1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:02,920 Speaker 1: To night, Michael Brown joins me here the former FEMA 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:06,160 Speaker 1: director talk show host Michael Brown. Brownie, no, Brownie, You're 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: doing a heck of a job The Weekend with Michael Brown. Hey, 4 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: it's the Weekend with Michael Brown, broadcasting live from Denver, Colorado. 5 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: Glad to have you with me. Rules of engagement are 6 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: pretty easy. Text lines. Always open the numbers three three 7 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: one zero three three three one zero three. Keyword Mike 8 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,640 Speaker 1: or Michael. Go follow me on X. It's at Michael 9 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: Brown USA. The numbers three three one zero three three 10 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,480 Speaker 1: three one zero three. Keyword Mike or Michael. Go follow 11 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: me on X. It's at Michael Brown USA. And then 12 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:38,839 Speaker 1: do me a favor. If you like what we do 13 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: on the weekend, you can listen to us during the weekday. Also, 14 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: you can listen weekdays from nine to noon Mountain time 15 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 1: on your iHeart app. Just search for this station eight 16 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: fifty KOA, which is eight fifty AM or ninety four 17 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: to one FM, and that's nine to noon Mountain Time 18 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: the Situation with Michael Brown. Or of course you can 19 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: always download the podcast which is the Situation with Michael Brown. 20 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: That will get you all five days of the weekday 21 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:14,000 Speaker 1: program plus the weekend program. And by the way, I misspoke, 22 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: it was March of twenty twenty. It wasn't twenty twenty 23 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: one yet, So it was the Trump administration. It was 24 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: Bill Barr, the Attorney General at the time, that indicted Maduro. 25 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: So what about the indictment. Arresting Maduro was legal, lawful, 26 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:43,559 Speaker 1: and it was overdue. You're going to hear people describe 27 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: this arrest as an act of war. I've heard it incessantly. Oh, 28 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: the War Powers Act in Congress declares war and he 29 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: doesn't have the authority to do this. Blah blah, blah blah. Well, 30 00:01:54,560 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: that description is wrong because it misunderstands, and quite frankly, 31 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: I think it deliberately misstates both the legal posture of 32 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:10,399 Speaker 1: Madeiro himself and the nature of the action taken against him. 33 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:12,519 Speaker 1: So I want to what I want to do this 34 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: hour is walk through the legal ramifications of what took place, 35 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: and then, which is why you've got to listen to 36 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: this program. And in the next hour, I want to 37 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: go back to what we talked about in the first hour. 38 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,359 Speaker 1: So here here's the structure what I'm trying to accomplish today. 39 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: In the first hour, we talked about what in essence 40 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: is a tour of the world through the eyes of 41 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: Trump's America First policy. As I see that policy is 42 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: that part of that world tour has brought us through Europe, 43 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: Western Asia, Africa, the Middle East. Then it took us 44 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: over to the Endo Pacific, and it took us through 45 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: Eastern Asia, Southeast Asia, and all of the areas from Japan, 46 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 1: South Korea down through New Zealand, Philippines, and Australia. This hour, 47 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: I want to talk about what happened last night and 48 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: its legality, and then the next hour we're going to 49 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:27,960 Speaker 1: go back to and understand why Trump did this, what 50 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: he has said in the press conference this morning, and 51 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: what it means long term for South America and again 52 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: for America First. So we're going to tie all of 53 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: that together in the next two hours. The operation that 54 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: resulted in Maduro's capture was not any sort of declaration 55 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: of hostilities against Venezuela. It was an execution of a 56 00:03:56,320 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: long standing criminal indictment against an individ jewel who, under 57 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: US law and also under widely accepted principles of international law, 58 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: was never entitled to the protection as a lawful head 59 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: of state. That gets me back to a text message 60 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:18,279 Speaker 1: that came in earlier. Let's see if I can find 61 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: it good, real quickly. And I really do want to 62 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: find this text message because I want you to understand 63 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: the difference. Uh, here's a good one. Though. How long 64 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,479 Speaker 1: do you think before how long will it take for 65 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: some liberal judge to come out and tell Trump that 66 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: he has to repatriot Maduro and start all over again. Yeah, 67 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: I don't think that's going to happen. But there was 68 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:52,839 Speaker 1: one about what's the difference between this and if you 69 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:54,599 Speaker 1: send it to me? When did you send this to me? 70 00:04:54,640 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: I read it this morning? Umm to do this live radio. 71 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: I'm just trying to find a text message. Anyway, it 72 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: was basically I can't find it, but it's basically this, 73 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 1: what's the difference between what happened with Maduro and some 74 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: other foreign government coming in the middle of the night 75 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: and capturing Donald Trump and taking him as an expat 76 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: or as a prisoner to some foreign country. Oh, I 77 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,280 Speaker 1: can talk about the difference for an hour. First and 78 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: foremost is our security forces, the Secret Service, the military, 79 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: and the American citizens wouldn't stand for it. Second, it 80 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: would mean that Trump would have had to have committed 81 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 1: an act, a criminal act that was a direct violation 82 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: of let's just say France. Let's just pick them France 83 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:07,160 Speaker 1: for a while, that somehow Trump had violated French law, 84 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: that he had engaged in a conspiracy of some sort 85 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: to violate a very specific French statue. We don't have that. 86 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: It's not a comparison that you can make. So with 87 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: regard to the text message, it's based on a faulty assumption, 88 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: a faulty premise that Trump has violated some law of 89 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: some sovereign state that is recognized. Those laws are recognized 90 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: by the United States of America. If you want to 91 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 1: tell me, for example, that he's violated some Iranian law, no, 92 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: because we don't recognize that country as being a recognized 93 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: member of civilization. Oh yeah, they are a so called 94 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: air quote here, sovereign country, but not on the same 95 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:03,600 Speaker 1: level that say Frances. If he violated a French law, 96 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: truly violated some felonious statue of the French, we might 97 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: have a problem. And if the French tried to invade 98 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: d C from the Atlantic coast, yeah, I don't think 99 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: they're going to make it all the way to DC. 100 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: It's not gonna happen. So from a practical standpoint, it's 101 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 1: just not going to And from a legal standpoint, we 102 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 1: have channels by which to deal with that. And oh, 103 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: we also have a Supreme Court ruling that says, under 104 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: our constitution the president is immune from those things as 105 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: long as he is acting as president and acting within 106 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: his constitutional authority as president. So the French are going 107 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:49,840 Speaker 1: to have a hard time doing it, So it would 108 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 1: have to be a rogue nation trying to do it. 109 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: And a rogue nation is never going to make it. 110 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: You know, They're never gonna make it from LaGuardia to 111 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: Dulles or to Reagan National. And then if they were 112 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: to make it that far, they're not going to make 113 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 1: it from Reagan National to cross the South Lawn to 114 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: the White House and try to capture him, or mar Lago. 115 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: They won't be able to land at West Palm Beach 116 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: and try to make it into marl Lago. So it's 117 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: just not going to happen. It's a comparison based on 118 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: a false premise. This was the execution of a long 119 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:36,600 Speaker 1: standing criminal indictment against Maduro, who under our law and 120 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: accepted principles of international law. Was not entitled to the 121 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: protections that we give lawful heads of state. Begin with 122 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: a simple question. Think about it this way. What makes 123 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: an arrest an act of war and not a law 124 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: enforcement action? What's the difference? It's the Weekend of Michael Brown. 125 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: Text lines always opened three three one zero three, keyword 126 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 1: micro Michael. The question on what you think about is 127 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: what makes an arrest an act of war rather than 128 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: an act of law enforcement? That's next. Welcome back to 129 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:24,760 Speaker 1: the weekending of Michael Brown. Glad to have you with me. 130 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: Text lines always opened three three one zero three. Keyword 131 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: micro Michael. Go follow me on except Michael Brown USA. 132 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: So the question that I've posed to you, what makes 133 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: an arrest an active war rather than an active law 134 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: enforcement Well, if you think it is based on force alone, no, 135 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: because cop Chu's force and even state governments sometimes use 136 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: military assets like the National Guard in support of law enforcement. 137 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:03,719 Speaker 1: So what is the distinction. The distinction turns on status 138 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 1: and purpose. Think about war. War is violence directed at 139 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: a sovereign state. Law enforcement is coercion directed at a 140 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: person who is subject to jurisdiction. Now, coercion and sometimes 141 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:24,840 Speaker 1: force is required because somebody resists arrest or they go 142 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:29,319 Speaker 1: off on a car chase. But I would use its coercion. 143 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: Your freedom is taken away. Yeah, sometimes you get in 144 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:37,040 Speaker 1: a gunfight, but those are usually the exceptions. Well, the 145 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:42,559 Speaker 1: madeal operation fits squarely into that second category of law enforcement. 146 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: It was coercion directed at a person subject to criminal jurisdiction. 147 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:53,679 Speaker 1: He was not seized because he was the president of Venezuela. 148 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:59,559 Speaker 1: Although as we walk through this, there's always a subtext 149 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: you can't arrest Now, if I say it that way, 150 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: you'll misinterpret it. Maduro was not arrested because he was 151 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 1: the president of Venezuela. He was arrested because he was 152 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:20,319 Speaker 1: a suspect named in a criminal indictment subject to law enforcement, 153 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 1: and the military seized him captured him. Now they did 154 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: so knowing that he was the president of Venezuela. And 155 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: Trump ordered this operation knowing that if they carried out 156 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: the operation correctly, it might have other effects than law enforcement. 157 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 1: But the fact that he was arrested not as president, matters, 158 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:52,080 Speaker 1: and it's not rhetorical. It is actually the organizing premise 159 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 1: of the entire case. So what is the case? As 160 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: I said back, In March of twenty twenty, federal prosecutors 161 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 1: and the Southern District of New York unsealed charges against 162 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:10,200 Speaker 1: Maduro for narco terrorism, cocaine trafficking, weapons offenses, conspiracy to 163 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:15,200 Speaker 1: import massive quantities of drugs. The indictment alleged that he 164 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 1: led and was the head of the Cartel de la Soults. 165 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:23,600 Speaker 1: That's a transnational criminal organization that's embedded and actually a 166 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: part of that is a way of security services and 167 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: as a part of its political institutions. So we knew 168 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:36,680 Speaker 1: that going in. So the premise for the arrest is legal. 169 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,679 Speaker 1: But if anybody tells you that, oh, but the consequences 170 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: of the arrest are going to be x YZ. Yes, 171 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: of course we knew that. But that's a separate matter 172 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: from the actual arrest. The charges, but are the charges 173 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:02,559 Speaker 1: are not symbolic. These are real, legitimate criminal charges. They 174 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:06,760 Speaker 1: carry potential life sentences. There was a fifty million dollar 175 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,200 Speaker 1: reward I think either fifteen or fifteen I think it 176 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:13,319 Speaker 1: was fifty million that was offered for information leading to 177 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:18,680 Speaker 1: his arrest. From that moment forward, Maduro was not treated 178 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: by the United States as a protected sovereign. He was 179 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: treated as a fugitive from justice. Now, the critics on 180 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: the left and maybe even some of the right, I 181 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,560 Speaker 1: don't know, are going to respond, Oh, but you can 182 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 1: indict a ham Sandwich. Indictments are cheap, and a powerful 183 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:40,560 Speaker 1: country can always criminalize their enemies. But that objection, when 184 00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 1: you hear it, because I know you're going to hear it, 185 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:48,560 Speaker 1: it ignores a very crucial legal fact. The United States 186 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: position was not merely that Maduro was committing crimes. It 187 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:57,480 Speaker 1: was that he did so without sovereign immunity as the 188 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: head of the country because he was not a legitimate 189 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: head of the country. Now, that claim is just not 190 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: something that you're making to support your argument. That claim 191 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 1: comes from recognized doctrine. Doctrine because after Venezuela's twenty eighteen election, 192 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 1: which was completely fraudulent, the country's own national Assembly, their 193 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 1: own Congress, declared the presidency vacant and recognized Juanguado as 194 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: the interim president under Venezuela's constitution, and more than fifty 195 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: countries followed suit in recognizing Juanguado as the actual president. 196 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 1: The United States formally withdrew recognition from the Durero's regime, 197 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 1: described it as illegitimate. That matters because air quote here 198 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: head of state immunity. That's not some metaphysical property. That 199 00:14:55,000 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 1: is a legal consequence of recognition. States decide whom they 200 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:05,479 Speaker 1: treat as governments. When recognition is withdrawn, the immunity dissolves 201 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 1: with it. Go back to the texture. They said, well, oh, 202 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,480 Speaker 1: what's the difference. What if France decides or whatever the 203 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: country was. What if some other country decides to just 204 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: come over here and snatch Donald Trump, will it had 205 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 1: to be a rogue state because most countries other than 206 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: the Iranians, who would love to arrest Donald Trump, recognize 207 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 1: our sovereignty. So it would have to be some state 208 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,440 Speaker 1: like the Iranians, which is never going to happen. We're 209 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 1: never going to allow that to happen. And this principle, 210 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: trust me, is not controversial because the courts themselves have 211 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: long held that immunity comes from recognition decisions made by 212 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 1: the political branches. So when an executive branch like ours 213 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: says that an individual is not recognized as a head 214 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,680 Speaker 1: of state, the courts defer to that recognition or lack 215 00:15:54,720 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 1: of recognition. That difference is not lawlessness. That's the basis 216 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 1: of separation of powers inherently important to a republican small 217 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 1: r form of government. As early as twenty twenty, American 218 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: prosecutors were describing Maduro as a de facto ruler who 219 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: had usurped power, who was corrupting state institutions in order 220 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: to facilitate international drug trafficking. So the indictment explicitly framed 221 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: his authority as illegally gotten. And that's not casual language. 222 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: It's designed to foreclose the argument that the Left is 223 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 1: apparently going to win, to make that somehow Maduro was 224 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:48,400 Speaker 1: immune from American prosecution. I can't wait to hear how 225 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: the cabal starts describing, Oh, this was an illegal invasion, 226 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:55,800 Speaker 1: this was an illegal arrest, this was blah blah, blah, 227 00:16:55,800 --> 00:17:00,520 Speaker 1: blah blah. Some of you are a tech. Since said, 228 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,440 Speaker 1: how long before Judge Boseburg enters into a restraining order 229 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:08,680 Speaker 1: ordering them to return Maduro back to Caracas, Well, that 230 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: would be immediately appealed to US Supreme Court. And if 231 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: Boseberg were to do that, that would be in violation 232 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 1: of almost every known president that says it is up 233 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:26,199 Speaker 1: to the executive branch, the political branches, the executive and 234 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: the legislative branches about who gets recognized as a sovereign 235 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:32,400 Speaker 1: and who does not. That's not up to the courts. 236 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,639 Speaker 1: So Boseburg would step in a big pile of poop 237 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:41,520 Speaker 1: if we were to do that part of this entire indictment. 238 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: It shows the charging document show that it's not an 239 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,800 Speaker 1: indictment of a political leader. This's caught in some sort 240 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: of geopolitical international dispute. It's an indictment of a cartel 241 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:05,000 Speaker 1: leader who just happened to illegally control a country. Is 242 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 1: that a difference to that distinction, No, that's a huge difference. 243 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:17,439 Speaker 1: I'll be right back. Good night. Michael Brown joins me here, 244 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:21,359 Speaker 1: the former FEMA director of talk show host Michael Brown. Brownie, No, Brownie, 245 00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:23,440 Speaker 1: You're doing a heck of a job the Weekend with 246 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:26,680 Speaker 1: Michael Brown. Hey, welcome back to the Weekend with Michael Brown. 247 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 1: Glad to have you with me. I appreciate you tuning in. 248 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:30,200 Speaker 1: It's good to be back in the saddle again. I 249 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,680 Speaker 1: appreciate you listing to the program. Text Lines always open 250 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: three three one zero three, keyword Micha or Michael. We're 251 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 1: talking about Maduro and how this arrest is completely lawful, 252 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:48,760 Speaker 1: it's not unusual, exceptional, extraordinary, And how it fits in, 253 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 1: which we'll get into in the next hour. How this 254 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:54,479 Speaker 1: even with Trump announcing today that we're going to air 255 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:59,000 Speaker 1: quote here run Venezuela. I'm not surprised by that, and 256 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:03,439 Speaker 1: I'll explain later in the next hour. But we've long had, 257 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:06,440 Speaker 1: In fact, I've been involved in some of these plans 258 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: for what happens when say Cuba or Mexico fail or 259 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:15,000 Speaker 1: become a failed state. What if Canada were to become 260 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,840 Speaker 1: a failed state. What if Canada's economy were to completely collapse, 261 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 1: how would we handle that? Or one of our allies, 262 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 1: Japan collapses for some reason. The previously FEMA then FEMA, 263 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 1: and the Department of Homeland Security and obviously the Department 264 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:41,360 Speaker 1: of Defense. All of these, all the national security apparatus, 265 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,119 Speaker 1: including the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council in 266 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:51,359 Speaker 1: the White House always are working on what if contingency plans. 267 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,359 Speaker 1: Now I don't mean that redundantly. I mean what if 268 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 1: and contingencies for all the different what ifs, And the 269 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: ones that I were involved in were Cuba and Mexico. 270 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 1: So we should not assume for one second that there 271 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: are not plans for how we're going to run Venezuela, 272 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:19,360 Speaker 1: or for that matter, Columbia, Peru, Argentina, and Brazil, any 273 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:21,800 Speaker 1: number of countries around the world if we have to. 274 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:27,200 Speaker 1: That's part of being prudent in terms of your planning 275 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:31,440 Speaker 1: for protecting our national security and our national interests worldwide. 276 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 1: That's part of being a superpower. It's just something that 277 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: public's never really exposed to. So go back to these 278 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:45,399 Speaker 1: the indictment and the charging documents. The prosecutors in the 279 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,399 Speaker 1: Southern District of New York a leegend the indictment of 280 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: Maduro deployed cocaine as a weapon against this country. Now, 281 00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: whether you accept every factual allegation is immaterial to me, 282 00:20:59,119 --> 00:21:03,520 Speaker 1: because the legal is clear. This was a narcotics conspiracy 283 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:09,399 Speaker 1: that was targeting this country, and therefore the courts in 284 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:15,639 Speaker 1: this country have jurisdiction over this indicted individual. Now extra 285 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: territorial jurisdiction, meaning jurisdiction outside the territory of the United 286 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:26,360 Speaker 1: States in drug cases. That's very well established law. When 287 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 1: foreign conduct is intended to produce criminal effects inside this country, 288 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: you have jurisdiction. You don't need a declaration of war 289 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:41,159 Speaker 1: to arrest a drug trafficker whose product is poisoning American 290 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,600 Speaker 1: citizens in American cities. But I know some are going 291 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:47,920 Speaker 1: to argue that, well, even if Ladua was a criminal, 292 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,399 Speaker 1: seizing him required some sort of war because he controlled 293 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:57,680 Speaker 1: territory and he controlled an army. Well, this is where 294 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:03,440 Speaker 1: people are historically ignorant. In nineteen eighty eight, Manuel Noriega 295 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,199 Speaker 1: was indicted by Graham Juries on drug trafficking and racketeering charges. 296 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:10,399 Speaker 1: And when he was indicted, he indeed was the de 297 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:14,720 Speaker 1: facto ruler of Panama. And just like Maduro, he claimed 298 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 1: he had sovereign immunity. He ran to the Vatican embassy 299 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:20,600 Speaker 1: in Panama City. I'm the sovereign leader of this country. 300 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:23,640 Speaker 1: Why if you are, why are you hiding in the Vatican. 301 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:28,640 Speaker 1: Why are you heading in the Vatican's embassy? Like Maduro, 302 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:35,760 Speaker 1: he Nojega just kind of dismissed the charges as political theater. 303 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:40,320 Speaker 1: This is all about politics. And like Maduro, guess what 304 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 1: Noriega did. He nullified elections and entrenched himself as the 305 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:49,439 Speaker 1: dictator of Panama through force. So when our American forces 306 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,680 Speaker 1: entered Panama in December of nineteen eighty nine, the stated 307 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: objective was not conquest. The stated objective was to arrest Noriega, 308 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:04,880 Speaker 1: protect American citizens in the country, and restore Panama's legitimate government. 309 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:09,480 Speaker 1: Noriega gets captured, as I said earlier January three, nineteen ninety, 310 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 1: he gets flown the floor to stand trial, and his 311 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:17,800 Speaker 1: lawyers raised the exact same arguments that you're going to 312 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 1: hear Democrats now raise trying to defend Maduro. I find 313 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:30,160 Speaker 1: it astonishing that you want to defend someone who has 314 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:35,560 Speaker 1: been induided, just been poisoning the country, that's head of 315 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 1: a drug cartel. They're going to claim the invasion is illegal. Well, 316 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 1: they claimed that Noriega was immune. They claimed it is capture. 317 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:48,840 Speaker 1: You know, Noriega's capture shocked the conscience of the world. No, 318 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:52,480 Speaker 1: it didn't. In fact, it didn't shock the federal courts 319 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:55,280 Speaker 1: at all, because the federal courts rejected all of that. 320 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,040 Speaker 1: The judge in those cases held that Noryega has no 321 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: head of state community because the executive and the legislative 322 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 1: branches never recognized him as Panama's lawful leader. So the 323 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: court in the Noriega trial refused to adjudicate the legality 324 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,880 Speaker 1: of the military operation itself said that's a political issue, 325 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 1: that's not a legal issue. And under a doctrine called 326 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:27,919 Speaker 1: the Kerr Frisbee doctrine, the court held that even a 327 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:35,160 Speaker 1: forcible apprehension does not bar prosecution, absence, torture, or some 328 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: sort of extreme abuse. So Noriega gets convicted, he gets 329 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:47,440 Speaker 1: thrown in prison. Not one single appellate court reversed the outcome, 330 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:56,040 Speaker 1: not one single international tribunal invalidated either the indictment, the capture, 331 00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 1: the arrest, the conviction of Noriega. Now that precedent is 332 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 1: important because it establishes the template, and that template is 333 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:15,520 Speaker 1: simply this, an unrecognized, illegitimate dictator or ruler who leads 334 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 1: a criminal enterprise can be indicted, and that same individual 335 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:26,080 Speaker 1: can be arrested, and he can be tried, and none 336 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:30,920 Speaker 1: of that constitutes a war, as democrats are going to 337 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:36,680 Speaker 1: try to convince you. So the Maduro operation tracks that 338 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: Noryega template almost Forbada. Like Norjega, Maduro was indicted while 339 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:46,879 Speaker 1: he was exercising de facto control, and like Noriega, his 340 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 1: regime had been delegitimized internationally, not just by US, by 341 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:54,399 Speaker 1: countries all over the world. And like Noriega, he was 342 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 1: accused of turning a state into a narco state, and 343 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,960 Speaker 1: like Noriega, he was arrested pursuit to a criminal indictment, 344 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:08,800 Speaker 1: not a treaty of surrender. But notice what did not happen. 345 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:16,159 Speaker 1: It didn't happen back in nineteen eighty nine and nineteen ninety. 346 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:20,960 Speaker 1: It's not going to happen now. What is it? Oh, 347 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,560 Speaker 1: it's a hugely important point, but nobody here stops and 348 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:31,120 Speaker 1: thinks about it. We did not annex land. We did 349 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: not annex any territory. We did not declare war on Venezuela. 350 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:43,119 Speaker 1: We did not dissolve the Venezuelan state. We simply removed 351 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:48,440 Speaker 1: an indicted fugitive fugitive. We left the question of Venezuela's 352 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 1: governance to the Venezuelans and the international community. That's law 353 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:58,719 Speaker 1: enforcement logic. That's not some sort of imperialism. That's not conquest. 354 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: We didn't I anquish somebody. However, critics are going to insist, 355 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:12,960 Speaker 1: you know, I'm not being brilliant here, not at all. 356 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: If you just stop and think about this, you know 357 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:23,359 Speaker 1: what's coming. The critics on the left, the cabal, but 358 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:28,119 Speaker 1: I repeat myself, are going to be screaming that any 359 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:32,440 Speaker 1: use of military force across a border is by very 360 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:38,280 Speaker 1: definit it's very definition a war. But this collapses distinctions 361 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:45,760 Speaker 1: that international law has already carefully outlined and preserved. Because 362 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:52,159 Speaker 1: states I don't mean like Colorado, New York, California, I 363 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:58,880 Speaker 1: mean states like the United States, a country they routinely 364 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:09,200 Speaker 1: use force in counter terrorism, piracy, suppression, rescue of hostages, narcotics, interdiction, 365 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:12,960 Speaker 1: and the legality of those kinds of actions turns on 366 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:17,000 Speaker 1: this status, the consent, and the purpose. And in this 367 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:22,480 Speaker 1: case with Maduro, the target was not Venezuela. It was 368 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:25,439 Speaker 1: an individual whom the US had long treated as a 369 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,360 Speaker 1: criminal and whom it did not recognize as a solvereign. 370 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:36,680 Speaker 1: We knew how we would be lying, and we would 371 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: not be truthful to ourselves if we did not also 372 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:46,160 Speaker 1: understand that there are consequences to these actions. I know 373 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:50,040 Speaker 1: there are, You know they are. Everybody in the world 374 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 1: knows there are, which is why the Mullahs are probably 375 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: hiding in a cave somewhere outside of Tehran right now, 376 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 1: hoping that we don't come for them. True for the 377 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 1: President of Columbia, probably true for a lot of people 378 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 1: around the world. Oh, this guy in the White House 379 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,560 Speaker 1: right now, when he says something, he follows up and 380 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:18,560 Speaker 1: he actually does something. States routinely use force in those areas. 381 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:24,760 Speaker 1: The target was not Venezuela. It was an individual that 382 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:29,360 Speaker 1: this country had long treated as a criminal and whom 383 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:34,320 Speaker 1: we did not recognize as the sovereign leader of Venezuela. 384 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: And that distinction explains why the Noriega case has endured. 385 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 1: Explained something else too, And you need to understand that 386 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: because the deluge is well. I was going to say 387 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 1: is going to start. The de luge started the minute 388 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: this news broke. I'll explain next. I'll be right back. 389 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:07,720 Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Weekend with Michael Brown. Glad to have 390 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: you with me. I appreciate you tuning in. Michael and 391 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,760 Speaker 1: I were laughing about how day's program didn't turn out 392 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:19,320 Speaker 1: to be anything that I had planned for all my tabs, 393 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: my pos, my pilot stuff. I guess I'll just say 394 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 1: that for Monday morning. Yeah, you got to learn to 395 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 1: run with the run with the horses when you do 396 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 1: radio live radio. Back to Noriega and Maduro for a moment. 397 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:45,400 Speaker 1: There's a there's probably a deeper point here that I 398 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:49,200 Speaker 1: really want you to kind of inculcate and think about 399 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: recognition doctrine. Why do we have something called a recognition doctrine. Well, 400 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:02,240 Speaker 1: it's to prevent violent usurpation from kind of morphing itself 401 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:08,720 Speaker 1: into legal immunity, because if a dictator could immunize themselves 402 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:17,120 Speaker 1: by controlling territory, then law would reward brute force, and 403 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: courts in this country, in all Western civilized countries, most 404 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:28,560 Speaker 1: international courts have rightly refused to endorse that kind of 405 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:33,080 Speaker 1: result because that would just empower dictators, that would encourage 406 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:38,440 Speaker 1: dictatorships that would encourage if they could imm immune themselves 407 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: by simply controlling territory, then all principles of US law 408 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:50,320 Speaker 1: or any other legitimate country not a tyranny that would 409 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:55,200 Speaker 1: be rewarding that kind of brute force. Well Madeuill's arrest 410 00:31:55,880 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 1: does not expand the president's power beyond the presence that 411 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:05,120 Speaker 1: has been long established in this country. It simply applies 412 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:11,640 Speaker 1: settled doctrine to a case involving Nicholas Maduro. It's that 413 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:17,720 Speaker 1: this case of Maduro happens to be particularly egregious. It's 414 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 1: a horrible situation. Back years ago, I had a podcast 415 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:33,680 Speaker 1: separate from my iHeart podcast. The person who produced that 416 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 1: podcast for me lived in Caracas. We often had lengthy 417 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:47,239 Speaker 1: conversations about how brutal the dictatorship was. Now, how did 418 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:49,280 Speaker 1: I get hooked up with a guy that was an 419 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:53,080 Speaker 1: audio specialist in Caracas because a friend of mine who 420 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:56,560 Speaker 1: lives in Colorado Springs knew him. He used to work 421 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 1: for Oh, I forget the name of the something of 422 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:08,720 Speaker 1: the family. It was a religious organization. My friend was 423 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: an audio specialist with this organization in Colorado Springs, and 424 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 1: they had hired this guy in Caracas to do a 425 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:22,400 Speaker 1: lot of their audio editing, so he needed extra work. 426 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:25,680 Speaker 1: He worked very cheaply, so when I was doing my podcast, 427 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,040 Speaker 1: my friend suggested I use him. So I started using 428 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:32,200 Speaker 1: him to do the audio editing for me, and our 429 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:36,520 Speaker 1: conversations were intriguing at the same time that they were 430 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:40,920 Speaker 1: just well, it was despair. His life was horrible. He 431 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:46,440 Speaker 1: worked underground. He couldn't always produce things. I mean, he 432 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:50,080 Speaker 1: was very good about working doing workarounds, but he couldn't 433 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: always produce things exactly on deadline because oftentimes no power, 434 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:01,560 Speaker 1: no internet, he couldn't transfer files. He's a getting around it. 435 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:06,240 Speaker 1: Probably illegal under the Maduro regime. But nonetheless he talked 436 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:11,879 Speaker 1: about how brutal it was. He decided at some point, 437 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,880 Speaker 1: because of the lack of food, the lack of power, 438 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:19,480 Speaker 1: lack of work, lack of everything, he packed up and 439 00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:26,080 Speaker 1: escaped to Spain. And he went first because he wanted 440 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:30,600 Speaker 1: to establish his connections to make the escape to Spain. 441 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:34,680 Speaker 1: And if he was unable to do that, obviously he 442 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:38,319 Speaker 1: wouldn't survive, but his wife, who was still in Caracas 443 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:42,000 Speaker 1: would at least still have her life. But once he 444 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,200 Speaker 1: made it to Spain and made those connections, he was 445 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:48,040 Speaker 1: then able to help her to follow him to Spain 446 00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:54,360 Speaker 1: and they now live incredible lives in Spain. La Duro 447 00:34:54,560 --> 00:35:00,480 Speaker 1: was a brutal dictator. L Duro shows us what the 448 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:05,640 Speaker 1: fruits of socialism and communism do to a country. So 449 00:35:05,719 --> 00:35:08,920 Speaker 1: to call this an act of war is to mistake 450 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:13,680 Speaker 1: law enforcement for aggression. And it's now being done loudly 451 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:18,120 Speaker 1: and will be done so for the foreseeable future by 452 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:22,680 Speaker 1: congressional Democrats who are going to demand that Donald Trump 453 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:26,879 Speaker 1: reverse the arrest and restore Maduireal to power. I want 454 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:29,640 Speaker 1: you to stop and think about that. That's what they 455 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:36,239 Speaker 1: will do. This guy who disappears as people stars them 456 00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:38,640 Speaker 1: to death, to the point that they break into zoos 457 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:43,040 Speaker 1: and eat animals out of the zoo, where they line 458 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,440 Speaker 1: up for hours. And they'll stay in the line at 459 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:49,239 Speaker 1: the grocery store even though they know the only thing 460 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:51,200 Speaker 1: available for the store it is something they don't need, 461 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:53,160 Speaker 1: because they'll buy it because they know they can sell 462 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:56,640 Speaker 1: that on the black market. So if olive oil is 463 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:59,200 Speaker 1: available but they have olive oil at home, doesn't make 464 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:01,799 Speaker 1: any difference. Else, stay in line by the olive oil 465 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:05,120 Speaker 1: because they can borrow that later for something else. And 466 00:36:05,239 --> 00:36:08,680 Speaker 1: Democrats are going to defend that that's what they're doing. 467 00:36:10,239 --> 00:36:13,840 Speaker 1: But then we elected Zofran Mondani to the mayor of 468 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:17,879 Speaker 1: New York City, so maybe in our lifetimes New York 469 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:22,840 Speaker 1: will look like Caracas. That position of the Democrats, I 470 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:27,879 Speaker 1: believe is absolutely indefensible. It asks us as a nation 471 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:31,840 Speaker 1: to side with an indicted narco terrorist over our own laws, 472 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:34,200 Speaker 1: our own courts, and the lives of our own citizen. 473 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:38,400 Speaker 1: Nicholas Maduro ran a cartel that weaponized the Fennel crisis. 474 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:43,680 Speaker 1: He killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. So for Democrats 475 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:47,040 Speaker 1: now to demand his reinstatement. That's not a plea for peace. 476 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:51,480 Speaker 1: It's a demand that the law yield to the protection 477 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:56,080 Speaker 1: of a criminal regime holding an entire nation, including a 478 00:36:56,080 --> 00:37:01,640 Speaker 1: friend of mine, hostage. The better description Kurd is pretty 479 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:06,279 Speaker 1: simple and accurate. An indicted fugitive was arrested. I'll be 480 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:12,960 Speaker 1: right back h