Trump Admin Swears It Wasn’t Involved in Botched Venezuela Coup

From the president to the secretary of defense, senior Trump administration officials are distancing themselves from Sunday’s failed, amateurish attempt at capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Jordan Goudreau, a former Army Special Forces medic whom Bellingcat identified on Tuesday as providing security for a Trump rally in 2018, admitted he was an organizer of the botched maritime incursion. Two retired U.S. special operators, Airan Berry and Luke Denman, were taken prisoner. At the White House, President Trump said the raid “has nothing to do with our government,” while at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, “the United States government had nothing to do with what happened in Venezuela.” Last month, the U.S. indicted Maduro, whom it had declared an illegitimate leader, and issued a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture.