The plan was called “Operation Gedeon.” In the end, there were just two boats with 60 men who were to storm the capital and capture Mr. Maduro. Mr. Goudreau later said his men vomited the entire way and nearly ran out of gasoline as they headed toward Venezuela. By Julie Turkewitz and Frances Robles. Full Text -> The New York Times

As get-rich-quick schemes go it was unusually complicated. Invade a foreign country you know little about. Abduct its president to the US. Collect a $15m bounty from the US government – and maybe an even bigger payoff from the people who then seize power. Julian Borger, Joe Parkin Daniels in Bogotá and Chris McGreal. Full Text -> The Guardian

Jordan Goudreau once pushed a plan to protect U.S. schools. Then he moved on to a more daring pursuit, which also didn’t end well. Full Text -> nbcNews

White emphasized that he was uncomfortable with the plan because its leaders did not appear to have concrete US government backing. He said that although Goudreau claimed to have a State Department contract, he hadn’t seen one, which led him to question the legality of the operation. White hoped his army buddy and former best man at his wedding did not go through with the mission. He wished they had stuck with their original business plan, which was to provide school security. By Anya Parampil. Full Text -> The Gray Zone

The website for Jordan Goudreau’s Silvercorp USA appears to have lifted entire passages from the website of the Department of Homeland Security and as well as one run by a crisis management firm. There are also pages found on the website, without active hyperlinks, with wording nearly identical to online texts from inspirational speaker Tony Robbins, a more-established competitor in the private security industry and the fine print of online educational website MasterClass. Full Text -> Spectrum News

By October, the plan had advanced to the point of a signed agreement, contingent on funding and other conditions. Rendón calls it a trial balloon, a test of what Goudreau could do that was never officially greenlighted. But the language of the agreement left no ambiguity on the objective: “An operation to capture/detain/remove Nicolás Maduro . . . remove the current Regime and install the recognized Venezuelan President Juan Guaidó.”By Anthony Faiola, Karen DeYoung and Ana Vanessa Herrero \. Full Text -> The Washington Post

Luke Alexander Denman, an American, was hired to lead a ragtag group of insurgents to seize the Caracas airport, overthrow President Nicolás Maduro and fly him to the U.S., the imprisoned Iraq war veteran explained in a video released by Venezuela Wednesday.Instead, Mr. Denman, 34, from Austin, Texas, and another American, Airan Berry, 42, who has addresses in Florida and Texas, were among the 13 “terrorists” whom the Venezuelan government said were captured in a thwarted weekend incursion. By Kejal Vyas and Jessica Donati. Full Text -> WSJ

A former Green Beret who has claimed responsibility for an ill-fated military incursion into Venezuela is under federal investigation for arms trafficking, according to current and former U.S. law enforcement officials. By Joshua Goodman. Full Text -> Las Vegas Review Journal

Venezuelan State TV broadcast video on Wednesday it says shows American citizen Luke Denman, saying he was instructed to seize control of Caracas’ airport and bring in a plane to fly President Nicolas Maduro to the United States.

The video begins with Jordan Goudreau posing confidently, flanked by a man wearing an armour plate and a Venezuela flag wrapped around his shoulder. The man introduces Goudreau in a stern tone. Goudreau begins to speak with the terseness of a battle-hardened warrior as he confirms that an amphibious operation into Venezuela is underway. By Giancarlo Fiorella. Full Text -> Bellincat