The recent history of U.S. government intervention in Venezuela is troubling. From Operation Condor and the Washington Consensus, we now see a shift to social media-driven coups. Today’s regime change strategies often involve backing the wrong horse, aligning with completely useless cabals, consistently overestimating charlatans, and underestimating chavismo, which remains the most formidable enemy to emerge from Latin America. What the world, the region, and Venezuela specifically need is more Charlie Wilson and less John Bolton. Make no mistake: chavismo will never relinquish power, no matter how well-posed the question seems.
In early 2019, just days before Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president on the streets, U.S. diplomatic sources indicated that Leopoldo López was the man to watch. The reasons behind this preference may unfold in the coming years, but for now, we must acknowledge that López not only had a Master’s degree from Harvard but also boasted an impressive lobbying team in D.C. His favor could not have been established based on performance, political skills, or consensus-building capacity, as he remains one of the most toxic figures in Venezuela, second only to Diosdado Cabello. The adage that López “may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch” explains why, despite being embroiled in monumental screw-ups, he continues to lead Venezuelan opposition politics.
Those appointed by Donald Trump to handle the Venezuelan crisis will eventually have to answer for their actions. The first public exhibit is John Bolton, who recently tweeted:
Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the opposition’s efforts to oust the brutal and oppressive dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. The people of Venezuela continue to suffer and die amid a growing humanitarian crisis. Stay tuned for more tweets.
This effort, which Bolton believes is worthy of celebration, was a farce. A coalition of entirely corrupt boligarcas, sought by the Department of Justice, the head of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, narco-generals from chavismo, and of course, López, aimed to overthrow Maduro. In reality, the only “achievement” Bolton can boast about is that López changed the conditions of his house arrest. The failed coup was a triumph for chavismo, revealing once again how unhinged López and Guaidó truly are.
Bolton wasn’t the only Trump official who was aware of the plan, was he? The dealings of Raúl Gorrín and César Omaña with Maikel Moreno and Vladimir Padrino weren’t sanctioned solely by Bolton, were they? Or should we believe that the Trump administration was completely oblivious?
Fast forward about a year, and a second coup is announced—via tweet, as promised by Bolton on April 29, marking the “anniversary” of the previous “effort to overthrow Nicolás Maduro’s brutal and oppressive dictatorship.” Donald Trump is being imitated. Jordan Goudreau, a decorated former Green Beret with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, intended to remove Maduro. At least, that was the plan presented to Guaidó and his “strategic committee,” led by the “renowned” political strategist JJ Rendón.
Some due diligence must have been performed on Goudreau. When questioned about it, Rendón replied to this site that yes, due diligence was conducted, which is why they chose not to entertain Goudreau.
I asked JJ Rendón who had established contact with Jordan Goudreau.
He told me that Goudreau had requested the meeting.
I inquired about who had conducted due diligence on Goudreau’s capabilities for such a “mission.”
Rendón: “If that’s why we stopped talking…”
– Alek Boyd (@infodi0) May 10, 2020
However, before this decision was made, Rendón and Guaidó signed a contract with Goudreau. Prior to severing ties, Rendón paid Goudreau $50,000, supposedly out of his own pocket. Before cutting ties, senior officials of Guaidó’s “government” met and discussed plans with Goudreau. López, whose codename is Lima Lima, of course, was kept in the loop. In fact, it has been revealed that Lester Toledo, a trusted collaborator of Guaidó involved in misappropriating humanitarian aid funds in Colombia, introduced Goudreau to López and Cliver Alcalá, a chavista thug wanted for terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking.
More importantly, while Guaidó initially denied any knowledge or linkage with Goudreau, Rendón not only confirmed this to CNN but a recording also surfaced of Guaidó talking with Rendón and Goudreau, stating he was going to sign the contract so he could “get to work.” Guaidó’s signature is on the contract, along with those of Goudreau, Rendón, and Sergio Vergara (another aide of Guaidó).
This is the second coup attempt by López/Guaidó within a year, undermining the goodwill, political, financial, and legal support that the most suffering Venezuelans have received. We have warned U.S. officials, both privately and publicly, regarding the dangers of relying on López and Guaidó. Last July, this site argued:
By January 2020, chavismo will undoubtedly still be in power. With that scenario in mind, U.S. senators and congressmen may have more power to help resolve the crisis than any other group. Yet, as is the case throughout the Western world and at the expense of democracy’s enemies, introspection takes precedence. There was talk of passing a law, the VERDAD Act, that, if enacted, could create a task force to address the issue. Such a task force, a sort of Helms-Burton 2.0, could make life difficult enough for Maduro to compel him to enter into meaningful negotiations. However, this task force should not only target Maduro but also all his partners, wherever they may be.
It is now May 2020. Not only has the scenario not changed, chavismo is in a much stronger position.
We were the first to expose outlandish “quick-fix” plans back in October 2018. Erik Prince met with Venezuelan opposition members in late 2018 and again with Guaidó’s financiers in February 2019. Prince was offering his services for $40 million. Even chavista figures Rafael Ramírez and Hugo Carvajal were aware of Prince’s offers. There were no takers.
The question is: what is the stance of the Donald Trump administration in all this? Is there a stance, a policy, or are they merely “keeping this improvised television reality show with incompetent officials running until ‘something’ happens”? What do Trump officials have to say for themselves?
The U.S. government was aware of last year’s plan, just as it knew about Goudreau’s farce. Rendón lives in Miami, and his colleagues are frequent visitors to D.C. Who is sanctioning this? Who is responsible? I asked Rendón if State Department officials or the President’s Special Assistant’s Office knew about his plan with Goudreau. He said no, and that the fact chavismo infiltrated the plan meant that Goudreau’s failed coup was a “self-stage” (sic). That response stretches credulity beyond the acceptable limit, considering that Colombian officials (Alcalá and Goudreau had established training camps there) and U.S. officials were aware of what was happening long before Goudreau took to Twitter to announce his coup.
Moreover, sooner or later, someone will speak up somewhere; someone will leak details about who knew what, when, how, etc. Then what?
This site sent a series of questions to Rendón. Some were answered promptly, hurriedly, without due consideration and in the only manner known and practiced by Venezuelan politicians and their operatives. Others went unanswered. Accountability, transparency, and strategic planning are beyond these individuals’ grasp. They lack the concept of trying to stay ahead in the game. Added 05/12/2020: JJ Rendón resigned.
The takeaway message is that, without a doubt, the prospects for Venezuelans would be better served if the Trump administration forced some form of engagement with chavismo. López and Guaidó are utterly useless and have an outstanding, irrefutable, and very public track record to prove it. Trusteeship is an odious term in much of the world. Chavismo, in power for over 20 years, has been under Cuba’s tutelage, then possibly under Russia’s, and undoubtedly under the criminal gang that runs the country. It may be a surprise to some, but this site believes that the U.S. and other countries supporting the cause of freedom and democracy in Venezuela must subject the Venezuelan opposition to their tutelage and must condition further support on a series of criteria that end any possibility of entertaining two megalomaniacal fools like Guaidó and company. The opposition believes they know better; tragically, their delusions of grandeur only yield failure.
The transition, if it is ever to occur, must be negotiated with those in power rather than with the irrelevant deranged individuals consumed by power. The United States can, and is in a perfect position at this moment, to drag chavismo to the negotiating table. It must keep pressuring everyone who dares to prop up Maduro. Outsourcing the removal of Maduro to a group that has been at the mercy of chavismo since 1999 is simply foolish. It will never succeed. Can we have more Charlie Wilson and less Marco Rubio? Can we please have Operation Cyclone instead of “Operation Gideon”?