Investigative journalist Giancarlo Fiorella was watching when the Associated Press reported a plot to overthrow Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela. What Fiorella could not believe was that, after the planned coup was revealed, Jordan Goudreau, a former green beret and sometime security guard to President Trump, decided to go through with it anyway. Equating himself to Alexander the Great, Goudreau sent his men across hundreds of miles of open sea, towards certain failure.
On this week’s Kicker, Fiorella, an investigator and trainer with Bellingcat, speaks with Kyle Pope, editor and publisher of CJR, about what he has learned about Goudreau, Mike Pompeo’s statement that the US government had “no direct involvement” in the mission, and the dilemma faced by Venezuelan media as it considers the tragic legacy of Goudreau’s hubris.
SHOW NOTES:
The Invasion of Venezuela, Brought To You By Silvercorp USA, Giancarlo Fiorella, Bellingcat
Venezuela’s News Abyss, Paula Ramón, CJR
On the ground in the Venezuelan standoff, Andrew McCormick, CJR
Amanda Darrach is a contributor to CJR and a visiting scholar at the University of St Andrews School of International Relations. Follow her on Twitter @thedarrach.