Venezuela: Operation Gedeon Members Sentenced to 30 Years

On Wednesday, a Venezuelan court with jurisdiction over terrorism sentenced 20 people to 30 years in prison for their participation in the failed maritime incursion of May 2020, when the far-right opposition attempted a military invasion.

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Another nine people received 21-year prison sentences for Operation Gideon, whose purpose was to create conditions for a coup against President Nicolas Maduro.

The members of Operation Gideon were charged with crimes such as treason, conspiracy, rebellion, association to commit a crime, and financing terrorism.

This Washington-backed operation was carried out by deserters from the National Bolivarian Armed Forces and three U.S. paramilitaries, all of whom attempted to enter Venezuela along the coasts of La Guaira and Aragua.

In May 2021, the justice system had already sentenced 54 out of 85 people who participated in the maritime attack to prison terms ranging from 12 to 24 years.

Since then, the judicial processes for 31 people were pending, 29 of whom were sentenced on Wednesday.

Formally speaking, the sentences for U.S. citizens Luke Denman and Airan Berry are still pending, although they were released in December 2023, when Venezuela exchanged prisoners with Washington to secure the release of Bolivarian diplomat Alex Saab.