know, when you're a kid and you grow up in a dysfunctional house, you don't want to go around and blab about all the crap that goes on in your house for lots of different reasons.

1:39:53 That's what it feels like. It feels like you're ratting out your own family when you talk about the things that actually go on in the military. Because when you spend 30 years in an organization like that and you deploy with people and you're a family and you depend on those people sometimes in life and death.

1:40:18 That's why I think they take advantage of the esprit de corps within our special operations is because there's no greater bond in our family. They're like Siamese twins. When you get on a SEAL team, when you get on one of the black teams that are at JSOC, you spend.

1:40:46 The better part of your life 24-7, literally your life depends on those people. So you function more as a Siamese twin as opposed to even family members. That's how close you are. And when one, as demonstrated in the story, when one gets involved in something, you feel like you have to go to protect your brothers.

1:41:16 The CIA and these nefarious people play on that esprit de corps of these teams to manipulate them. I've read quite a few stories about they felt a compelling need once one makes a bad decision to go protect the one that made the bad decision. And that happens in normal day life, even while you're at home.

1:41:48 When you go to a bar or whatever, it takes on, and I don't mean this in a negative way, but it takes on kind of a game mentality that we've grown up with. That if you attack one of the members, they're going to come back. And they're going to come back with a bunch of their brothers. So people just need to know that. That's the way it is.

1:42:19 It's like, and I can use to make it a little bit lighter. I can definitely break that up. I used to fight like cats and dogs with my sisters, but no one else was allowed to touch them. And that's literally what it's like. Good analogy. I get that. Yeah. So anyway, crazy book, isn't it? It gives you a completely different look on.

1:42:55 The situation. By the way. I did post that link. To that interview. With Max Blumenthal. In the pill. And I also posted it out there on Rumble. Thank you. Yeah. And everything that I could find. Not that I doubted. But I always do check. If you. If you try to verify. All of this information.

1:43:26 There is information out there about all of this. The problem, obviously, is the short attention span of most people is it dribbles out over years, and you're only getting the news of the day, not the context of how the news of the day blends in with the prior news reporting because they're not very good.

1:43:56 at doing that because they're pushing a narrative. And when you get it all concisely put down, as Anya did in this book, it definitely builds a completely different narrative than the one we got in snippets. 100% Colonel. And what's really important about all of this, as I see it, is this is back in 2020. We're not talking. Right.

1:44:29 100 years ago. Yeah, we're not talking 50 years ago, Irene. We're not talking 50 years ago. Yeah. We're talking today. Yeah. And we're still being manipulated. That's what I find so interesting about the narratives now that you can watch trending on X. They all come out with the exact same talking point. And you'll get it 50 times.

1:45:06 with slightly different wording, but it's the exact same narrative. It's like psychologically trying to convince us that this point is true. And if I say it 50 times, that makes it true. It's still absolutely ridiculous. But now I feel so much more competent to be able to see those where

1:45:35 In the past, you might have initially thought, you know, that could be true. Now, they just all seem so ridiculous and so ridiculously obvious that they're lying. So, that's how I think this whole journey has been beneficial to all of us. So, anyway. Okay.

1:46:05 This session went a little bit longer, but I didn't want to break up that Operation Gideon chapter. I wanted to get that all in. So anyway, we will be back tomorrow at our normal time. We will be on X and not interactive on X, but it will be played on X. We will be interactive on Rumble tomorrow at noon with Warhamster and then back at four.

1:46:34 um for our next chapter um which let's see um talks about it we're going to talk a little bit about um we'll we'll be able to do um a little bit about um a little more in depth into the gold and um

1:47:04 The next chapter is about election, but not in smartmatic in detail like I did the research on. Well, we all did the research on. And then that basically ends this book. She has an afterword, but it doesn't really. It's just kind of an overview of the book and her summary.

1:47:35 So we don't need that. We have two chapters. They're both very short chapters that we will do tomorrow. And we will be done with this book. And so next week, we're going to start on our Mafia, CIA, and George Bush book. And it's going to be a challenge to do that book without getting too bogged down in all of the names. So we'll just have to wait our way through it.

1:48:03 We need enough detail so you can understand the premise of what's going on, but not too much detail. And the book has a lot of names. It's going to be very easy to get lost in all of the names. And the author, I noticed at least in this big book that I did on the Underground Empire, every time he hadn't talked about somebody in a while, he would remind you who it is.

1:48:33 So this guy does it a little bit, but not enough for me to have not had to go back and find the guy's name again to figure out who the heck that one was. So it's going to be a challenge, but I do want you guys to understand. And it deals with the failed savings and loans and the mafia and the CIA's connections to it. So it's a very important piece of our puzzle. Anyway.

1:49:00 If no one else has anything else, we're going to hit the road. And you guys have a nice rest of your evening. And I will see you tomorrow at noon and then again at four. Take care, everybody.

Entities here

Juan Guaidó40 Venezuela38 United States27 Colombia25 Jose Ignacio Hernandez25 Jordan Goudreau25 Operation Gideon25 James Story20 Venezuelan Opposition Government19 Juan José Rendon18 Nicolás Maduro17 Cliver Alcalá16 Citgo13 Luke Denman13 Army Green Berets12 Arian Berry11 U.S. State Department11 Jorge Rodriguez10 Silvercorp USA9 Bogotá8 Owens-Illinois8 PDVSA7 Corelix7 Delaware Court7 Drew White6 Helsinge Incorporated6 Mark Esper6 Joshua Goodman6 Mike Pompeo6 Anya4 Ricardo Hausmann4 U.S. Army4 Efraín Antonio Guevara4 Afghanistan4 Bank for International Settlements4 Miami4 Corporate Coup4 National Security Council4 National Assembly (Venezuela)4 Soviet Union3

Claims made here

Ricardo Hausmann appointed Jose Ignacio Hernandez book_quoted ▶ 0:34

“to confiscate their U.S. assets, as we've been known to do in the past. And where we left off, Vecchio was supporting Haussmann, the Harvard economist turned economic advisor, turned international dev…”

Ricardo Hausmann member_of Bank for International Settlements book_quoted ▶ 0:34

Jorge Rodriguez member_of G4 Coalition book_quoted ▶ 2:04

“Renee, I'm going to bring you up as co-host until Bridget or with Bridget if she shows up. So the fraud of Mr. Hernandez is against Guaido and the National Assembly. Jorge Alondra Rodriguez said, who …”

Jose Ignacio Hernandez member_of Juan Guaidó book_quoted ▶ 2:04

Corelix carried_out_attack Citgo book_quoted ▶ 3:21

“She just got kicked out of the space, too. When a court rules that one corporation, such as Corelix, can see shares belonging to another, such as Sitco, as a debt payment, the shares are not directly …”

Jose Ignacio Hernandez employed_by ExxonMobil book_quoted ▶ 4:58

“Vecchio was, in fact, a leading functionary for the U.S. oil industry that stood to gain from this shenanigan. And he spent much of his career employed as a lawyer for ExxonMobil. Vecchio's intimate t…”

Koch Industries carried_out_attack Citgo book_quoted ▶ 6:57

“had granted additional corporate behemoths, including Koch Industries and Air Canada, favorable rulings against Venezuela's government. Taken together, these interests threatened to kill Sitco once an…”

Owens-Illinois carried_out_attack Citgo book_quoted ▶ 8:25

“Owens, Illinois proceeded to mimic Krillick's legal strategy against Sitco. So it's literally a takedown of Sitco. The essence of the complaint was familiar, including Sitco's holding and Sitco Petrol…”

Citgo member_of PDVSA book_quoted ▶ 9:05

“followed proper procedure while managing the PDVSA, which is the mother company in Venezuela of Zitco Oil. When confronted about his relationship with Owens Illinois by a newspaper, Hernandez simply r…”

Owens-Illinois paid Jose Ignacio Hernandez documented ▶ 9:33

“revealing Owens, Illinois, had in fact paid Hernandez $163,000 in exchange for his quote-unquote expert witness testimony. Yet the lawyer dishonestly said that was not true, and it didn't end with que…”

Jorge Rodriguez exposed Jose Ignacio Hernandez book_quoted ▶ 11:03

“trail of court records, Hernandez's lies were apparent not only to Anya, but to Venezuelan governments and their opposition alike. On October 1st, 2019, Vice President Delaney Rodriguez delivered a na…”

Jorge Rodriguez exposed Ricardo Hausmann book_quoted ▶ 11:27

“detailing what she described as a grand plot of organized transnational crime. Before a crowd of reporters gathered in her office, Rodriguez summarized the history as we just outlined, explaining the …”

Jorge Rodriguez exposed Jose Ignacio Hernandez book_quoted ▶ 11:57

“Denunciation of Hernandez, Vecchio, and Guaido with handheld photos of each coup official plastered with text reading, thief. Jose Ignacio Hernandez is a criminal mastermind behind the whole process t…”

Jorge Rodriguez exposed Juan Guaidó book_quoted ▶ 11:57

David Malpass member_of Bank for International Settlements book_quoted ▶ 12:53

“during which the lawyer boasted of directing a strategy for Venezuela's legal fight with multinational corporations at the World Bank. In his own words, quote, I personally oversaw a strategy directly…”

Luis Parra member_of G4 Coalition book_quoted ▶ 15:14

“Several opposition parties were boycotting legislative committee hearings in protest of Guaido, having recognized opposition lawmaker Louis Parta as the interim president. So they basically fired Guai…”

Jose Ignacio Hernandez spied_on PDVSA book_quoted ▶ 18:11

“Vacario, officially fled the country for Miami in 2004. From there, the pair leveraged their contacts within the PDVSA Caracas office to gain confidential information regarding Venezuela's future oil …”

Helsinge Incorporated funded PDVSA book_quoted ▶ 18:40

“and Singapore's oil company, enabling them to crush competing bids with ease. Essentially, this consulting firm provided cover for a textbook insider trading trader conspiracy. The consulting fees it …”

Helsinge Incorporated front_for PDVSA book_quoted ▶ 18:40

Lukoil laundered_money_for Helsinge Incorporated book_quoted ▶ 19:09

“of the Venezuelan oil company. Clients like Luke Oil from Russia compensated this consulting firm through Panama bank accounts, which served as money washing for funds that Murillo and Banquero then t…”

Banquero member_of PDVSA book_quoted ▶ 19:09

Mario Pinto da Silva member_of PDVSA book_quoted ▶ 19:09

David Boies headed U.S. Department of Justice book_quoted ▶ 19:39

“PDVSA purchased products from its international partners at inflated prices while selling its oil below market rate for years. One oil industry source familiar with the case estimated the scheme cost …”

Alicia Otero Reyes covered_up Helsinge Incorporated book_quoted ▶ 20:37

“including emails, bank ledgers, sworn witness testimony detailing the fraud. Magistrate Judge Alicia Otero Reyes ultimately dismissed the suit just one year after it was filed. Her decision was not ba…”

Jose Ignacio Hernandez employed_by Corelix book_quoted ▶ 21:38

“from Venezuela. That's crazy. In August 2018, just five months before Guaido's tapped the lawyer as his top legal representative, you know, the fake AG to the fake House of Representatives in Venezuel…”

Jose Ignacio Hernandez paid Corelix documented ▶ 22:46

“Professor Hernandez, it found that the trust agreement was void under Venezuela law, which it was not. Hernandez was handsomely rewarded for his corporate collaboration amid the pages of his August 20…”

Northrop Grumman carried_out_attack Citgo book_quoted ▶ 24:44

“Economic wizzo Ricardo Haussmann himself proved that Sitco's assets were, in fact, indistinguishable from the state. Beneficiaries of this March 2023 ruling included U.S. defense contractor Northrop D…”

Jordan Goudreau carried_out_attack Nicolás Maduro book_quoted ▶ 31:34

“The raid was part of Venezuela's response to what is known as Operation Gideon, a foiled plot to capture or kill President Maduro, led by former U.S. Green Beret named Jordan, I don't know how you pro…”

Operation Gideon targeted_for_regime_change Venezuela book_quoted ▶ 32:06

“Often dubbed the Bay of Piglets in reference to a bungled CIA invasion, attempted invasion of Cuba, Operation Gideon reminded ordinary Venezuelans of the threat they faced as the U.S. actively sought …”

United States targeted_for_regime_change Venezuela book_quoted ▶ 32:06

Jordan Goudreau member_of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion book_quoted ▶ 33:10

“with a childhood admiration of U.S. military. He was born in Canada and moved to the U.S. as a young man so that he could enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces, telling a family friend that he believed it w…”

Jordan Goudreau member_of Canada book_quoted ▶ 33:10

Jordan Goudreau member_of United States book_quoted ▶ 33:10

Jordan Goudreau member_of 20th Special Forces Group book_quoted ▶ 33:10

Jordan Goudreau founded Silvercorp USA book_quoted ▶ 33:42

“10th Special Forces Group before injuring himself and retiring from combat in 2016. Two years later, he founded a private Florida-based security firm called Silver Corp USA. Silver Corp early promotio…”

Jordan Goudreau targeted_for_regime_change Nicolás Maduro documented ▶ 38:04

“revealing the existence of a covert plan to ignite a popular rebellion in Venezuela that would culminate with the arrest of President Maduro. The plot dubbed Operation Gideon was to be carried out by …”

Jordan Goudreau carried_out_attack Operation Gideon documented ▶ 38:04

Jordan Goudreau recruited Cliver Alcalá documented ▶ 39:02

“According to their accounts, Goudreau first linked up with Venezuelan opposition in February 2019 when he traveled to Colombia to provide security for the Live Aid concert that we talked about earlier…”

Jordan Goudreau provided_security_for Richard Branson documented ▶ 39:02

Cliver Alcalá member_of Venezuelan National Guard host_asserted ▶ 39:32

“within Guaido's team that eventually led him to a Venezuelan military vet named Cliver Alcala. He was a former army general, you know, like the National Guard generals that the CIA turned into Cartel …”

Keith Schiller hired Silvercorp USA documented ▶ 41:37

“one of a security team by the name of Keith Schiller, S-C-H-I-L-L-E-R, through industry contacts, and won a single silver court contract to provide security for President Trump in November 2018. Still…”

Jordan Goudreau provided_security_for Donald Trump documented ▶ 41:37

Venezuelan Opposition Government carried_out_attack Operation Gideon documented ▶ 43:10

“Matos told Goodman. Though Goodman declined to speak on the record, Operation Gideon came to life within hours of the report's May 1st publication. Goodrow, day in the sun, finally arrived in early mo…”

Juan José Rendon trained Juan Manuel Santos documented ▶ 46:48

“A left of center Green Party contender threatened to defeat Washington's preferred candidate, Juan Manuel Santos. Faced with sinking poll numbers, the Santos team hired Rendon just 21 days before the …”

Juan José Rendon trained Porfirio Lobo Sosa documented ▶ 47:46

“He also counted a number of high-profile clients beyond Bogota, including Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who won office in 2012, and Honduras' President Sosa, Lobo Sosa, who came to power in 20…”

Juan José Rendon trained Enrique Peña Nieto documented ▶ 47:46

Juan Guaidó funded Operation Gideon guest_asserted ▶ 51:14

“the Colombian border with Venezuela, evading local police to carry out Operation Gideon. You had 60 Venezuelans who were hungry, still training, thinking about liberation. His men's dire conditions wa…”

Jordan Goudreau funded Operation Gideon guest_asserted ▶ 52:13

“You're rid of. I have never seen the level of backstabbing and complete disregard for men in the field, Goudreau went on. Mercenaries get paid. No one paid me and my team a cent. Claiming he ultimatel…”

Venezuelan Opposition Government arrested Arian Berry documented ▶ 52:46

“On May 4th, a second group of Gaudreau's men attempted to invade Venezuela via a remote northern coastal town. That's the people we were talking about at the beginning. These were the ones apprehended…”

Venezuelan Opposition Government arrested Luke Denman documented ▶ 52:46

Venezuelan Opposition Government killed Robert Colina Yabera documented ▶ 53:15

“including Sequia and two U.S. citizens, Luke Denman and Arian Berry. A second high-level Venezuelan military defector, Army Captain Robert Colina Yabera, was among those killed. Venezuelan's governmen…”

Venezuelan Opposition Government covered_up Operation Gideon documented ▶ 54:36

“According to the Venezuelan intelligence, they had been monitoring Operation Gideon from across the border. AP press was told we knew everything, some of their meetings, everything. Goudreau himself c…”

Juan Guaidó recruited Juan José Rendon documented ▶ 55:34

“Rendon's version of events appeared on May 6th in none other than the Washington Post, reporting how Venezuelan opposition leaders had smooched with Goudreau at the consultant's glittering Miami high-…”

Juan José Rendon recruited Jordan Goudreau documented ▶ 56:32

“Maybe to collect the reward. Rendon's search for bounty hunters eventually led him to Goudreau, who claimed to be training hundreds of men in Colombia for a mission to capture Maduro. Though he admitt…”

Juan José Rendon paid Jordan Goudreau documented ▶ 56:32

Jordan Goudreau founded Silvercorp USA guest_asserted ▶ 1:01:15

“White was also an ex-U.S. Special Forces operative who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He told me that he fought alongside him overseas as a teammate, then partnered with him to launch Silvercorp …”

Drew White founded Silvercorp USA guest_asserted ▶ 1:01:15

Mike Pompeo denied_involvement Operation Gideon documented ▶ 1:03:52

“The Trump administration said they had nothing to do with it. Mike Pompeo denied any knowledge. If we had been involved, it would have gone differently, Mike Pompeo said. Yeah, I'm not so sure. Who kn…”

Jordan Goudreau recruited Arian Berry documented ▶ 1:04:56

“In their confession, Berry and Denman discussed their respective experiences in the U.S. military and explained that they had met Gaudreau while serving overseas. Both men told their interrogators the…”

Jordan Goudreau recruited Luke Denman guest_asserted ▶ 1:07:52

“He related that although he comes from a large family that included six siblings, Luke talked with Arian and Jordan as if they were brothers. They're like six-man teams, special units. They all treat …”

Jordan Goudreau filed_lawsuit_against Juan José Rendon documented ▶ 1:08:52

“for their involvement in the attempted coup. In October 2020, Goudreau filed a $1.4 million lawsuit against Rendon and Florida Corp, accusing the Venezuelan political consultant of contract breach. As…”

Jordan Goudreau claimed_involvement U.S. State Department guest_asserted ▶ 1:09:21

“that was involved in the planning. Goudreau contended that Silvercorp beat out competing proposals for a private military operation to Alice Maduro, including one that had been put forward by Eric Pri…”

Leopoldo Lopez briefed_on Operation Gideon guest_asserted ▶ 1:09:51

“become involved, but Leopardo Lopez, the ringleader of Venezuela's U.S.-backed opposition, had been briefed on the operation as well. I mean, otherwise, how would he even know his name? Goudreau's hon…”

Jason Beasley advisor_to United States Department of Veterans Affairs documented ▶ 1:09:51

Andrew Horn advisor_to Executive Office of the President documented ▶ 1:10:22

“an advisor to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Andrew Horn, an advisor to Mike Pence. Both men refused to speak with the media while Pence's office denied any knowledge. Regardless of their rel…”

Donald Gregg member_of Iran-Contra host_asserted ▶ 1:10:49

“Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North to be tasked with that either, but he was. So the rank of the individual has literally nothing to do with that. And it was out of the vice president's office using his …”

Oliver North member_of Iran-Contra host_asserted ▶ 1:10:49

Felix Rodriguez member_of Iran-Contra host_asserted ▶ 1:10:49

Efraín Antonio Guevara attempted_coup_against Nicolás Maduro host_asserted ▶ 1:11:18

“the El Salvador El Pobotango or whatever the name of that airport was. And he didn't even have an official job in the administration other than being attached to the CIA. So who knows? Goudreau was no…”

Cliver Alcalá attempted_coup_against Nicolás Maduro host_asserted ▶ 1:11:18

Cliver Alcalá member_of Operation Gideon host_asserted ▶ 1:12:15

“His character climaxed weeks before details of Operation Gideon even surfaced in the media. On March 23, 2020, Colombian authorities intercepted a truck carrying arms that appeared destined for the Ve…”

Juan Guaidó member_of Operation Gideon host_asserted ▶ 1:12:46

“On his ex-account from his apartment in Colombia, Alcala proceeded to announce his involvement in a military operation against the Maduro government, which he claimed to have planned alongside Guaido …”

U.S. State Department financed_via Nicolás Maduro host_asserted ▶ 1:13:11

“extraordinary confession, the U.S. State Department just happened to indict President Maduro on drug trafficking charges and announced a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. You s…”

U.S. State Department financed_via Tareck El Aissami host_asserted ▶ 1:13:47

“The State Department issued bounties for other officials, including Dios Cado Cabello and Tariq L. Asami. Huh, that's weird. They were the Minister of Industry and Production. And oddly, Cliver Alcala…”

U.S. State Department financed_via Diosdado Cabello host_asserted ▶ 1:13:47

U.S. State Department financed_via Cliver Alcalá host_asserted ▶ 1:14:19

“When they do this, when they announce those indictments in the past, it has been done to protect them. So the coup plotter in Colombia was on the list of people that was targeted by the State Departme…”

James Story member_of U.S. State Department host_asserted ▶ 1:17:50

“if it hasn't already. At the center of the State Department operation in Venezuela was James Story. James Story, that name keeps coming up. He's a career Foreign Service officer from South Carolina wh…”

Mike Pompeo appointed James Story book_quoted ▶ 1:18:21

“of the embattled U.S. embassy in Caracas. Story arrived in Venezuela just five months before the U.S. recognition of the Guaido regime. In his memoirs, Pompeo personally credited Story with spearheadi…”

James Story member_of Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs host_asserted ▶ 1:18:53

“Mosabek in Afghanistan, which is where I ran across him first, the diplomat's fluency in Spanish and Portuguese eventually grounded him in Latin America. Story held a variety of posts in the region be…”

James Story targeted_for_regime_change Venezuela host_asserted ▶ 1:22:27

“After a brief return to the state, Story established a virtual U.S. embassy in Venezuela to Venezuela, housed in a Washington diplomatic office in Bogota. So he went back to Colombia. From there, he m…”

Efraín Antonio Guevara member_of Operation Gideon host_asserted ▶ 1:24:34

“overthrowing the democratically elected president, and then went on to say Venezuela will also one day be free of tyranny. Several months following Story's forecast of regime change in Venezuela, Goud…”

James Story member_of Operation Gideon speculative ▶ 1:25:09

“What gave Goudreau the impression that he was working on a State Department contract? Could it have been the State Department representative in the fake Venezuelan embassy in Bogota? Did Story have an…”

Mark Esper member_of National Security Council book_quoted ▶ 1:27:53

“remain unanswered. There's increasing evidence that at least high-level U.S. officials had prior knowledge of the plan. In his memoirs, A Sacred Oath, Mark Esper shared his impression that members of …”

John Bolton member_of National Security Council book_quoted ▶ 1:27:53

Juan Guaidó member_of National Security Council book_quoted ▶ 1:28:22

“during which U.S. and Guaido officials discussed possible scenarios of a small special operations targeted directly at Maduro. Then, out of the blue, one of Guaido's colleagues looked at Esper across …”

Cliver Alcalá member_of National Security Council book_quoted ▶ 1:28:54

“It was also noted that Guaido's ally made some quick reference to Florida before making eye contact with another person in the room that was working for John Bolton. That person was Cliver Carone. Cli…”

William Barr ordered_assassination_of Nicolás Maduro book_quoted ▶ 1:30:49

“Regardless of whether Washington was directly involved in Operation Gideon, there's no question the U.S. policy towards Venezuelan drove Goudreau and his friends to follow through with their reckless …”

George H.W. Bush ordered_assassination_of Manuel Noriega host_asserted ▶ 1:31:48

“Excuse me, a legal memo that provided justification for the U.S. invasion of Panama. I'm sure that's a coincidence. The ensuing Operation Just Cause, which George H.W. Bush administration launched in …”

William Barr funded Operation Just Cause host_asserted ▶ 1:31:48

James Story member_of Georgetown University Institute for the Study of Diplomacy host_asserted ▶ 1:35:07

“Or down in the pill and up in the Megatron. Cool. Oh. I did want to mention something else about Story. Not only is he on Twitter, he's affiliated with institutions with Georgetown University's Instit…”

Mafia member_of The Mafia, CIA and George Bush host_asserted ▶ 1:47:35

“So we don't need that. We have two chapters. They're both very short chapters that we will do tomorrow. And we will be done with this book. And so next week, we're going to start on our Mafia, CIA, an…”

Mafia member_of The Mafia, CIA and George Bush host_asserted ▶ 1:48:33

“So this guy does it a little bit, but not enough for me to have not had to go back and find the guy's name again to figure out who the heck that one was. So it's going to be a challenge, but I do want…”