Federal investigators have uncovered DNA evidence linking a former U.S. Green Beret to the smuggling of 60 automatic weapons from Florida to South America in connection with a failed 2020 coup attempt against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The accused, a decorated former Green Beret, allegedly facilitated the illegal arms trafficking that supported the amphibious raid, resulting in casualties and the imprisonment of individuals involved.
The plot, orchestrated by a group of Venezuelan army deserters reportedly armed and trained by the accused in Colombia, was exposed prior to the incursion. The accused claimed to have acted in collaboration with the Venezuelan opposition and purported ties to the then-President Donald Trump's administration, although no official endorsement of the invasion has been confirmed.
