A Former Soldier's Disappearance and a Failed Venezuelan Invasion

A former Green Beret, Jordan Goudreau, is now wanted by the authorities after skipping his court hearing. He was supposed to be in court to discuss whether he should be put back in jail for breaking the rules of his release. Goudreau, who is 49 years old, was arrested last year for trying to smuggle weapons into Venezuela as part of a failed plan to overthrow the Venezuelan government in 2020. Goudreau was released from jail after a few weeks when a filmmaker, Jen Gatien, put up her $2 million apartment as collateral for his bond. However, Gatien recently testified in court that Goudreau had become abusive and threatening. She said he sent her text messages saying he wouldn't go back to jail and that he planned to leave the country. The judge issued an arrest warrant for Goudreau after he failed to show up for the third day of the bond hearing. Goudreau's lawyer said she had not spoken to him and did not know why he was not in court. A probation officer said that Goudreau's ankle monitor was still in the Tampa area, where he was living while undergoing therapy supervised by the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Goudreau's plan to invade Venezuela was the subject of a recent documentary by Gatien. The documentary, "Men of War, " shows how Goudreau tried to train a group of Venezuelan army deserters in Colombia to carry out a raid on Venezuela. The plan was exposed by the Associated Press two days before the incursion and was quickly thwarted by Venezuelan security forces. Several would-be freedom fighters were killed, and two of Goudreau's U. S. Special Forces buddies were imprisoned in Venezuela. Since the release of the documentary, the relationship between Goudreau and Gatien has soured. Gatien accused Goudreau of deceit, financial coercion, and threatening conduct in court filings. She also shared screenshots of angry text messages from Goudreau, in which he said he would not go back to prison. Goudreau has reemerged as a media pundit in recent weeks, popular with Trump supporters and "radical leftist" critics alike. In interviews, he has lashed out at the CIA and State Department, blaming them for "sabotaging" his mission. He has also called Trump's allegations that Maduro is the leader of a drug-running military official a "fabrication of the CIA. " Goudreau was scheduled to go on trial in February on charges of failing to obtain an export license to ship roughly 60 AR-15 rifles to clandestine camps where would-be freedom fighters were being trained. According to U. S. officials, Goudreau and others "conspired to export AR-type firearms, night vision devices, laser sights and other equipment from the United States to Colombia without obtaining the required export licenses. These unlicensed exports were undertaken to carry out activities in Venezuela. "