1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,200 Speaker 1: Right now. We have Richard Arnold, a US correspondent with 2 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:02,639 Speaker 1: US Morning. 3 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 2: Richard, Good morning. 4 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:06,240 Speaker 1: So what happens next after the tanker was seized? 5 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, a good question. US officials are saying the seize 6 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,399 Speaker 2: of this tanker does not signal as yet a broad 7 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 2: scale war silt. Trump was not so clear about that 8 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 2: the other day, was he when he was asked, can 9 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 2: you rule out an American ground invasion? 10 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: I don't want to rule in or out. 11 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 2: I don't talk about it. And a number of lawmakers, 12 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 2: Republican and Democrat, are raising concerns about this escalation in 13 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 2: the pressure campaign against Venezuela's leader Duro, says Democrat Adam Smith. 14 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,839 Speaker 2: We should not be trying to dominate the Western hemisphere. 15 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 2: This is going to drag US into a conflict that 16 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,199 Speaker 2: is incredibly costly. Well, we're finding new details about the 17 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 2: seizure of this tank or. A US federal court judge 18 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,560 Speaker 2: issued the sezear warrant a couple of weeks ago because 19 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 2: of activities by this vessel called the Skipper in smuggling 20 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 2: Venezuela and that Iranian oil that was subject to American 21 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 2: sanctions over six months at the start of this year, 22 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 2: that ship transported nearly two million barrels of crude oil 23 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 2: from Iran to Cis China. Money from that trade is 24 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 2: said to have been used to support the Iranian back 25 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 2: Hesberla and also the CAD security force in around itself. 26 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 2: The tanker was doing this by faking its locations. Its 27 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 2: location transponder would suggest it was in one place, when 28 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 2: in reality it was one hundreds of kilometers away. As 29 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 2: to the wider US pressure campaign, the US for a 30 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 2: long time was the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil, but 31 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 2: political tensions changed that and China now buys around eighty 32 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 2: percent of Venezuela's oil exports. Venezuela has huge stocks of 33 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 2: untapped oil reserves and rare minerals. Now, the US has 34 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 2: carried out what twenty two attacks on Venezuelan drug boats, 35 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 2: with eighty seven people killed in those attacks. The Trump 36 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 2: administration says these strikes are aimed at stopping the drug 37 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:46,119 Speaker 2: trade from Venezuela, and it singled out concerns over fentanyl, 38 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 2: with President Trump asserting that every Venezuelan drug boat leads 39 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 2: to the deaths of some twenty five thousand Americans, where 40 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 2: that number comes from unknown meantime, America is the primary 41 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 2: and virtually only mass producer and exporterer of of fentanyl Mexico, 42 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 2: with China sending small amounts as well. So all that 43 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 2: is leading to the debate over what really is at 44 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 2: the core of this focus on Venezuela. A new Reuters 45 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 2: IPSOS poll has forty eight percent here saying the US 46 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 2: should not be conducting these boat strikes without first getting 47 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 2: court approvals, while around seventy percent opposed US military intervention 48 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:24,680 Speaker 2: in Venezuela. 49 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: Now, things lately are not going Ice as way, are they. 50 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 2: No? Now, federal judge has just ordered the immediate release 51 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 2: of the man at the center of one of the 52 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 2: most notorious deportation cases here, that of Brego Garcia. He 53 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 2: you recalls the Salvadoran who's been living in Maryland with 54 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 2: his wife and kids before he was targeted by the 55 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 2: trumpet gration enforcement the ICE team. The judge says, this 56 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:49,959 Speaker 2: case is extraordinary and there's no doubt about that. Back 57 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 2: in March, Brego Garcia was flown off to the toughest 58 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 2: prison in Latin America, the Seacot prison in Salvador. No 59 00:02:57,760 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 2: one they say, I'm going to get out of that place, 60 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 2: but he was released finally, had been sent there initially 61 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 2: without due process. Trump claimed he was a member of 62 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 2: a terror group and at one point showed a photoshop 63 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 2: image of the man supposedly with drug tattoos on his 64 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 2: fingers that was fake. He was then flown back to 65 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 2: the US, then arrested again to face human smuggling charges. 66 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 2: They were going to ship him off to Uganda and 67 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 2: then to Garner at one stage, but that all fill apart. 68 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 2: The Trump team is calling the release order the actions 69 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 2: of an Obama appointed judge. So on goes the politics. Meantime, 70 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 2: protesters are clashing with the ICE agents in Minnesota. Trump 71 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 2: has been speaking out against Somalian refugees as we've been 72 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 2: hearing and saying the US should seek immigrants from Norway, 73 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 2: Sweden and Denmark, countries with mainly white populations instead of 74 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 2: what he calls and let me quote him carefully, s 75 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 2: whole countries. 76 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: Okay, Richard, thank you very much, appreciate it. Richard Arnold, 77 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: US correspondent. 78 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 2: For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to 79 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 2: news talks it'd be from six am days or follow 80 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.