Macuto Bay Raid
Operation Gideon ( es, Operación Gedeón) was an unsuccessful attempt by Venezuelan dissidents and an American private military company, Silvercorp USA, to infiltrate Venezuela by sea and remove Nicolás Maduro from office in Venezuela. The plan involved entering the country by boat into Macuto port from 3 to 4 May 2020 in order to take control of Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetia, capture Maduro and other high-level figures in his government, and expel them from the country. The operation had been infiltrated by officials of the Maduro government early on. Commentators and observers, including Guaidó officials who initially contacted Silvercorp, described the operation as amateurish, underfunded, poorly-planned, having little or no chance of success, and a suicide mission. The operation occurred in the broader context of an ongoing international dispute beginning in January 2019 over the identity of the legitimate president of Venezuela; Nicolás Madur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Crisis In Venezuela
The crisis in Venezuela is an ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis that began in Venezuela during the presidency of Hugo Chávez and has worsened in Nicolás Maduro's presidency. It has been marked by hyperinflation, escalating starvation, disease, crime and mortality rates, resulting in massive emigration from the country. The situation is by far the worst economic crisis in Venezuela's history, and is also the worst facing a country in peacetime since the mid-20th century. The crisis is often considered to be more severe than that of the United States during the Great Depression, the 1985–1994 Brazilian economic crisis, or the 2008–2009 hyperinflation in Zimbabwe. Other writers have also compared aspects of the crisis, such as unemployment and GDP contraction, to that of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the 1992–1995 Bosnian War, and those in Russia, Cuba and Albania following the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.* ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Silvercorp USA
Jordan Guy MacDonald Goudreau (born 30 July 1976) is a Canadian-American mercenary who claimed responsibility for organizing the Macuto Bay incursion into Venezuelan territory on 3 May 2020. He is the owner and operator of a private security firm based in Florida called Silvercorp USA, which he set up in 2018. Goudreau previously served in the Canadian Armed Forces and the U.S. Army Special Forces. Early life Goudreau was raised in a middle-class family on the outskirts of Calgary, Alberta. Childhood friends said he was competitive, enjoyed playing video games and watched kung fu films. Goudreau's father said he had "a family full of military people," including Goudreau's grandfather and great-grandfather. He later attended the University of Calgary from 1994 to 1998, studying computer science. Military career After finishing college, Goudreau served in the Canadian Armed Forces but wanted to enlist in the United States armed forces to pursue a more challenging military career ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Landing Operation
A landing operation is a military action during which a landing force, usually utilizing landing craft, is transferred to land with the purpose of power projection ashore. With the proliferation of aircraft, a landing may refer to amphibious forces, airborne forces, or a combination of both. Landing of ships In a military invasion conducted by sea, the landing and establishment of a beachhead is a critical phase. In the ''Iliad'', the landing operation of the Achaean navy is described in book three. Since the Trojans had been warned of the invasion, the beach was defended. In Greek polytheism, the ἱερά ἐπιβατήρια were sacrifices offered to the gods after a successful landing. A λόγος ἐπιβατήριον was a dignified speech delivered upon disembarkation, contrasting with an ἀποβατήριον (''apobaterion''), the speech delivered upon departure. Air landing troops Missions of air landing troops, as defined by the U.S. FM 100–5, ''Operat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Private Military Company
A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military contractors"; they are also referred to by academics and the press as mercenaries. The services and expertise offered by PMCs are typically similar to those of governmental security, military, or police forces but most often on a smaller scale. PMCs often provide services to train or supplement official armed forces in service of governments, but they can also be employed by private companies to provide bodyguards for key staff or protection of company premises, especially in hostile territories. However, contractors that use armed force in a warzone may be considered unlawful combatants in reference to a concept that is outlined in the Geneva Conventions and explicitly stated by the 2006 American Military Commissions Act. The service ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dissident
A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established Political system, political or Organized religion, religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th century, coinciding with the rise of authoritarian governments in countries such as Fascist Italy (1922-43), Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Empire of Japan, Imperial Japan, Francoist Spain, the Soviet Union (and later Russia), Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Iran, China, and Turkmenistan. In the Western world, there are historical examples of people who have been considered and have considered themselves dissidents, such as the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza. In totalitarian countries, dissidents are often incarcerated or executed without explicit political accusations, or due to infringements of the very same laws they are opposing, or because they are supporting civil liberties such as freedom of speech. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bellingcat
Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014. Bellingcat publishes the findings of both professional and citizen journalist investigations into war zones, human rights abuses, and the criminal underworld. The site's contributors also publish guides to their techniques, as well as case studies. Bellingcat began as an investigation into the use of weapons in the Syrian Civil War. Its reports on the Russo-Ukrainian War (including the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17), the El Junquito raid, the Yemeni Civil War, the Skripal poisoning, and the killing of civilians by the Cameroon Armed Forces have attracted international attention. Name The name derives from the idiom " belling the cat", which comes from a medieval fable about mice who discuss how to make a cat harmless. One mo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspapers and broadcasters. The AP has earned 56 Pulitzer Prizes, including 34 for photography, since the award was established in 1917. It is also known for publishing the widely used '' AP Stylebook''. By 2016, news collected by the AP was published and republished by more than 1,300 newspapers and broadcasters, English, Spanish, and Arabic. The AP operates 248 news bureaus in 99 countries. It also operates the AP Radio Network, which provides newscasts twice hourly for broadcast and satellite radio and television stations. Many newspapers and broadcasters outside the United States are AP subscribers, paying a fee to use AP material without being contributing members of the cooperative. As part of their cooperative agreement with the AP, most ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Clíver Alcalá Cordones
Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones (born 21 November 1961), is a retired Venezuelan major general and a member of the Bolivarian Army. Clíver Alcalá was one of the soldiers who participated in the attempted coup d'état against President Carlos Andrés Pérez in February 1992, and served as chief of garrison in the cities of both Valencia and Maracay, and finally as general commander of the Integral Defense Region in Guayana (REDI-Guayana). Alcalá Cordones was discharged from the Army on 5 July 2013 during the presidency of Nicolás Maduro. In 2011, Alcalá was accused by the United States government of being a drug trafficker and a member of the Cartel of the Suns. Alcalá moved from Venezuela to Barranquilla, Colombia in 2018 and emerged as a forceful opponent of Maduro, described as the "ringleader" of the Venezuelan military deserters. In March 2020, Alcalá turned himself in to US authorities in Barranquilla, Colombia after the US Department of State and the Drug Enf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jordan Goudreau
Jordan Guy MacDonald Goudreau (born 30 July 1976) is a Canadian-American mercenary who claimed responsibility for organizing the Macuto Bay incursion into Venezuelan territory on 3 May 2020. He is the owner and operator of a private security firm based in Florida called Silvercorp USA, which he set up in 2018. Goudreau previously served in the Canadian Armed Forces and the U.S. Army Special Forces. Early life Goudreau was raised in a middle-class family on the outskirts of Calgary, Alberta. Childhood friends said he was competitive, enjoyed playing video games and watched kung fu films. Goudreau's father said he had "a family full of military people," including Goudreau's grandfather and great-grandfather. He later attended the University of Calgary from 1994 to 1998, studying computer science. Military career After finishing college, Goudreau served in the Canadian Armed Forces but wanted to enlist in the United States armed forces to pursue a more challenging military ca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Néstor Reverol
Néstor Luis Reverol Torres (born 28 October 1964) holds the position of Minister of the People's Power for Interior Relations and Justice of Venezuela and is currently Commander General of the National Guard of Venezuela. On 3 August 2016, he was appointed as interior minister by President Nicolás Maduro. Education Reverol was born in the coastal city of Maracaibo, capital of the Zulia state. He studied at the Military Academy of the National Guard, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Military Arts Degree in 1986. He later attended the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, undergoing training with the US Army in 1996. Controversy Drug trafficking In 2016, the United States government has alleged that Reverol was involved in drug trafficking when he was head of the Oficina Nacional Antidrogas (ONA). Sanctions Reverol has been sanctioned by several countries and is banned from entering neighboring Colombia. The Colombian government maintains a list of people ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vladimir Padrino López
Vladímir Padrino López (born 30 May 1963) is a Venezuelan four-star general serving as the current Minister of Defense for the National Armed Forces of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela since 24 October 2014. Military career On 5 July 1984, Padrino graduated from Military Academy of Venezuela. He commanded mortar personnel of the Antonio Ricaurte Infantry Battalion in Rubio, Táchira State. Between February and May 1995, Padrino was sent to the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia for a "Psychological Operations" and "Advanced Officer training" course by the US Army. During the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, he was a colonel of the Simon Bolivar Infantry Battalion in Fuerte Tiuna, remaining loyal to the government of Hugo Chávez. He was later appointed Chief of Joint Staff of the Strategic Defense Central Region Integral by President Chavez. In 2013, Padrino became the commander in chief of the Venezuelan Armed forces. On 24 October 2014, Padrino ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |