Ex-Green Beret led failed attempt to oust Venezuela's Maduro

[Judi Lynn]

Some 300 heavily armed volunteers planned to sneak into Venezuela and ignite a popular rebellion that would end in President Nicolas Maduro’s arrest
By
JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press
May 1, 2020, 6:42 PM

MIAMI -- The plan was simple, but perilous. Some 300 heavily armed volunteers would sneak into Venezuela from the northern tip of South America. Along the way, they would raid military bases in the socialist country and ignite a popular rebellion that would end in President Nicolás Maduro’s arrest.

What could go wrong? As it turns out, pretty much everything.

The ringleader of the plot is now jailed in the U.S. on narcotics charges. Authorities in the U.S. and Colombia are asking questions about the role of his muscular American adviser, a former Green Beret. And dozens of desperate combatants who flocked to secret training camps in Colombia said they have been left to fend for themselves amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The failed attempt to start an uprising collapsed under the collective weight of skimpy planning, feuding among opposition politicians and a poorly trained force that stood little chance of beating the Venezuelan military.

“You’re not going to take out Maduro with 300 hungry, untrained men,” said Ephraim Mattos, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who trained some of the would-be combatants in first aid.

More:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/green-beret-led-failed-attempt-oust-venezuelas-maduro-70463070

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