Free Republic

A former Green Beret has taken responsibility for what he claimed was a failed attack Sunday aimed at overthrowing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and that the socialist government said ended with eight dead. Jordan Goudreau’s comments in an interview with an exiled Venezuelan journalist capped a bizarre day that started with reports of a pre-dawn amphibious raid near the South American country’s heavily guarded capital. An AP investigation published Friday found that Goudreau had been working with a retired Venezuelan army general now facing U.S. narcotics charges to train dozens of deserting Venezuelan soldiers at secret camps inside neighboring Colombia....

The operation involved at least three boats, though only one was captured. One of its commanders sent audio recordings to Venezuelan military and police WhatsApp groups, calling for troops to rebel and take to the streets. Alemán, a Venezuelan lawmaker now living outside the country, said Sunday he had been involved in Alcalá’s operation in Colombia since last year. He said the group had to “make some adjustments” after a shipment of weapons destined for the camps was seized by Colombian authorities in March. Alemán said the plan was for the boats to land at La Guaira, home to Venezuela’s...

Bill Clinton was recently in Saint Lucia celebrating the new solar farm that the Clintons were instrumental in erecting.

A retired Venezuelan army general indicted alongside Nicolás Maduro has surrendered in Colombia and is being taken by Drug Enforcement Administration agents to New York for arraignment, four people familiar with the situation said Friday. Cliver Alcalá has been an outspoken critic of Maduro for years. But he was charged Thursday with allegedly running with Maduro, socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello and another retired army general a narcoterrorist conspiracy that U.S. prosecutors say sent 250 metric tons of cocaine a year to the U.S. and turned the Venezuelan state into a platform for violent cartels and Colombia rebels. The Justice...

On Saturday Venezuelan General Cliver Alcala was in custody in New York City. General Alcalá is the first regime official to be detained by the US authorities. The socialist general will be presented before the federal court for being part of the criminal Venezuelan cartel.