WEBVTT - Venezuela Versus Guyana 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:04.720 From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is 0:00:04.840 --> 0:00:09.160 riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:12.160 learn this stuff they don't want you to know. A 0:00:12.280 --> 0:00:13.880 production of Iheartrading. 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:26.440 Hello, welcome back to the show. My name is Matt, 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:27.400 my name is Nola. 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:30.640 They called me Bed. We're joyed with our guest super 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:36.120 producer returning, Max white Pants Williams. Most importantly, you are here. 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:40.760 That makes this the stuff they don't want you to know. Look, 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:45.159 the world is full of increasingly bizarre stories. Now are 0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:47.000 there more than there were in the past? Or is 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:49.239 it just easier to find them? That's a question for 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:51.720 another evening. What we do know is it could be 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:54.920 tough to keep track of everything. That's why many people 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:58.600 in the West. We're probably surprised to learn that the 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:02.400 president of Venezuela came out on social media and in 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:07.040 official press releases pretty recently and said that he might 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:10.800 just you know, f around and invade the neighboring, much 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:15.480 smaller nation of Guyana. Paul, have that rewind? What here 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:18.160 are the facts? I don't know, like we all heard 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:21.080 of Guiana or we've all heard of Venezuela. Maybe we 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:23.160 start there because we haven't. I don't think a lot 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:24.560 of people think about Guyana. 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:27.039 I just know French Guiana. Is that the same thing 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:29.080 or is that a different gap, that's a different place. 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:31.480 I only know it because of the French attached to it, 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:34.040 because I'm such a you know, western minded fool. 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:38.400 This this was well known in some circles as British 0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:42.720 Guiana for a long time before it became independent. There's 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:45.160 actually a ton to learn about Venezuela, Ben. I think 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:48.080 I think most people don't know anything about Venezuela either. 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:50.280 I mean again, for me, it's mainly the name. 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:53.600 Yeah, you know, yeah, Venezuela, if we think back, was 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:56.120 in the news quite a bit when Hugshaves was running it, 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:59.440 and there was like tension between the US and Venezuela 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:04.040 right largely around oil and how it is traded with 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:06.040 what currency? Remember that everybody. 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:09.960 Right shout out confessions of an economic hit man exactly. 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:12.519 But I, you know, I just I was looking through 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:17.360 the old CIA World fact Book again and just looking 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:19.720 at how little I know actually about Venezuela. 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:21.760 You say, video out online yet not. 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:22.560 Yet I don't know. 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:24.760 Okay, Well, we've got a little little teaser for that 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:27.520 very book coming out on the social media's keep an 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:27.880 eye out. 0:02:28.240 --> 0:02:30.560 But yeah, it's just it's something. It's something you can 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:32.040 look at online. By the way, you don't need a 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:34.480 physical book the World fact Book, check it out. 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:38.480 I would also fact check the CIA's claimed facts. 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:40.359 Oh definitely, yes. 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:42.760 Yeah, we've mentioned in the video that they are the 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:45.520 opinions and facts about the world. 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:48.839 Well, if there's nothing that we've learned doing this show, 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:50.960 and hopefully you out there listening to the show, is 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:54.400 to always double check the quote unquote facts, triple check 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:54.799 if you can. 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.600 I want to shout out to one of my favorite 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:00.280 talk shows of all time, which was Ugo chav is 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:04.960 alo Presidente, where, yeah, he had a talk show that 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:08.440 would go however long he wanted it to go. Where 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:11.120 in the midst of being sort of a despot. You 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:13.800 could see clips on this on YouTube. I think he would. 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:17.000 He would set up in kind of like somewhere between 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:19.440 a radio thing and an Oprah Wimfrey thing, and he 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:21.880 would just take what I can only imagine are very 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:24.520 closely screened calls from the populace. 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:25.360 It's funny. 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:26.919 It reminds me of a thing that happens in the 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:31.160 movie Casino, where eighth Rothstein played by Robert de Niro, 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:34.480 sort of gets deposed because he do to legal struggles, 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:36.600 he can't do his casino manager job, so that he's 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:39.040 give him this talk show where he just takes potshots 0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:42.240 and like the governmental entities that are preventing him from 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:43.760 doing the job he really wants to do. 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:45.040 Oh yeah, I'm sorry. 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:47.480 But the whole thing about the about Venezuela is that 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:51.280 it has such a rot history in you know, coups 0:03:51.440 --> 0:03:56.400 and fights for power and which ended up in I 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.360 think it was ninety nine when Hugo Chavez was elected 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:02.040 president and then he lasted until he passed away in 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:06.280 twenty thirteen of cancer from cancer that he alleged was 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:08.560 you know, done to him by some powers in the West. 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:12.200 And then you get Nicholas Maduro, who was his number 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:15.040 two in command, and he has been in power since then. 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:17.520 Ever since and shows no signs of abdicating. 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:21.000 A good quick question, do we have any proof of 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:24.719 giving someone cancer as an assassination tool? 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:30.360 Is that a thing that has to be possible? Will 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:33.240 cancer again? Is such an umbrella? 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:36.880 It's a revolution carcinogens perhaps over time. 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:38.960 Well, I in my mind, it's more like in a 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:41.560 radiated substance like a small amollium. 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:43.599 Yeah, shows exactly. 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:45.239 Need a tiny amount once it gets into your system 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:47.760 and like attaches to your body and there she goes. 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:51.760 Yeah. The issue with that kind of attack on someone 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:56.080 really is predictability, like you don't know, you know, novelty 0:04:56.680 --> 0:05:01.919 or navalny. For instance, when he got polodium poisoning, it 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:05.360 didn't kill him. But yeah, so log answer short, we 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:08.560 know people have probably attempted it, just because over the 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:12.839 course of targeted killings, people have tried pretty much anything 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:13.440 you could imagine. 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:16.400 Makes perfect sense of just that kind of claim by 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:20.880 such a you know, unilateral despot like you mentioned, strikes 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.680 me as the stuff of paranoia to a degree. But 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:25.520 I do understand what you're saying that it's certainly as 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:26.719 possible good to clarify. 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:27.080 Thank you. 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:30.560 Well, he had reason to be paranoid, I would say. 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:34.640 But yeah, also, people do just get cancer. 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:37.800 So how about we get a little bit of a 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:41.800 rundown of some of the stats surrounding Venezuela first, and 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:44.039 then we'll move on to the one that maybe people 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:44.840 know even less about. 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:50.159 Yep. So Venezuela. The full name is the Bolivarian Republic 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:54.839 of Venezuela. It's pretty big, especially it's the goliath to 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:59.560 the David of Guiata. It's about nine hundred and sixteen 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:03.880 issue square clicks population in twenty nine million, so smaller 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:08.880 than the US for comparison. It is an opponent of 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.480 many US regimes. That's one thing both sides of the 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:16.200 US political aisle agreed upon for many years. That's why 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:18.640 most of this stuff you see about Venezuela and Western 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:23.880 news is going to look at economic woes, inflation, shortages, 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:29.560 speculation in oil, allegations of massive corruption. And Venezuela is 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:32.839 a particular interest to the powers that be in Latin 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.680 America and across the world because it has the largest 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:38.560 oil reserves on the planet. 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:41.400 Isn't that crazy more than Saudi Arabia? 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:42.279 Sorry, KSA. 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:45.320 What's crazier too, is still is that we people don't 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:46.240 seem to know that in. 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:49.360 General, Well, it isn't talked about in the same way 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:52.000 as it is about the Middle East. Well, and it's 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:55.680 really interesting because the United States very publicly entered the 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:58.760 Middle East several times over the course of the last 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:02.800 thirty forty years. It's like, it's weird in that we 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:08.440 haven't entered Venezuela in the same way. There's been some actions, right, 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:10.880 but never a war or anything like that. 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:14.040 Is our relationship a little cozier with South America in general? 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:17.760 Or is that over a gross generalization cozy the way 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:23.520 like an abusive step fig has a cozy relationship with 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:24.200 their kids. 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:27.000 Ah dear, there are a lot they live in the 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:29.480 same house. There are a lot of beatings and a 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:31.920 lot of opinions about what the kids can can or 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:32.400 cannot do. 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:35.360 Last question maybe beyond the scope of today's episode, but 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:39.560 I couldn't help but notice the Bolivarian part. Bolivia is 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:42.560 of course also quite a large country in South America, 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:43.920 but it's on the opposite border. 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:46.760 Yeah, it's it's not about Bolivia, no connection at all. 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:50.800 It's it's really interesting and again it's just it's like 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.680 world history that maybe we were taught at some point 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:57.360 but probably has left most of our minds. Just about 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:01.800 how when Colombia was officially formed, I think Ecuador and 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:06.120 Venezuela there it was one state that was then broken. 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:08.440 Up at one point. 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:12.280 But yeah, Bolivarian revolution, there's a whole history to that 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:12.840 as well. 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:17.040 Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan leader who led what are now 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:21.080 some of those countries you named, matt and the guy's 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:26.040 a legend in his time. He was instrumental in the 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:30.080 escape from colonialism, the move toward independence for these countries. 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:33.679 It was Columbia. By the way, I misspoke. I named 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:36.360 one of the countries wrong. But Colombia was the other 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:37.320 country that was formed. 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:42.280 Ah, yes, it's no. I think you got like Peru, Panama, Bolivia, 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:48.040 to Ecuador, Venezuela, Venezuela's made what well, yeah, it was the. 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.720 One that formed Venezuela to anyway, I got somewhere wrong. 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:52.120 You have to look it up because I don't know 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:52.480 my stuff. 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:55.200 So well, it's independence from the Spanish Empire. That's our 0:08:55.200 --> 0:08:59.520 big takeaway. That's the shadow of colonialism looms large. It 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:03.160 wasn't the US this time. It was a fight against 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:08.079 these European powers and something similar happened with Guyana. Giada 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:11.280 is right next door. Pull up a world map, play 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:14.520 along at home. It's fascinating because if you look at 0:09:14.559 --> 0:09:19.880 a digital map, you'll see the mileage may vary, but anyway, 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.560 this place full name Cooperative Republic of Guiata. You hear 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:26.440 about it way less often the west, and to be honest, 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:29.439 there's not a ding on anyone. A lot of folks 0:09:30.080 --> 0:09:33.000 might have a tough time finding it on a world map. 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:36.680 I mean it's confusing because like there are three countries 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:41.680 named some variation of Guinea, and there's French Guiana, and 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:44.880 then there's this Guiana which is spelled differently. Like it 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:48.920 gets confusing. It's an understandable thing. Also, this is a 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.520 blink and you miss it country. If you're looking at 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:54.200 the entirety of South America, it's eighty bitty thing. It's 0:09:54.240 --> 0:09:58.760 the third smallest country on that continent. I think the 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:01.560 only smaller ones are Surinam, which is right next door, 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:06.920 and Uruguay. And this place. Even though it's very very tiny, 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:10.679 it's also one of the least densely populated countries on 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:16.200 the planet. Very rural, high, high amount of wilderness, jungle biodiversity, 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.680 and it's all packed into just like eighty three thousand 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:24.840 square miles two hundred and fifty thousand kilometers. It's it's 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:27.320 weird though, because like the digital map, if you guys 0:10:27.360 --> 0:10:30.280 pull it up, anybody playing along at home, if you 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:33.440 pull it up now on your let's say you go 0:10:33.480 --> 0:10:37.000 to Google Maps or Google Earth. When you look at 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:39.760 the map of Guiana, you'll see that it has a 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:45.880 typical border demarcating the country, but then a little bit 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:49.800 to the right of center, it has another thing that 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:52.679 looks like a borderline. It's as if you looked at 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:55.520 a map of the US and the Mississippi was also 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:57.200 somehow an international border. 0:10:57.400 --> 0:10:58.160 Yeah it is. 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:04.320 It is the the river, right, the Escuba River. Okay, 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:07.560 So that's gonna factor in heavily as we continue through 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:12.400 the story, which again we can't stress enough. If you 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:15.440 look at it, Ben isn't joking. It goes through and 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:20.000 cuts this thing well in over half. So so most 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:23.760 of the country of Guana is to the west of. 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:25.920 That line, and of Venezuela. 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:29.160 Yeah, exactly. Okay, let's just let's keep that in mind. 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:33.680 So, no matter what the news might imply, these two 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:39.200 countries have a long history of not quite getting along. 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:43.120 Guiata also is they. I think it was first Dutch, 0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:47.400 then the British were running stuff. And just like the Falklands, 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:52.960 the British Empire still has its vestiges active. So when 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:58.040 our boy Maduro comes out and says, hey, this is Venezuela. 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:02.679 It's always been Venezuela. He's harkening back to earlier stuff. 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:06.760 He didn't just like, what's that drug that makes people 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:11.320 that made people talk trash on Twitter? Ambient geez, Yeah. 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:11.959 Yeah, that's what it was. 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:14.000 Like, Well, it makes you, It makes you make weird 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:17.960 sandwiches in the night and also apparently say things that 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:20.280 you regret and have no recollection. 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:22.160 Of if you're a celebrity who had a bad day 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:22.640 on Twitter. 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:24.760 Yeah, my mom used to take Ambient and we get 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:26.840 home and we stayed with her briefly when my kid 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:29.800 was born. We come home from being out and that 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:32.720 she'd be up making like peanut butter and mustard sandwiches 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:34.960 and talking absolute nonsense. 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:39.720 I'll try the I'll try a peanut butter mustard sandwich. 0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:44.160 Who knows, but but you're right like this this statement 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:46.360 he's making. As wild as it may sound, it does 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:52.000 refer back to a centuries long dispute. This border territory 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:55.400 around the river. You mentioned, Matt the Escuba River, it's 0:12:55.440 --> 0:13:00.640 sixty two thousand square miles, and they said, look, that's Venezuela. 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:03.400 It's always been Venezuela, why are you playing? They tried 0:13:03.440 --> 0:13:06.760 to gas light an entire country, actually two entire countries. 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:10.000 Well, and just listen to that number. Sixty two thousand 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:14.880 square miles of area. All of Guyana is eighty three 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:19.200 thousand square miles, right, So that's like, we'll take half 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:21.440 your country plus oh you know what, how about a 0:13:21.440 --> 0:13:22.800 whole let's take another third. 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.679 It's like Canada say, we've looked at the map and 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:31.640 based on our objective estimate, everything north of Tennessee in 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:35.520 a straight line is actually Canada. Yeah, you have three 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:36.240 months to move. 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:41.640 Yeah, I mean, it's a it's a nuts thing to 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:44.960 even state, right, even if it is going back to this, 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:48.480 you know, the eighteen one hundreds, eighteen ninety nine or 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.920 eighteen thirty, going way back, it's still crazy to come 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:54.679 forward and just say, yo, most of your countries are 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:55.480 is actually right? 0:13:56.360 --> 0:14:00.600 The jewels, they also said, you know, because what's the 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:03.240 deal with that? Why do a half measure? They also said, 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:08.079 And the water offshore is also ours. Has also been 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:11.200 part of this, and that's because during the Latin American 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:15.160 Wars of Independence, which you mentioned earlier, Venezuela pulled a 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:18.599 game of thrones, little finger move and said chaos is 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:21.200 a ladder, and they did claim about two thirds of 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:24.640 Kiana's land, but they got caught and they couldn't do 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:27.200 it because everybody else was like, come on, man, we're 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:29.240 supposed to be the good guys in this narrative. 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:32.840 That's sort of a dick move, dude. But there's this 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:34.680 whole other thing, and I don't know, ben, are we 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:36.680 going to get into it. There's this whole thing where 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:42.240 this whole process that we're talking about, and decades and 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:46.280 decades centuries of dispute here is actually one of the 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:49.680 primary things that sets the United States up as a 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:54.200 world power because of this. In the dispute, the US 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:57.600 basically stepped up to the United Kingdom, to Great Britain 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:01.400 and said, actually, no, the Monroe Doctrine is the way 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:03.840 to go and this is the way the border should be. 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.040 And they were like, man, we should fight a war 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:09.200 with you. But they were also like, uh, actually, we 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:12.080 can't really fight another war right now, so all right, 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:13.000 you can have it. 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:17.960 Because their resources were expended across the globe, it's expensive 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:21.120 to project force like that, which is also part of 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:22.000 the story. 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:24.160 Right, but it's one of the reasons. The United States 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:28.080 kind of as again as though it's an entity of itself, 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:32.040 the powers within the United States, the leaders decided, oh, 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:35.160 we can, actually we can have a say in some 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:37.920 of these global things like disputes like this. 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:41.480 M yeah, and become more internationalists. And then also let 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:45.080 us not forget millions upon millions of people are living 0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:47.560 in Latin America and they're going, hey, we're also in 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:48.560 the room. 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:51.160 We live. 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:54.600 This is actually our room. Ye gays are fighting over 0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:57.760 why did these guys break into our house and start 0:15:57.880 --> 0:15:59.160 arguing about. 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:01.000 The you know, the ungshways off in here? 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:05.760 Whatly, so you're referring to, we're referring to something called 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:09.240 the Arbitral Award of eighteen ninety nine. Sorry a messed 0:16:09.320 --> 0:16:12.040 up name. Guiana is still part of the British Empire. 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.200 And they say they go back to this constantly, and 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:19.120 they say, look, that's the agreement. Remember when these Europeans 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:23.600 came in and did everything surveyed the land, surveyed the land, 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:26.080 which was a big, big deal. Shout out to Ridiculous 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:31.760 History episodes there. We saw immediately that Venezuela bucked at this. 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:36.800 They actually called it quote an Anglo Russian conspiracy, so 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:41.040 they are the first to allege conspiracy, even though colonialism 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:46.240 is a conspiracy. By nineteen sixty two, they said, okay, guys, 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:50.400 enough time has passed. That decision was bs. We don't 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:53.920 respect it because this has always been Venezuela. You know, 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:57.520 aren't you fighting those European colonists with us? What happened 0:16:57.560 --> 0:16:59.080 to unity? Give us all your stuff? 0:16:59.480 --> 0:16:59.880 Yeah? 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:04.160 Well, should we also bring up just the idea of resources. 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:09.000 We mentioned that Venezuela has the largest oil It is 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.040 the most oil rich country on the planet. 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:11.320 Right. 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:16.160 Then, Also that was found in Venezuela, and especially in 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:18.960 this region that's in dispute is gold. 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:23.520 Ah, yes, yeah, the resource curse is true. 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:25.800 Right, And so they gave it sixty years and then 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:27.719 they're like, hmm, there's gold over there. 0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:30.160 You said, well we need to we need to look 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:30.640 at this again. 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:33.760 Also, yes, similar to the Darien Gap. You know, when 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:37.119 you have that much jungle coverage, it's very difficult to 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:40.119 build infrastructure and it's very difficult to enforce laws. So 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:42.840 there's a lot of smuggling operations, a lot of illegal 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:49.159 mining operations, and those mining operations, the illegal ones have 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:51.720 a lot of powerful entities who want them to continue 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:55.840 the big They're not fighting over, you know, OSHA standards 0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:59.920 or workers' rights. They're fighting over who gets that stuff 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.080 pulled from the ground, shout out black Monday murders. 0:18:03.640 --> 0:18:05.840 Exactly. Well, then a little spoiler here. 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:09.040 What happens if you, as a country that is not 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:13.800 officially in control of that land, starts giving like citizenship 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:17.040 to people who are living in on that land. All right, well, no, 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.480 well they are actually our citizens living over. 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:19.880 There, right? 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:23.760 What this this thing gets so twisted? 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:29.480 Or you start giving concessions legal rights to mine to 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:32.880 private entities, and you just it happens to be for 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:35.560 a country that is not yours, the soil that is 0:18:35.600 --> 0:18:38.840 not part of your thing. So it's getting nasty. The 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:43.320 idea is there for several decades at different times Venezuela 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:45.639 was saying, well, why don't we just behave as though 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:49.960 it is Venezuela, and then eventually we can not just 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:52.000 gas like Yiana. But the world that. 0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:53.760 Works long term? 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:56.679 Yeah, sure, if I keep showing up to that like 0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:59.480 squatters rights, they're doing squatters rights. If I keep showing 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:02.040 up to this else long enough, someone will say it's mine. 0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:05.119 Well, It's one of those rhetorical devices too, where if 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:08.600 you repeat the lie long enough and with enough confidence, 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:12.160 maybe it'll take people will start to believe it as 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:14.199 the truth and not you know, fact check you like 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:18.000 we recommended doing, but it seems like an awful risky move. 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:20.800 Yeah, so we said then in the sixties, so that 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:23.199 was eighteen ninety nine all the way up to like 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:26.520 or the early nineteen sixties, right, that that was a 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:29.560 span of time when Venezuela just said, Okay, we'll just 0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:31.720 deal with these borders as they are. In nineteen sixty 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:34.679 two they said, actually, we have a problem. Then in 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:38.120 nineteen sixty six they took it to the United Nations, 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:41.200 right or wait, well they took. 0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:41.800 Into still bodies. 0:19:41.880 --> 0:19:43.720 Yeah, they took it to international bodies. I know, the 0:19:43.840 --> 0:19:46.800 United Nations or the UN started stepping in early in 0:19:46.840 --> 0:19:49.320 the process to try and negotiate, to be almost a 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:54.560 middle man for the negotiations. And you guys, it hasn't 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:58.520 stopped since nineteen what sixty six. 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:02.480 Yes, since nineteen sixty six, when the UK of Venezuelan 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:06.040 and Guyana sent representatives together to try to map out 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:10.280 the borders. And the problem is in any negotiation. If 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:13.800 you're not if you're negotiating good faith, there has to 0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:16.359 be some give and take. Turned out that wasn't the case, 0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:24.600 and so the Venezuelan government, under different iterations, had one constant, 0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:29.440 which was to to try to deep power Guyana internationally, 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:33.720 like prevent them from being members of the of the 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:37.880 like the OAS or the United Nations. Try to keep 0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:42.520 them out of touching on any judiciary bodies internationally, like 0:20:42.560 --> 0:20:45.720 the ICJ International Court of Justice. It's a dumb name, 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:48.040 but they tried to do good work. And this just 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:51.760 went back and forth over and over until Venezuela said, ah, 0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:54.280 we might just invade. We had a little kind of 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:57.840 rigged vote about it. They are essentially saying, if the 0:20:57.920 --> 0:21:00.800 courts and the world at large won't give us all 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:04.000 the stuff we want, we are just going to take it. 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:09.000 That is a very, very what we call it diplomacy. 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:13.880 It is a provocative statement. It is somewhat bellicose, and 0:21:13.920 --> 0:21:17.160 it carries a lot of possible consequence and costs. So 0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:20.160 they had to decide it was worth it. Why why 0:21:20.200 --> 0:21:23.000 did they make this wild ass decision or even bring 0:21:23.040 --> 0:21:25.560 it up. We'll tell you after a word from our sponsor. 0:21:32.200 --> 0:21:36.960 Here's where it gets grazy gold, but not just gold oil, 0:21:37.400 --> 0:21:41.360 black gold, Texas, tea, et cetera. The gunk that to 0:21:41.400 --> 0:21:43.679 this day moves the modern world. 0:21:45.000 --> 0:21:47.440 Ye, well, all the golds, all the golds. 0:21:47.840 --> 0:21:49.320