WEBVTT - 1/3/25: BREAKING: TRUMP BOMBS VENEZUELA, KIDNAPS MADURO 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.080 All right, guys, woke up to some wild news this morning. 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:07.200 Regime change in Venezuela. The President has announced that we 0:00:07.360 --> 0:00:12.560 have struck within Venezuela and abducted and kidnapped the president, 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:16.119 Nicholas Maduro, along with his wife, who apparently set to 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:20.240 face charges in the Southern District of New York. Obviously, 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:23.600 this has been built up for some time, with all 0:00:23.640 --> 0:00:27.320 of these strikes on various boats and the rhetorical case 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:30.920 being made that Meduro is the head of a drug 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:34.080 trafficking ring. There is zero evidence to back this up, 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:37.640 and at other times administration officials and their allies have 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:40.640 made plain that their actual interest in Venezuela has to 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:44.000 do with the natural resources there and specifically the oil. 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:46.360 So here we go. Let me put up on the 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:50.000 screen what the President posted initially to social media. To 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:52.960 truth social he said, the United States of America has 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:55.680 successfully carried down a large scale strike against Venezuela and 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:58.160 its leader, President Nicholas Maduro, who has been along with 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:00.240 his wife, captured and flown out of the country. This 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:02.800 operation was done in conjunction with the US law enforcement. 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.679 Details to follow. There will be a news conference today 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.640 at eleven am. At mar A Lago. Let me go 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:11.400 ahead and give you what Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:15.560 is saying about these charges. She says, Nicholas Maduro and 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:17.839 his wife, Celia Flora, has been indicted in the Southern 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:21.720 District of New York. Maduro has been charged with narco terrorism, conspiracy, 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:27.600 cocaine importation, conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:31.319 and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:33.880 the United States. They will soon face the full wrath 0:01:33.959 --> 0:01:36.880 of American justice on American soil and American courts, on 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.560 behalf of the entire USDOJ. I'd like to thank President 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:43.160 Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:44.720 of the American people. A huge thank you to our 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:48.040 brief military who conducted this incredible and highly successful mission 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:52.800 to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers. I will 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:59.360 remind you that just shortly short time ago, Trump pardoned 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:05.560 an actual drug trafficker, one Orlando Hernandez, former president of Honduras, 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:09.200 seemingly because some of Trump's tech oligarch buddies were mad 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:14.600 about their prospero crypto fiefdom being undermined in that country. 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:17.920 But in any case, if you had any illusion that 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:22.519 Trump actually cares about the drugs, that should be thoroughly 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:26.760 dismantled by the fact of his recent pardon of that 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:30.760 former president of Honduras, one Orlando Hernandez, who actually was 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:34.040 involved in drug smuggling and drug trafficking. Here we go 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:37.960 Trump on Fox and Friends talking about the incredible raid 0:02:38.000 --> 0:02:42.040 as he describes it, that captured kidnapped Maduro and his 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:43.760 wife's God and take a listen to this. 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.440 A quite a busy heavening tell us about it. It 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:50.960 was slightly busy. I would say it was very dark 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:56.080 all over, especially in Venezuela. The team did an incredible job. 0:02:56.120 --> 0:03:00.040 They rehearsed and practiced like nobody's ever seen. And it 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:03.079 was sold. And I was told by real military people 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:06.000 that there's no other country on earth that could do 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:09.640 such a maneuver. If you would have seen what happened, 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:11.799 I mean I watched it literally like I was watching 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:17.079 a television show. And if you would have seen the speed, 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:20.000 the violence, you know they say that the speed the violence, 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.839 they used that term just it was an amazing thing, 0:03:23.919 --> 0:03:27.560 an amazing job that these people did there's nobody else 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:28.839 could have done anything like it. 0:03:29.600 --> 0:03:32.440 You're at mar A Lago right now. How were you able. 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.720 To watch this? Well, we watched it from a room. 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:38.000 We had a room and we watched it, and we 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:41.640 watched every aspect of it. We were surrounded by lots 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:45.200 of people, including generals. Then they knew everything that was happening. 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:49.440 And it was very complex, extremely complex, the whole maneuver, 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:53.640 the landings, a number of aircraft which were massive number, 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:58.120 the number of helicopters, a different type of helicopters, different 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:00.520 type of fighter jets. We had a fighter jets for 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:05.160 every possible situation. And they just broke in and they 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:09.320 broke into places that were not really able to be 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:14.320 broke into, you know, steel doors that were put there 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:17.719 for just this reason, and they got taken out in 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:20.000 a matter of seconds. I've never seen anything like it. 0:04:20.200 --> 0:04:21.960 And you were able to watch this in real time? 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:24.960 Yeah, I don't forget. I've done some pretty good ones 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:28.680 in other parts of the world. Okay, I've done some 0:04:28.720 --> 0:04:31.440 pretty good ones, but I've never seen anything like this. 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:34.679 I was. I was able to watch it in real time, 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:38.159 and I watched every aspect of it, and I listened 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:41.320 to the communication between you know where we were in 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:46.039 Florida and out in the field in Venezuela, and it 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:51.080 was amazing to see the professionalism, the quality of leadership, 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:55.560 the professionalism general raising gain is fantastic. Don't forget. We 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:57.680 did another one not so long ago. It was called 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:03.320 the knocking out of the the Iranian nuclear threat, the 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:07.479 nuclear power that was. That was unbelievable what they did there, 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:10.520 and this is something that I don't know. It's amazing. 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:16.240 And to have a few injuries but no death on 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:20.280 our side is really amazing, mister President. 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:23.479 So there you go. That is what the President is 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:26.560 telling Fox and Friends this morning. I do have a 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:29.680 guest who's going to join me momentarily, the head of 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:32.960 the Latin American desk for Drop Site News, to break 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:38.280 down what we know and what this means obviously incredibly 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:44.760 significant geopolitical ramifications here. So definitely want to get to 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:47.160 him in a moment, But first I just wanted to 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:49.520 give you a little bit more this rundown from people's 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:53.240 dispatch about what we know at this point. You know, 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:55.400 we we have learned a little bit more since this 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:58.440 was posted. But if I could go through here a 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:01.560 little bit of their report. They talk about how explosions 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:04.719 were reported at key military basis, civilian areas, and other 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:08.680 sites across the Venezuelan capital of Gracus and surrounding areas. 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:11.799 In the early hours, Venezuelan government sent an official statement 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:14.279 the attack was perpetrated by the US and constitutes a 0:06:14.320 --> 0:06:19.240 grave military aggression against Venezuelan territory and population. They go 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:22.800 on to talk about the Trump Truth social post. They 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:25.880 say venezuel and Vice President Delca Rodriguez spoke to Teleisur 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:29.240 shortly after confirmed that following this brutal situation, brutal attack, 0:06:29.480 --> 0:06:32.520 we are unaware of the whereabouts of the President, Nicholas 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:35.719 Maduro and that of the first Lady, Celia Flores. Now, 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:38.520 one thing that is worth noting here is that apparently 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:44.240 the vice president is now in charge, so while Maduro 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:48.919 has been kidnapped and removed to face charges in the US, 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:52.479 which I mean, you guys can only imagine how the 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:54.880 US would react if our president was kidnapped. But in 0:06:54.920 --> 0:07:00.040 any case, the rest of their administration appears to be 0:07:00.200 --> 0:07:05.920 intact and in control, so not the Nobel Peace Prize 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:11.560 winning opposition leader, US puppet Machado but continues to be 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:16.520 Delca Rodriguez and the rest of Maduro's administration so far 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:20.120 appears to continue to be in control. So that is 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:22.800 very significant. I also wanted to show you here they 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.800 have a list of the sites that have been struck. 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:30.520 According to sources in Venezuela, they say Tiona Fort, major 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:33.800 military complex in the southwest of Caracas, La Carloda Base 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:36.880 and air base in Caracas, and La Guera Port and 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:40.360 Naval Command, forgive my lack of Spanish pronunciation, port facility 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:45.680 and Naval Command located in Laguera state, higaror Rote Airport, 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:48.440 airport in the coastal town in the state of Miranda. 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:51.160 So those are the places that we know have been 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:55.960 struck at this point. And with that, for additional reaction analysis, 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:58.480 I'm going to go ahead and get to Jose Louis 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.720 Granado Seja, who is the head of the Latin America 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:05.640 desk for drop Site News. Jose luis great to have. 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:08.440 You, welcome, Thank you much for having me. 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:10.800 Yeah, of course, so let me just get your reaction 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:13.760 to the events as we understand them at this point. 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:17.600 Well, what we just saw was absolutely extraordinary. I think 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:21.000 this was always a possibility. I talked about the potential 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:24.960 for decapitation moves trying to go after the Venezuelan leadership, 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:27.920 and it seems that that's precisely what happened last night 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:32.040 in the morning, early morning of Saturday, where US forces 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:35.680 you latterly attacked Venezuela. Should be understood as such. This 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:38.760 is yet another active aggression, the other another act of 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:41.800 war against Venezuela in particular, but I think against Latin 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:45.040 America in general. Kidnapping the president, I think that's the 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:48.040 accurate term. You know, let's talk about him being captured. 0:08:48.120 --> 0:08:52.520 I believe he's being held prisoner as a captive on 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:54.839 the Ewojima, which is one of the many boats that 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:57.280 was stationed just off the coast of Venezuela. With this 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:00.040 massive mobilization of the US Navy, a fourth of the 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:04.280 Navy is still in Caribbean waters. This situation is what 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:07.280 we always feared what would happen, And it appears that 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:11.760 the US has successfully kidnapped Nicolas Maduro and set in 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:15.240 a terrible precedent for the region, for the country. I 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:17.400 think we are in a new day here in Latin 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:18.800 America as a result of what happened. 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:22.560 What do you see as the motivation for this attack 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:23.240 in kidnapping. 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:28.040 So we have a lot of important actors inside of Washington, 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:30.600 in the White House right now who are dead set 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:34.560 on finishing off any leftist progressive government in the region. Obviously, 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:38.160 their biggest targets were Venezuela, Cuban, Nicaragua, who have always 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:40.080 been a thorn in the side of the US and 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:43.080 been a force against US imperialism here in the region. 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:45.920 And so all of that response to that, everything that 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:49.239 we've seen over the last few months is a response 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:52.360 to that drive by these actors, including Trump as well, 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:55.679 of course, who were seeking to oust by any means necessary, 0:09:55.880 --> 0:10:00.320 these leftist, progressive revolutionary governments in the region, and and 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.920 you know the attacks on the extrajudicial executions that were happening, 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.280 This land strike that happened a few weeks ago, and 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:09.000 now obviously with the kidnapping of the president is just 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:11.960 the latest iteration of a very long, a decades long 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:14.680 regime change effort. Venezuela's now a country that has seen 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:17.959 two of its president's kidnapped. To remember, in two thousand 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.360 and two, the US bakkup against Ugo Chavas that briefly 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:23.280 deposed him. He was held prisoner for two days as well, 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:26.200 although he eventually was returned thanks to the uprising of 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:29.239 the people. We're already seeing the population mobilizing in Venezuela. 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:31.280 But this is what it is. It's regime change. It's 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:34.360 regime change using violent, deadly methods. Where As already reports 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:36.720 of civilians being killed as a result of these US 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:41.000 strikes inside of Venezuela and this effort to kidnap Nicolasma Duro, 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:44.200 and so all of that is because, on the one hand, 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:47.280 as I said, the Bowlervarion revolution, this process that started 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:49.920 with the election of Ugo chava Is back in nineteen 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:53.040 ninety eight, is always something that represented a threat to 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:55.640 US elites, to U segeminy in the region. But it's 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:58.160 also about resources. I mean Trump has said as much 0:10:58.160 --> 0:10:59.840 in those words that it's about the oil. It's about 0:10:59.840 --> 0:11:02.079 the oil, it's about the golds, about the national resources. 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:06.160 Right now, it looks like the revolutionary regime is still 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:09.559 in control of the country, doesn't appear that the opposition 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:11.440 is in a position to be able to try to 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:14.840 seize power, which means that they actually won't have access 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:18.439 to these resources. The situations dramatically change. I find it 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:20.800 difficult to imagine any kind of negotiations happening with the 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:24.280 US now except for the release of the president. And 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:28.160 so there will probably still be that impulse in Washington, 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.280 in the White House to continue to try to find 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:33.520 a way to have access to those resources. That's what 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:34.480 this is really from. 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:36.319 The South Florida contingent, I mean, that is one of 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:39.000 the things that is puzzling here is you know, reportedly 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:42.240 Menduro had offered, hey, if you want access to our resources, 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:46.480 no problem. Now you're going to have a much more hostile, 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:50.280 you know, head of the regime in place after you 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:54.040 you know, took these aggressive illegal acts and kidnap their president. 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:56.640 So what do you make of the fact that, you know, 0:11:56.679 --> 0:12:00.400 as of right now, Medoro's vice president is in charge 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:02.440 of the country. So, yes, it's a regime change in 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:05.080 the sense that the president has been you know, kidnapped 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:08.560 in deposed, but the rest of the regime is still 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:09.439 intact and in place. 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:13.040 Well, the United States had been escalating and escalating, first 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:15.600 with the deployment of these ships into the Caribbean, then 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:18.360 with the extra judicial executions, the strikes in the Eastern 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:21.120 Pacific as well. You know, clearly we're trying to send 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:23.120 a message, but they had kind of painted themselves into 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:26.720 a corner because, as we well have seen, Maduda wasn't 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:28.720 willing to go. The only reason he's not in charge 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:31.120 today is because he's been kidnapped, and so that put 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:34.920 you know, basically two unstoppable forces that eventually ran into 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:37.160 each other. And this appears to be the sort of 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:40.320 action where Trump can try to walk away from the 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:43.199 conundrum that he has created in South America to say, well, 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:45.000 we took out Madudo, that's what we wanted. This is 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:49.000 a law enforcement action, but there are still very important forces. 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:51.160 They're going to continue to push for the end of 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:54.319 the Braverian revolution in Venezuela. That's what is also going 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:56.520 to be on the table in the coming days and 0:12:56.559 --> 0:12:59.640 weeks or maybe perhaps longer in terms of what is 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:02.319 going to happen next. I imagine that they're going to 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.440 try to use this as an end point for them, 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:07.480 but I don't really think that that's going to be successful, 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:11.120 because we have to understand that the initially these strikes 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:14.160 on these alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean, these 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:17.160 all started as an effort to appease the Florida Gusano 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:19.719 labby to try to get them on board. Actually, way 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.960 back when they were negotiations around the Big Beautiful Bill, 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:26.320 these lawmakers, these representatives were seeking for Trump to end 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:29.240 the Chevron license, to end Chevron's activities in Venezuela, to 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:33.400 send a single to their allies in the hard right 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:36.520 reactionary opposition in Venezuela that the US was still there 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:38.520 for them. Because Trump wasn't willing to do that, he 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:41.760 turned to this this so called drug operation, which really, 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.320 as we said earlier, is really about regime change in 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.000 order to win their support, and he did. But they're 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:48.520 going to keep pushing for that. They're not going to 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:51.480 be okay with Delci Rodriguez or the Odeldo gave O 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:56.000 key figures in Venezuela politics in power, and so I 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:57.880 don't think this is actually going to represent it. And 0:13:58.080 --> 0:13:59.959 of course we have to think about the Venezuelan response 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:03.280 and the broader response from Latin America. I really do 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:06.520 think that there are a lot of elected leaders in 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:09.920 this region who are wondering what this means for their 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:12.800 relationship with the United States. I mean I think about Mexico. 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:16.000 For example, he has used similar language to describe Modena, 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:18.920 the ruling party here in Mexico, saying that they're tied 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:22.760 to drugs, that the drugs cartels run Mexico, you know, 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.960 classifying fentanela as a weapon of mass destruction. How do 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:28.360 we know he won't use the same arguments against Mexico. 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:30.960 He's already tried to use them against Betro in Columbia. 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:34.320 So this is really a major crisis in the Western hemisphere. 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:36.280 Can you talk a little bit more about these drug 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:38.960 trafficking allegations, just to kind of put this to bed, 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:42.560 because you know, Susie Wilds, who's Trump's chief of staff, 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:46.680 told Vanity Fair magazine that it would be illegal to 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.400 strike in Venezuela, to have some sort of land strikes 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:55.200 in Venezuela without congressional authorization. Well, no congressional authorization was 0:14:55.400 --> 0:15:01.640 sought or received. So they are using this pretext of, oh, well, 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:04.640 we've indicted him and he's, you know, a drug trafficker, 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:06.840 and this was all in self defense and that's why 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.680 we're able to do it without congressional authorization, which I 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:12.360 think is told in complete bullshit. But in any case. 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:16.760 Can you talk about this flimsy pretext of claiming that 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:20.480 Maduro is some sort of drug trafficker and that being 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:24.400 the justification here and the rationale for why they kidnapped him. 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:28.800 Flimsy is the right word. There is no real justification 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.760 for this. Any legal analysts worth their salt would tell 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:34.680 you as such. What the United States did is clearly illegal. 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:37.520 It's yet another example of the United States trying to 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:41.000 apply its laws extra territorially. Within the United States, of course, 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:44.160 it's their freedom to do what they want in terms 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:47.200 of exercising legal authority inside of their borders, side of 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:50.400 their territorial waters. But this is clearly an action outside 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:52.760 of that, trying to enforce US law in this way. 0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:55.520 We've seen it before. There are historic presidents for this, obviously, 0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:58.800 I'm thinking about Monuento Rea and Panama. But no, there's 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:01.640 no legality to this, nor is there any legality to 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:05.400 the extra judicial executions. And yet, unfortunately, because I think 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:08.680 there wasn't enough pushback against those, you know, policymakers felt 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:11.320 emboldened to do something like this to continue to flo 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:14.640 out international humanitarian law, as we also saw in the 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:17.040 genocide against the Palestinian people. We live in a very 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:19.360 very dangerous world where it really doesn't carry any weight 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:22.640 anymore and its might makes right apparently, and that's what 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:24.680 we saw here. There is no in terms of the 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:28.120 actual allegations of narco trafficking. They're all in an invention. The 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:30.040 Cartel of the Suns, which is the one that they 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:32.720 claim that Madudo is the head of, does not even exist. 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:35.440 And it's the UN that says it. It's DA reports 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:37.360 that say the Cartel of the Suns is not an 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:40.880 actual cartel in the way that we usually understand that term. 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:45.200 There may be individual elements within the Venezuelan state who 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:47.280 are engaged in drug trafficking, as there is in a 0:16:47.320 --> 0:16:49.760 lot of states of Latin America because of the massive 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.640 demand from the United States for drugs to come into 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:55.320 their territory. But that doesn't mean that Madudo is the 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:57.080 head of our cartel or even the trend that I 0:16:57.280 --> 0:16:59.840 was you know, this has been overstated. It's a criminal organization, 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:01.560 but it's not a cartel in that you know, when 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:03.520 you think about you know, the ones that operate in 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:07.320 Mexico for example, right button for example, this is a 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:09.679 criminal group that kind of uses this name as branding 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:13.479 in order to intimidate and to exercise influence over certain 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:16.800 Venezuelans in particular, but Latin American migrants who are in 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.120 the region, They're not at an organization the way that they've 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:21.480 been depicted. It is like we saw, you know, in 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:25.159 the early two thousands rhetoric, a campaign to try to 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:28.720 manufacture consent for what are clearly illegal actions. 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:32.480 I've heard this Panama comparison quite frequently, so maybe you 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:34.879 could lay out for people what we did there and 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:39.080 why people. I mean, obviously, the Iraq war example is 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:44.040 not necessarily one that this administration wants to replicate, So 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:46.919 the Panama example is the one that I see the 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:52.400 Trump regime's allies sort of putting forward as the model here. 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:56.920 Yeah, you know, I've seen other reports online. I forget 0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:59.760 what the source was, but basically Panama is viewed as 0:17:59.800 --> 0:18:03.080 a excess inside of the Pentagon, whereas Iraq is a 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:06.720 conundrum of failure in a lot of ways. The thing 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:09.480 to focus on here, I think is, you know, that 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:13.920 brazen attitude, that unhindered way that the US operates in 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:16.040 the region of thinking it has the authority to do this. 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:19.560 The difference with Panama beyond the size of the country 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:23.000 and its geopolitical importance, you know, with respect to oil. 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:25.359 For the example when it comes to Venezuela, is also 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:27.840 that the US already had thousands of troops inside of 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:29.919 Panama because of the canal zone and the rest of it. 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:34.280 And so you know, the ability to quickly affect regime 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:36.840 change in Panama did happen, right, They were able to 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:40.080 put in, you know, a puppet regime that kind of 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:42.800 you know, dissolved everything that that Noriega had done previously. 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:46.000 Nodiero was obviously captured, taken to the United States and 0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:47.920 is still in prison or was in prison in the 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:52.680 United States because of that operation. This one's different because 0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:55.240 there's no troops in the United States of the United States. 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:58.040 It appears inside of Venezuela at this point appears it 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:02.440 was strictly focused on finding, capturing and kidnapping Maduro. Apparently, 0:19:02.440 --> 0:19:04.959 according to New York Times, it was CIA in formant 0:19:04.960 --> 0:19:07.560 inside of Madudo's in a circle that actually allowed them 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:10.520 to know his location. And so that probably is the 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:15.080 reason why facilitated the quick operation that we saw last night, 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:20.679 as well as you know, overwhelming attack on Venezuela's defense capabilities. 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:23.800 There was a report from the Basil La Carlotta where 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:27.560 they had anti aircraft missile batteries there that were destroyed 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:31.000 before the actual helicopters, the Chinook helicopters started flying in 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:35.040 So in that sense, there is the parallel of capturing 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:39.880 and kidnapping and detaining a sitting president, but it's very 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:41.639 different in the sense that if they think that this 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:43.440 is been going to lead to regime change, I don't 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:45.640 think that's actually on the table, given the fact that 0:19:46.040 --> 0:19:49.159 there's probably going to be a lot of detentions in 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:52.920 the coming hours and days. You know, the Venezuelan hardline 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:57.639 opposition is probably celebrating what just happened here. That is 0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:01.320 a counter patriotic sentiment is obviously illegal, especially in the 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:04.959 context of an external threat that has been declared in Venezuela. 0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:08.639 So it's unlikely they'll even have the Cadre attempt a 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:10.959 regime change effort led by the Venezuelan O position. 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:13.000 Can you talk a little bit more about what you 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:16.679 expect the response within Venezuela to be and what are 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:18.359 the early things that we're seeing right now. 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:22.119 We published a really important piece in drop Site News 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:25.119 written by Mi Collei Andrina Chaves, where she talked with 0:20:25.160 --> 0:20:27.639 a lot of the Venezuela and grassroots, the commune ards. 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:30.359 People have to remember, and this is not often reported 0:20:30.359 --> 0:20:32.920 in the bourgeois media, is that Venezuela is a country 0:20:32.960 --> 0:20:36.239 that has undergone a decades long revolutionary process and there 0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:39.959 are organizations and individuals who are really and willing to 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:42.560 go to the ultimate end in terms of defense of 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:45.560 their territory. We're talking about armed self defense groups that 0:20:45.600 --> 0:20:47.879 do exist here. They've talked about a war of all 0:20:47.920 --> 0:20:50.880 the people. Now, if there is boots on the ground 0:20:50.880 --> 0:20:53.119 by the United States, if this does escalate even further, 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:56.360 you're going to see a very, very complicated situation of 0:20:56.480 --> 0:20:58.800 un armed resistance not just by the state but non 0:20:58.800 --> 0:21:02.640 state actors inside of Anezuela to expel these invasing forces 0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:04.880 and send them back home in coffins. That's what's going 0:21:04.920 --> 0:21:06.960 to happen if there is an invasion. Right now, we're 0:21:07.000 --> 0:21:12.240 seeing mobilization by the grassroots, by the Tavista supporters, by 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:15.840 these revolutionary organizations into the streets. Now, my colleagues are 0:21:15.840 --> 0:21:18.840 in the streets now, you know, at these spontaneous demonstrations. 0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:22.160 There's a lot of questions in the air. Ultimately, right 0:21:22.160 --> 0:21:24.159 now the demand is give us proof of life. We 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:27.159 want to know he's still alive. And we'll see what 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:29.800 the demand becomes in the coming days in terms of 0:21:29.960 --> 0:21:32.320 what the population wants to see. But I would imagine 0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:35.480 that in addition to that is an immediate return of 0:21:35.600 --> 0:21:38.679 the kidnapped president. He is the president of Venezuela. He 0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:42.199