# Bonkers plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 11, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594 "2020-05-11T19:06:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/1 "2020-05-11T19:06:44Z")
The recent news about a ridiculously stupid plot to kidnap the Venezuelan president has been somewhat overshadowed by things like pandemics, but it deserves attention (even if it’s just schadenfreude). The complete story is too convoluted for one post so I encourage you to read all the details in this [Vox article](https://www.vox.com/2020/5/11/21249203/venezuela-coup-jordan-goudreau-maduro-guaido-explain) or the [two](https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/05/05/the-invasion-of-venezuela-brought-to-you-by-silvercorp-usa/) [part](https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/05/07/the-venezuela-silvercorp-usa-saga-keeps-getting-weirder/) investigation by Bellingcat. In a nutshell, a Trump-loving ex-Green Beret named Jordan Goudreau formed Silvercorp USA, a private security company like Blackwater but I guess more shiny. One of his original ideas was to infiltrate schools with special-forces operatives disguised as teachers to stop school shootings. "He’s just a — he’s a cool shop teacher: ‘Hey, what’s up, fellas.’ I go sit down with a kid who’s alone, playing ‘Dungeons and Dragons,’ and I just try to see whether there’s any problems.” Shockingly, this didn’t really take off, so Goudreau decided to branch out into overthrowing governments. He hooked up with a former Venezuelan general, who happens to be wanted by the U.S. on drug charges. There’s lots of intrigue with contracts, funding, and training 300 underfed “soldiers” for the eventual raid. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government had infiltrated the group, with suggestions that they even had to chip in money to the underfunded group to pay for meetings they could spy on. So the rebellion when nowhere, as was [reported by the AP](https://apnews.com/79346b4e428676424c0e5669c80fc310) on May 1. Whether coincidentally, or because he saw this article and decided to act, Goudreau launched the invasion from Colombia on the same day. Except there were only 60 men in two boats, not the 300 who he trained, or the 800 he told the Venezuelan opposition he could supply. Goudreau also live-tweeted the invasion because only wimps go for the element of surprise. A bold strategy, let’s see if it pays off for them. Spoiler - it did not. Most of the men were seasick on the way over, one of the boats was attacked by the Venezuelan military and angry fisherman, eight of the men were killed and 13 of the rest were arrested. Two of those arrested were U.S. citizens who had signed up with Silvercorp to go kick some ass (one of them apparently a rabid QAnon guy). Photos of confiscated equipment show an airsoft gun, so not exactly an elite attack force. Silvercorp insists they had the backing of the Trump administration. Trump denies any knowledge of them or the mission. I trust all involved parties to lie continuously, so who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/2 "2020-05-11T19:30:58Z")
The only problem with his plan was going by boat, rather than air-dropped minibike. Had he gone with the SOCOM crotch rockets, this shit would have been taken care of. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/3 "2020-05-11T19:31:04Z")
It would not be the first attempt on the part of an American business to overthrow a foreign government. Or, for that matter, not even the first laughably incompetent attempt on the part of an American business to do said deed. I am desperately trying to wrap my head around the idea of a former Special Forces commando who has gone through the bureaucratic hoops necessary to get licensed to teach and is willing to live the life (and pay scale) of a public school teacher. I mean, it’s not unthinkable, but I’m trying to think of where you’d find enough of these guys to be able to infiltrate any actual number of schools. And, for that matter, how they’d secure their weapons while on school property; this has been an issue periodically when some nitwit thinks “We should just arm all the teachers.” I do not object to trained Special Forces personnel teaching PE, music, or Creative Writing, but damned if I think there’s enough of them to cover much territory. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/4 "2020-05-11T20:15:33Z")
I read somewhere that we already had had “Idiot Watergate” and now this is “Stupid Bay of Pigs” ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/5 "2020-05-11T20:20:53Z")
I wonder if Venezuela got wind of this early, & figured that cruise ship that rammed their patrol boat was involved? ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/6 "2020-05-11T20:50:01Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > I read somewhere that we already had had “Idiot Watergate” and now this is “Stupid Bay of Pigs” “Bay of Dregs” was how I heard it described. We sure these guys weren’t working for the Ace Tomato Company? I hope the two Americans paid attention during SERE. I doubt it’s fun for them right now, whatever actually happened down there. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/7 "2020-05-11T21:40:00Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government had infiltrated the group, with suggestions that they even had to chip in money to the underfunded group to pay for meetings they could spy on. I seem to recall reading that there were so many undercover agents infiltrating the KKK that at one point the FBI was their largest single financial supporter. Apparently the FBI infiltrators faithfully paid their dues, to avoid suspicion. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/8 "2020-05-11T22:02:18Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I seem to recall reading that there were so many undercover agents infiltrating the KKK that at one point the FBI was their largest single financial supporter. Apparently the FBI infiltrators faithfully paid their dues, to avoid suspicion. > > Regards, > Shodan So you’re saying the FBI has infiltrated the Dope? And likely comprises the bulk of its Charter Member ranks? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/9 "2020-05-11T22:12:11Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I seem to recall reading that there were so many undercover agents infiltrating the KKK that at one point the FBI was their largest single financial supporter. Apparently the FBI infiltrators faithfully paid their dues, to avoid suspicion. > > Regards, > Shodan Also said about the FBI and the USA communist party. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/10 "2020-05-11T23:13:54Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The recent news about a ridiculously stupid plot to kidnap the Venezuelan president has been somewhat overshadowed by things like pandemics, but it deserves attention (even if it’s just schadenfreude). > > The complete story is too convoluted for one post so I encourage you to read all the details in this [Vox article](https://www.vox.com/2020/5/11/21249203/venezuela-coup-jordan-goudreau-maduro-guaido-explain) or the [two](https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/05/05/the-invasion-of-venezuela-brought-to-you-by-silvercorp-usa/) [part](https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/05/07/the-venezuela-silvercorp-usa-saga-keeps-getting-weirder/) investigation by Bellingcat. > > In a nutshell, a Trump-loving ex-Green Beret named Jordan Goudreau formed Silvercorp USA, a private security company like Blackwater but I guess more shiny. One of his original ideas was to infiltrate schools with special-forces operatives disguised as teachers to stop school shootings. "He’s just a — he’s a cool shop teacher: ‘Hey, what’s up, fellas.’ I go sit down with a kid who’s alone, playing ‘Dungeons and Dragons,’ and I just try to see whether there’s any problems.” Shockingly, this didn’t really take off, so Goudreau decided to branch out into overthrowing governments. He hooked up with a former Venezuelan general, who happens to be wanted by the U.S. on drug charges. There’s lots of intrigue with contracts, funding, and training 300 underfed “soldiers” for the eventual raid. > > Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government had infiltrated the group, with suggestions that they even had to chip in money to the underfunded group to pay for meetings they could spy on. So the rebellion when nowhere, as was [reported by the AP](https://apnews.com/79346b4e428676424c0e5669c80fc310) on May 1. > > Whether coincidentally, or because he saw this article and decided to act, Goudreau launched the invasion from Colombia on the same day. Except there were only 60 men in two boats, not the 300 who he trained, or the 800 he told the Venezuelan opposition he could supply. Goudreau also live-tweeted the invasion because only wimps go for the element of surprise. A bold strategy, let’s see if it pays off for them. Spoiler - it did not. > > Most of the men were seasick on the way over, one of the boats was attacked by the Venezuelan military and angry fisherman, eight of the men were killed and 13 of the rest were arrested. Two of those arrested were U.S. citizens who had signed up with Silvercorp to go kick some ass (one of them apparently a rabid QAnon guy). Photos of confiscated equipment show an airsoft gun, so not exactly an elite attack force. > > Silvercorp insists they had the backing of the Trump administration. Trump denies any knowledge of them or the mission. I trust all involved parties to lie continuously, so who knows. This HAS to be a true story. You just can’t make something like this up. :smack: Not the first I heard about it, but the most information, so far. Bay of Dregs - good one. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/11 "2020-05-16T14:36:43Z")
My favorite part of the Vox article isn’t about the coup attempt directly, but just lays out the intellectual caliber of the man behind it. > [@](#): > > So he created his company, Silvercorp USA, to fill what he deemed a hole in the lucrative school security market. > > His big idea: have ex-special forces operatives embed in schools and pose as teachers. Since students would not know their instructors’ actual identities, they might be more willing to describe how they’re feeling, or maybe even reveal their intentions to shoot up the school. > > “He’s just a — he’s a cool shop teacher: ‘Hey, what’s up, fellas,’” Goudreau said at the expo, per the Sun-Sentinel, play-acting an imagined conversation that might take place between a student and his teacher-cum-Jack Ryan. “I go sit down with a kid who’s alone, playing ‘Dungeons and Dragons,’ and I just try to see whether there’s any problems.” > > Goudreau’s business plan was to charge the parents of the students — not the school directly — $8.99 a month for this service. (He wanted to work directly with the parents, he told the Sun-Sentinel, “so his staff could remain independent from any district’s ‘chain of command.’”) Setting aside, the idea somehow a special forces disguised as a teacher would be uniquely qualified to have kids open up to them about their intention to shoot up a school, even setting aside the notion that D&D is something that dysfunctional kids play by themselves, how exactly are the special forces soldiers supposed to secretly infiltrate the school as teachers, with all of the parents sending them checks but without involving the school administration? With ideas like that, this guy has clearly got a bright future as acting something-or-other in the Trump administration. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/12 "2020-05-16T15:35:32Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > So you’re saying the FBI has infiltrated the Dope? And likely comprises the bulk of its Charter Member ranks? That’s laughable! 47 to Control. 47 to Control, we have an Ecru Penguin situation. Repeat we have an Ecru Penguin situation. Request wet pizza delivery ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/13 "2020-05-16T18:06:01Z")
Hey, that Flowers By Irene truck has been parked outside my window for 2 weeks now, strange… ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/14 "2020-05-16T19:28:41Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > That’s laughable! > 47 to Control. 47 to Control, we have an Ecru Penguin situation. Repeat we have an Ecru Penguin situation. Request wet pizza delivery I don’t know about no Ecru Penguin; it’s the Penguin of Death I’m worried about. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/15 "2020-05-16T20:11:21Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I seem to recall reading that there were so many undercover agents infiltrating the KKK that at one point the FBI was their largest single financial supporter. Apparently the FBI infiltrators faithfully paid their dues, to avoid suspicion. > > Regards, > Shodan Speaking of which, an alliance of Klansmen and Neo-Nazis [tried to overthrow the Domincan government in 1981](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Red_Dog) and place an older leader back in power… …a black man. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/16 "2020-05-16T20:12:46Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > …Setting aside, the idea somehow a special forces disguised as a teacher would be uniquely qualified to have kids open up to them about their intention to shoot up a school, even setting aside the notion that D&D is something that dysfunctional kids play by themselves, how exactly are the special forces soldiers supposed to secretly infiltrate the school as teachers, with all of the parents sending them checks but without involving the school administration?.. It wasn’t a bad [B-Movie](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0117774/) with Tom Berenger. No _Sniper_, but it killed time. Not sure I’d make it a business plan though. As I wrote earlier, the more you look at this, the stupider it gets. Does Maduro have to be alive in order to collect on the 15 million dollar reward? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bonkers-plot-to-overthrow-the-venezuelan-government/853594/17 "2020-05-16T20:14:24Z")
The ghost of William Walker shakes his head at how low has American private adventurism fallen. But these and others never seem to have asked themselves the question: If it were that simple to take over Venezuela(\*), or to nip would-be school shooters in the bud, would it not have been done already by the REAL Army or police agencies? (\*BTW here and at Bay of Pigs: _“once they see us arrive, the people will rise and the forces of the regime will throw down their weapons since they, too, hate their rulers.”_ Um… no. That’s never how it happens.)