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Army released some service details on the three Americans

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/05/06/heres-the-career-info-for-the-former-green-berets-involved-in-venezuela-raid-debacle/

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Former Sgt. 1st Class Goudreau, 43, served on active duty as a special forces medical sergeant and indirect fire infantryman from 2001 to 2016. A LinkedIn account associated with Goudreau stated that he previously served in the Canadian Armed Forces for three years in the mid-1990s.

As a U.S. service member, he deployed to Iraq from November 2006 to April 2007 and from March 2010 to September 2010. He later deployed to Afghanistan from May 2011 to June 2011 and again from January 2014 to June 2014.

Goudreau received three Bronze Star medals, the Ranger Tab, Special Forces Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge and Parachutist Badge.

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Former Sgt. Airan Berry, 41, served on active duty as a special forces engineer sergeant from 1996 to 2013. He deployed to Iraq from March 2003 to June 2003; November 2004 to June 2005; and February 2007 to March 2007.

Berry received two Bronze Star medals, the Kosovo Campaign Medal, Ranger Tab, Special Forces Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, the Special Operations Diver and Special Operations Diving Supervisor Badges.

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Former Staff Sgt. Luke Denman, 34, served on active duty as a special forces communications sergeant from 2006 to 2011, later serving in the Army Reserve until September 2014. He deployed to Iraq from March 2010 to September 2010.

Denman received the Army Commendation Medal, Special Forces Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge and Parachutist Badge.

 

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Man this was a shitshow.  Here's a deep dive on what happened.  Worth a read.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33322/breaking-down-the-absolutely-batshit-botched-coup-attempt-against-venezuelas-maduro

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That story included on-the-record interviews with former associates of the coup plotters and Venezuelan authorities, who also said their intelligence services had infiltrated the group. Those latter claims are supported by previously unexplained reports of increased security in the areas where the Operation Gideon force ultimately landed.

The masks.  The American flags.  Brilliant.  I'm going to send this to a couple of buddies who were Special Forces, because this is putting the special in Special Forces.

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Everything about this fiasco, which apparently has yet to reach its final conclusion, seems less of a modern incarnation of the infamous CIA-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 and more reminiscent of the differently infamous Wonga Coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea in 2004, or even the life of Bin Laden hunter Gary Faulkner, or an over-the-top Hollywood dramatization of either of those events.

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Pimenta said that one of the two boats, which was carrying Captain Antonio Sequea, another former Venezuelan military officer, and two retired U.S. Army Green Berets, Airan Berry and Luke Denman, had engine problems, aborted the mission, and attempted to flee to the Dutch island of Bonaire off the coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea. The motor ran out of fuel well before that, forcing them to attempt a landing.

 

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The occupants of both boats were quickly engaged by Venezuelan security forces. Authorities in Venezuela initially claimed that they had killed eight of the raiders, but have since revised that body count down to six. Another 13 individuals, including Berry and Denman, who were both carrying their U.S. passports and other identifying documents, ended up being captured. The detained Venezuelans were all also carrying ID cards or other means of identification, as well. The status of the rest of the 60-man force is unknown. 

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Venezuelan authorities also seized vehicles, weapons, and equipment that they captured from the raiders' boats, as well as from a safe house inside the country. There was at least one Ford pickup, along with a pair of Toyotas, all painted black, at the house, the latter two of which were armed with 7.62mm M240G or FN MAG machine guns. Belts of ammunition were scattered in the trucks' rear beds.

The mercenaries' arsenal included a number of AR-15/M16-type rifles and 100-round Beta C-Mag drums to go with them. At least 14 Glock pistols and, curiously, at least one Airsoft pellet gun, were also among the weapons that Venezuelan officials captured. It is possible that the airsoft gun was potentially brought to discreetly take out lights.

 

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Unencrypted handheld radios, tablet computers, body armor and helmets, some with American or Venezuelan national flag patches, and Aoutacc airsoft face masks with a fanged mouth motif meant to be reminiscent of feudal Japanese samurai armor, were among the other items seized. 

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1 minute ago, Anastasis said:

 

 

Is you bringing your motherfucking passport to a clandestine fucking conspiracy to kill a foreign leader?

 

MaleAdventurousDwarfrabbit-size_restrict

 

 

My exact thought.  I mean, WTF?  Did he also have a folder with him titled "Secret Invasion Plan," with every step laid out, including contact names and numbers?

We're not even competent bad guys these days.  The American Age is over.

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4 hours ago, Anastasis said:

Were these guys really Green Berets?  I thought those guys were suppose to be the varsity squad?

Army released their records, and they had the tabs according to the records.  One had 15 years in, another 17 years in.  That was kind of odd to me - generally the folks I know who make it into the 15 years and up range, typically keep on until 20.

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My exact thought.  I mean, WTF?  Did he also have a folder with him titled "Secret Invasion Plan," with every step laid out, including contact names and numbers?
We're not even competent bad guys these days.  The American Age is over.
What I don't understand is how dumb Mafia guys can be so good at crime and smart guys like us can suck so bad at it!

I wonder if they looked up "coup attempt" in the dictionary?
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6 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

My exact thought.  I mean, WTF?  Did he also have a folder with him titled "Secret Invasion Plan," with every step laid out, including contact names and numbers?

We're not even competent bad guys these days.  The American Age is over.

I've been saying that ever since the draw in Korea  but WTF, we're still here :)

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Army released their records, and they had the tabs according to the records.  One had 15 years in, another 17 years in.  That was kind of odd to me - generally the folks I know who make it into the 15 years and up range, typically keep on until 20.
They're listed as "medical", "engineer", and "communications". Is it possible they were just support and not real snake eaters? And maybe they thought they were just as good as the real badasses?
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2 minutes ago, Modessit said:
1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:
Army released their records, and they had the tabs according to the records.  One had 15 years in, another 17 years in.  That was kind of odd to me - generally the folks I know who make it into the 15 years and up range, typically keep on until 20.

They're listed as "medical", "engineer", and "communications". Is it possible they were just support and not real snake eaters? And maybe they thought they were just as good as the real badasses?

Each SF Soldier has a team role and training. Those are just three of them. An 18 Delta is a SF Medic. 

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So I'm gonna expound on something I mentioned upthread:
These guys were hired by an agent sent by Maduro. They THOUGHT they were being hired by the good guys, maybe even that US Government. In reality they were set up to make Maduro look good.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

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59 minutes ago, Modessit said:
2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:
Army released their records, and they had the tabs according to the records.  One had 15 years in, another 17 years in.  That was kind of odd to me - generally the folks I know who make it into the 15 years and up range, typically keep on until 20.

They're listed as "medical", "engineer", and "communications". Is it possible they were just support and not real snake eaters? And maybe they thought they were just as good as the real badasses?

Inka answered it, but to expand, they don’t get the SF tab until they actually are.

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50 minutes ago, Parliament said:

So I'm gonna expound on something I mentioned upthread:
These guys were hired by an agent sent by Maduro. They THOUGHT they were being hired by the good guys, maybe even that US Government. In reality they were set up to make Maduro look good.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem... if no one else can help... and if you can find them... maybe you can hire...

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  • 3 years later...

Welp, time to change the thread title to "Things not going well in Guyana".  Social media is blowing up over claims/threats that Venezuela is about to annex a massive amount of Guyana, because oil was discovered there several years ago, and they are starting to rake in the money.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231124-us-defense-officials-to-visit-guyana-amid-venezuela-row-guyanese-vp

Tensions are running high between Georgetown and Caracas, which has organized a December 3 poll to ask Venezuelans to consider annexing the Guyana-administered region of Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of the tiny country.

Both nations claim the 160,000-square-kilometer (62,000-square-mile) region, in a dispute that has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered oil there in 2015. 

Another major discovery in Essequibo in October added further to Guyana's reserves, making them greater than those of Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates.

"We're interested in maintaining peace in our country and in our borders, but we're going to be working with our allies to ensure that we plan for all eventualities," Guyanese Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Thursday -- including welcoming the establishment of foreign military bases.

"We were never interested in military bases, but we have to protect our national interest," he said, adding that defense cooperation was being pursued "with a number of countries."

Two teams from the US Department of Defense will visit Guyana next week, Jagdeo added.

"All the options available for us to defend our country will be pursued. Every option."

The dispute over Essequibo dates back to 1899, when an arbitration tribunal fixed the border between Venezuela and Guyana -- a former colony of both Britain and the Netherlands.

Venezuela maintains that the Essequibo River to the east of the region forms a natural frontier, recognized at the time of independence from Spain.

Venezuela's unilateral referendum will ask citizens if they should reject the 1899 tribunal decision, which Caracas says was "fraudulently imposed."

Also on the ballot is whether Venezuela should reject International Court of Justice jurisdiction over the dispute, and whether to grant Venezuelan citizenship to the people of an annexed Essequibo.

Guyana has the world's biggest reserves of crude per capita, while its neighbor sits on the largest proven reserves overall.

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Venezuela is holding a vote for Venezuelas to decide on whether to annex part of Guyana next week.  More context and why it's ramping up right now, from Wiki:

American multinational ExxonMobil and its commercial partners have discovered 46 oil fields in Guyana since 2015. In 2023 alone four oil fields were found off the coast of Guyana, of which the latest one was announced in October 2023 and whose location was in the disputed Essequibo region, which makes up more than two-thirds of Guyana's current total territory.  In September 2023, Venezuela National Assembly approved a consultative referendum for Venezuelans to decide on "the rights" over the Essequibo region, and a date for it was subsequently set for 3 December 2023.

In October 2023, it was reported that the Venezuelan military was building a runway near the border with Guyana's Essequibo "to develop" the region. Guyana's president Irfaan Ali responded by saying the country will not give up "an inch" of the region.

In November 2023, Guyanese Prime Minister Mark Anthony Phillips took the case to the Organization of American States (OAE) where he accused Venezuela of a military buildup near the Essequibo border, and warned of the consequences of it for Guyana's sovereignty. OEA's Secretary-General Luis Almagro, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United States government expressed their support for Guyana. Additionally Guyana asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a "urgent" injunction to block Venezuela's incoming referendum, which the Court agreed to hear about on 14 November. No hearing dates were set, however, for the main dispute.

Not a bad explanation

 

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Venezuelan military leadership basically says they are going to annex territory   US and UK are telling them to knock it off,  ICJ issues their ruling Friday.

Venezuela is giving off some real fuck around and find out vibes.  Lots of oil money involved, don’t think they realize how this will go for them   

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2 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

I haven’t asked all my Venezuelan friends, but one I work with said she will be voting no. I am pretty sure 99% of Venezuelans outside of Venezuela will vote no (but will be tallied as a yes).

I'm quite certain that the vast majority of them inside Venezuela will vote no...but it don't make a shit.  Whatever their fucktarded government says is what the vote will say.   

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4 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

I haven’t asked all my Venezuelan friends, but one I work with said she will be voting no. I am pretty sure 99% of Venezuelans outside of Venezuela will vote no (but will be tallied as a yes).

2 hours ago, Trey3216 said:

I'm quite certain that the vast majority of them inside Venezuela will vote no...but it don't make a shit.  Whatever their fucktarded government says is what the vote will say.   

Yep, the military commanders have been preparing (forward bases, etc.) as well as publicly saying that it's time to finally liberate a bunch of Venezuelans who didn't know they were Venezuelans, and help keep the newly-found Venezuelan oil out of the hands of the non-Venezuelans, because they are correcting a centuries-old wrong.  Taking a page out of Putin's playbook.

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8 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Yep, the military commanders have been preparing (forward bases, etc.) as well as publicly saying that it's time to finally liberate a bunch of Venezuelans who didn't know they were Venezuelans, and help keep the newly-found Venezuelan oil out of the hands of the non-Venezuelans, because they are correcting a centuries-old wrong.  Taking a page out of Putin's playbook.

Everything old is new again.

This shit is just 21st century raiding parties to steal your grain and women and such.

If Venezuela pulls it off.....how are they going to develop those fields?  How are they going to get the oil to market?  Oh...I forgot....China.  Russia can't be much help these days (nor does it want to be, they need high oil prices).  Neighbors aren't going to be terribly interested in getting involved.  Yep, China.

Wonder if there will be a joint US/UK forward airbase in the area right soon?

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7 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

You mean one of these?

Aircraft Carrier Twins GIF by U.S. Navy

Mayhaps.....they have 22 SU-30s and 20 F-16s.  That ain't a stout air force.  Air superiority/supremacy is something that an opposing force of any size could get a handle on pretty quickly.

Edited by Brisketexan
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1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Everything old is new again.

This shit is just 21st century raiding parties to steal your grain and women and such.

If Venezuela pulls it off.....how are they going to develop those fields?  How are they going to get the oil to market?  Oh...I forgot....China.  Russia can't be much help these days (nor does it want to be, they need high oil prices).  Neighbors aren't going to be terribly interested in getting involved.  Yep, China.

Wonder if there will be a joint US/UK forward airbase in the area right soon?

Maybe Taiwan could borrow a few nukes. That might get someone’s attention.

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This has definitely been flying under the radar - Venezuela probably took the opportunity while everybody was distracted by Israel/Hamas, to start putting things in place and building up their forces along the border (apparently it ramped up last month).

A timeline SA Defensa mentioned:

  • The US () announced that it would assist Guyana on sea patrols in the Essequibo region (2020)
  • Maduro issuing Decree No. 4415 in the National Assembly claiming the Essequibo and its national waters (2021)
  • Vzla argues US influence in Guyana violates sovereignty (2023)

They've seized a few ships in and around Guyana's waters over the last few years, and they are threatening ExxonMobil's claims and infrastructure.

This is from mid-October

 

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This is the area that Venezuela is claiming

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Edited by atomheartbevo
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