A day after President Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper insisted the Trump administration had “nothing to do” with a failed maritime incursion into Venezuela, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo softened that denial. Pompeo, who has recognized Nicolas Maduro’s rival Juan Guiado as Venezuela’s president, told reporters on Wednesday that there was “no U.S. government direct involvement” in an operation that ended in the capture of two American contractors. The secretary also suggested he knew where the money for the operation originated: “As for who bankrolled it, we’re not prepared to share any more information about what took place.” The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
The contractor at the center of the botched operation, former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau, is reportedly under federal arms-trafficking investigation over a truck packed with $150,000 worth of weapons found in neighboring Colombia, according to the Associated Press.
