It’s the FBI’s most needed movie.
The Put up is informed that the bureau has requested some 100 hours of footage utilized in making the brand new documentary “Men of War,” after an FBI agent and a federal prosecutor seen the film on the Double Publicity Investigative Journalism Movie Competition at Johns Hopkins College in Washington, DC, final month.
“Men of War” tells the story of Jordan Goudreau, a former Inexperienced Beret who, in 2020, as documented within the film, helped plot a would-be coup in opposition to Venezuela’s authoritarian Maduro regime.
“I found out that they want to subpoena all the raw footage,” Jen Gatien, who co-directed “Men of War,” informed The Put up of the feds. “That’s 100 hours of raw interviews that I did with Jordan and everyone else. They’re legally not entitled to it under journalistic privilege.”
In July, US marshals arrested Goudreau on expenses of violating the Arms Export Management Act, claiming in an indictment that he illegally shipped firearms — allegedly to arm a militia for the supposed coup — in another country. He denies this.
“They were there to see what Mr. Goudreau said during the filming in order to gather evidence,” Marissel Descalzo, Goudreau’s lawyer, informed The Put up of the feds on the movie fest. “I’m sure they wanted to see if there was anything they could use against him in the trial.”
Born in Canada, Goudreau, 48, discovered his calling when he enlisted within the US Military in 2001. Serving as a Inexperienced Beret in Afghanistan and Iran, he specialised in missions that included frontline fight and intelligence work.
“He loved the military and it gave him purpose,” Gatien, who obtained unique entry to the topics of her doc, informed The Put up. “But, more than that, he’s the best at it. He is in the upper echelon of those in the military. He has three bronze stars for bravery and valor.”
However battle took a toll on his physique and thoughts, leaving him with tinnitus and extreme complications. In 2016, Goudreau obtained a medical discharge. In accordance with Gatien, he fought the choice, to no avail.
“He went through a major depression,” mentioned Gatien of the time following his discharge. “Jordan got on his motorcycle and rode across the country. He felt listless and despondent. Like he says in the movie, he had been trained to do something really well and, all of a sudden, he could no longer do that thing.”
By 2018, Goudreau had settled in Florida and fashioned a safety firm known as Silvercorp USA. That very same yr, he offered safety for a Donald Trump rally in Charlotte, NC. In 2019, Goudreau was employed to protect the Venezuelan pop star LeLe Pons at Venezuela Support Reside, in Cucuta, Colombia, 187 miles from the Venezuelan border.
The profit live performance raised cash for Venezuelans and supported Juan Guaido, a political rival who had challenged the legitimacy of Maduro’s presidency.
Quickly after returning to the US, Goudreau, as he informed Gatien, “was contacted by Keith Schiller [formerly President Donald Trump’s director of Oval Office operations], who was working with wealthy Venezuelans in America … to install Guaido in power.”
As Gatien was informed, “They met at a WeWork in Florida and began figuring out how to remove Maduro from power.”
In “Men of War,” Schiller claims the assembly was to debate humanitarian help for Venezuela.
The US State Division has accused the Maduro regime of arbitrary killings of its residents and threats of violence in opposition to journalists. In March 2020, the US Division of Justice charged Maduro with narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking.
America has a $15 million bounty on the pinnacle of the Venezuelan strongman, who, based on US Lawyer Geoffrey S. Berman, “expressly intended to flood the United States with cocaine in order to undermine the health and well-being of our nation.”
The plan to oust Maduro was hatched between Goudreau and Guaido supporters: Herald a 300-man militia — recruited by Cliver Alcalá, a former Venezuelan army chief — that might camp out in protected homes and spend a yr secretly changing the Venezuelan army to activate Maduro.
At that time, per the scheme, Maduro can be captured and despatched to America to face trial on his narcotics expenses. “Similar to what was done with Manuel Noriega,” Gatien mentioned.
Enticed by ideology, need for a mission, and the promise of cash (which he by no means obtained), Goudreau spent months bouncing between his house in Florida and the jungles of Colombia, the place he educated a gaggle that included Venezuelan natives in addition to Luke Denman and Airan Berry, a pair of former Inexperienced Berets he’d served with.
Via all of it, Goudreau actually believed he had the blessing of the US authorities. “Jordan,” mentioned Gatien, “was exploring every opportunity to remove a dictator and bring democracy.”
The plan was for the militia to journey from Colombia to Venezuela by boat in late March, settle into protected homes, and start a year-long marketing campaign of connecting with troopers on army bases who can be sympathetic to their trigger.
Goudreau deliberate to journey from Florida to Venezuela to be a part of the militia members he had helped prepare. He and a pal left in early March, anticipating to spend two weeks touring by boat.
“That was when everything started going sideways,” mentioned Gatien. “Alcalá was arrested by the DEA on narcotics charges and arms were seized in Colombia” — those Goudreau would later be charged for transport illegally. “At that point, his mission changed from launching the coup to pulling the [Denman and Berry] out of harm’s way.”
Then, 80 miles off the coast of Colombia, the fan belt on Goudreau’s boat snapped whereas he was en path to Colombia.
In accordance with Gatien, Goudreau and his pal had been stranded at sea for 2 days. Lastly, after an SOS name to the Curacao Coast Guard, a freighter sure for Louisiana picked them up. The lads reached the Bayou State in early April; US Coast Guard brokers, involved they is perhaps transport narcotics, awaited.
Each males had been briefly interviewed and rapidly lower free.
Goudreau returned to Florida and warned the previous Inexperienced Berets, nonetheless in Colombia, about issues having gone awry.
However getting them out of the Colombian jungle and again to the US all of the sudden proved unattainable when Gatien mentioned, Covid shut down a lot of the world. As an alternative, the choice was made to journey by boat from Colombia to Venezuela and retreat to the protected homes.
Unbeknownst to Goudreau’s militia, their plans had been leaked to the Maduro authorities — and armed Venezuelan intelligence officers awaited the arrival of the primary boat. Six members of the dissident crew had been killed. When a second boat arrived, 30 of the boys, together with the 2 former Inexperienced Berets, had been arrested.
The Inexperienced Berets would go on to spend three years in jail earlier than the US authorities negotiated their launch.
Gatien was intrigued by the story and reached out to Goudreau about the potential of making a documentary.
“I remember thinking he was out of central casting [and wondering,] ‘Is this guy an actor playing an action hero? Or is he the real deal?’” she mentioned.
Listening to Goudreau inform his story, she turned satisfied of the latter. She spent the subsequent three years filming him in Florida, Mexico, Texas, Montana, Canada and California.
On July 30 of this yr, whereas Gatien was within the means of modifying the film, Goudreau was arrested in Decrease Manhattan.
“Three armored vehicles, windows all blacked out, were waiting for him. Plain-clothed US marshals jumped out, grabbed him, and threw him into one of the vehicles. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life,” mentioned Gatien, who watched all of it go down.
Goudreau was whisked to the Metropolitan Detention Heart and put in solitary confinement after being hit with the cost of exporting unlicensed weapons.
Gatien admits she thought of washing her palms of her topic.
“But I just couldn’t do it,” she mentioned. “I’d been following this guy for five years. How do I say, ‘Hey, it’s been real. Thanks for letting me have the exclusive to your story.’ Then I’m going to attend film festival premieres, wear my Prada gown, and clink Champagne glasses while he’s at MDC? No.”
As an alternative, she put up actual property as collateral to safe his $2 million bail. “It’s something,” she mentioned, “that I would do for any documentary subject of mine.”
He’s presently underneath home arrest in Florida.
The movie, which was financed by Neon, has screened six instances. When it performed in DC, Gatien had no concept the FBI can be within the viewers. Two weeks later, they made clear, by way of telephone name, that they needed all of the uncooked footage. A subpoena has not been served as of this time.
“Documentarians and journalists can’t be used to do the government’s homework,” mentioned Gatien. “I don’t think it’s right, morally or legally, for me to turn over my footage of every person that talked to me. I don’t want the government to cherry-pick what they want to use against the subject of the film. I am not an agent for the DOJ, they have endless resources and can do their own work. My five years of research was never to bolster their case. All of this is covered by journalistic privilege and that includes documentaries. This is the exact kind of weaponizing of the justice system that President Trump has been speaking out against.”
In accordance with First Modification lawyer Mark Rasch, the FBI has no rights to Gatien’s footage.
“A journalist should never be put in a position where they become an agent of the Department of Justice in prosecuting their sources,” Rasch informed The Put up. “It is rare for the government to seek this type of information from a journalist.”
Gatien has no regrets about placing her personal cash as much as defend Goudreau: “He served the United States with valor. This is not a guy who needs to be incarcerated for 30 years.”
And Goudreau is grateful for the assist.
“The footage is like a diary. There were things I said that were never meant to reach the public,” he mentioned. “I fought for the constitution for two decades in two wars so that Americans could have protections for their speech and private thoughts. It is clear to me now that the Constitution can be disregarded when the CIA, FBI, and federal prosecutors just want to win.”
