Venezuelan opposition adviser resigns after failed incursion

A top adviser to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó resigned Monday, following his reported involvement in an armed incursion that failed to capture President Nicolás Maduro.

Guaidó, recognized by the United States and its allies as the legitimate president of Venezuela, accepted the resignation of Juan José Rendón and opposition lawmaker Sergio Vergara, and “thanked them for their dedication and commitment to Venezuela,” according to a report by the Miami Herald.

Rendón paid at least $50,000 to Silvercorp, a private security company owned by Jordan Goudreau, a former Green Beret linked to the incursion, according to news reports.

The attempted capture of Maduro, for whom the U.S. Department of Justice is offering $15 million, was foiled by Venezuelan and Cuban security forces, and resulted in the capture of two other former Green Berets now held in Venezuela.

The two Americans, who were captured alongside 11 others, were carrying U.S. passports and Silvercorp identification cards, according to the Venezuelan government.

Rendón disavowed Operation Gideon, as the mission was known, in his letter of resignation, saying the incursion went ahead before its final approval, reported the Herald.

“It has never been the interest of the commission, or of any of its members, to participate in violent activities, and even less in illegal activities, linked to individuals wanted by the law and with charges pending in a number of countries,” wrote Rendón.

Rendón, who lives in Miami, presented his resignation to Guaidó.

Operation Gideon has also been disavowed by U.S. authorities, including President Trump, who said on “Fox & Friends” on Friday that if he sent a military force to Venezuela, “it would be called an Army.”