Rebel News Podcast - May 01, 2019


Illegal donations (and Liberal lawn signs)： The SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal deepens


Episode Stats

Length

37 minutes

Words per Minute

157.7075

Word Count

5,896

Sentence Count

396

Misogynist Sentences

6

Hate Speech Sentences

7


Summary

Why is Justin Trudeau so desperate to let SNC-Lavalin off the hook from their criminal prosecution? I mean, really, what does he care? I go into a speculative scenario, not a conspiracy theory, but trying to think what could be so terrifying about a trial. And I supplement that with two news stories about Trudeau s crookedness.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hello, my rebels. You know, I keep using the phrase extinction-level event when I think,
00:00:05.880 why is Justin Trudeau so desperate to let SNC-Lavalin off the hook from their criminal prosecution?
00:00:11.560 I mean, really, what does he care? I'm sure he doesn't have any stock.
00:00:14.640 He might know some of them because they're fellow Quebecers, but so what? It's a big place.
00:00:18.820 Why is he allowing his entire prime ministership, his entire administration, his entire government to be wrecked?
00:00:24.500 He's lost cabinet ministers, his senior advisor, the head of the Privy Council.
00:00:28.360 He's down 13 points in the polls. It's dogging him in the media.
00:00:32.480 His reputation for sunny ways is destroyed.
00:00:35.040 Why is he still, even today, contemplating letting off the hook?
00:00:39.680 Well, I go into a speculative scenario, not a conspiracy theory,
00:00:44.760 but trying to think what could be so terrifying about a trial.
00:00:51.000 And I supplement that with two news stories today.
00:00:52.980 So I hope you enjoyed today's podcast.
00:00:54.440 Before I let you go, I would be grateful if you would consider becoming a premium subscriber.
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00:01:08.720 So, for example, today I'm going to show you some various clips.
00:01:11.260 I'm going to show you various images.
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00:01:28.040 So here's my SNC-Lavalin conversation.
00:01:31.240 You're listening to a Rebel Media podcast.
00:01:34.500 Tonight, the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal goes deeper.
00:01:38.520 Two startling news stories about Trudeau's crookedness.
00:01:42.480 It's April 30th, and this is the Ezra LeVant Show.
00:01:45.140 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?
00:01:51.040 There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.
00:01:55.100 The only thing I have to say to the government, the wire publisher,
00:01:58.860 is because it's my bloody right to do so.
00:02:06.520 I've said it before, there must be something truly, truly awful
00:02:10.040 at the bottom of the Liberal Party of Canada's dealings with SNC-Lavalin.
00:02:14.980 And the corrupt Quebec-based engineering company.
00:02:17.300 There must be something that would be an extinction-level scandal,
00:02:21.520 like a meteor hitting the dinosaurs,
00:02:23.980 for Trudeau and Gerald Butts and Katie Telford
00:02:26.860 to decide not only to fire Jody Wilson-Raybould,
00:02:30.680 the star attorney general,
00:02:32.480 but then to keep doubling down on that losing hand
00:02:34.800 to obfuscate, to hide, to cover up,
00:02:37.220 to appoint this guy,
00:02:39.120 another Montreal crony, David Lamedi,
00:02:41.720 as the new attorney general.
00:02:42.800 I think I showed you this before.
00:02:43.920 He's actually someone who has been directly lobbied
00:02:47.980 by SNC-Lavalin,
00:02:50.120 but he took the job, no problem.
00:02:52.280 Yeah, he's someone who says he will still,
00:02:54.560 despite all this,
00:02:55.740 consider forcing the Crown prosecutors
00:02:57.480 to drop the case against SNC-Lavalin.
00:03:00.380 They're tripling down,
00:03:01.360 they're quadrupling down now.
00:03:03.160 How much carnage has this caused for the party?
00:03:06.480 Wilson-Raybould being fired from cabinet.
00:03:08.460 She was strong,
00:03:10.620 and then fired from attorney general,
00:03:13.740 and then quitting the cabinet altogether.
00:03:16.060 And then Trudeau's right-hand man,
00:03:17.680 Gerald Butts, resigning.
00:03:20.060 That really would be like losing your right hand.
00:03:22.720 And then another star cabinet minister,
00:03:24.220 Jane Philpott,
00:03:25.220 quitting in solidarity with Jody Wilson-Raybould.
00:03:27.140 And then the clerk of the Privy Council,
00:03:29.240 the top civil servant of Canada,
00:03:30.660 resigning in disgrace over the matter.
00:03:32.340 However, the government is truly being decapitated
00:03:36.040 because Butts was the de facto prime minister,
00:03:40.060 not Trudeau.
00:03:42.020 Solid cabinet minister, gone.
00:03:44.220 Head of the civil service, gone.
00:03:45.740 And still Trudeau will not bend on this.
00:03:48.820 He's more than a dozen points behind in the polls now.
00:03:52.720 If the election were held today,
00:03:53.780 his party would be cut in half.
00:03:56.220 Even the American TV cartoon,
00:03:59.100 The Simpsons,
00:03:59.760 is making fun of him,
00:04:02.080 specifically referencing SNC-Lavalin.
00:04:06.520 What could possibly be so, so bad
00:04:09.900 that even today,
00:04:12.060 today when he was asked about SNC-Lavalin
00:04:15.100 on The Simpsons,
00:04:17.960 Trudeau says, no, he's still thinking
00:04:19.480 of going through with forcing the prosecutor
00:04:22.460 to drop all criminal charges.
00:04:24.320 This is what he said today.
00:04:25.180 What we're here to announce today
00:04:28.580 is our commitment to creating
00:04:30.860 and protecting great jobs across this country.
00:04:33.460 Indeed, that is something
00:04:34.380 that Canadians will always expect
00:04:36.200 of their government,
00:04:37.680 and that's certainly what we've been able to do,
00:04:39.840 indeed highlighting the 900,000 jobs
00:04:42.860 that Canadians created over the past three years.
00:04:45.220 So a key part of my job
00:04:47.100 is always going to be
00:04:49.100 to look out for jobs
00:04:50.660 and protect Canadian workers
00:04:52.560 right across the country.
00:04:53.920 And that is what we are always going to do,
00:04:55.900 and I will not apologize for that.
00:04:57.900 We will do so in a way
00:04:59.840 that respects the rules
00:05:01.080 and the rule of law,
00:05:02.520 and that is something
00:05:03.380 that we have also done.
00:05:07.300 So he's octupling down now.
00:05:12.020 Now remember my point
00:05:13.740 about this extinction level.
00:05:15.140 What do I mean by that?
00:05:15.980 If SNC-Lavalin were to be prosecuted
00:05:18.980 in criminal court,
00:05:20.720 in the trial,
00:05:21.640 everything would be aired out.
00:05:24.240 All the facts would come out.
00:05:26.580 The police investigation,
00:05:28.240 if there were any wiretaps,
00:05:29.460 documents, emails, bank records,
00:05:31.680 all of it would come out.
00:05:32.420 Remember this was a trial
00:05:33.880 about bribery and corruption in Libya,
00:05:36.360 but of course SNC-Lavalin
00:05:37.600 was also corrupt throughout Quebec too,
00:05:39.900 on the hospital, on the bridge.
00:05:41.080 So not only is there a risk
00:05:42.640 that there's something in police files
00:05:45.280 that would name a liberal,
00:05:49.480 maybe even a senior liberal,
00:05:50.780 maybe even a friend of Trudeau,
00:05:52.020 but who knows?
00:05:53.260 Maybe there's something
00:05:54.220 that SNC-Lavalin still has
00:05:56.820 in their pocket,
00:05:58.400 a card they have not played yet.
00:06:01.000 I mean, look,
00:06:01.360 these are the people
00:06:01.860 who paid tens of millions
00:06:03.880 of dollars in bribes
00:06:05.080 to Muammar Gaddafi and his sons.
00:06:08.700 SNC-Lavalin bought prostitutes
00:06:10.620 and drugs for Gaddafi's son.
00:06:13.400 SNC-Lavalin are criminals,
00:06:15.140 obviously.
00:06:15.700 They've admitted to that.
00:06:17.260 They just went out of the trial.
00:06:19.260 Well, if we know they're criminals
00:06:20.840 and we know they pay bribes,
00:06:23.900 why do you think they would be above
00:06:25.660 a little bit of blackmail?
00:06:28.340 Hey, Justin Trudeau,
00:06:30.160 nice little government
00:06:31.180 you got going there.
00:06:32.720 Nice reputation you got there.
00:06:34.760 Shame if anything
00:06:35.500 would happen to it.
00:06:36.960 You know,
00:06:37.320 it could ruin your reputation or more.
00:06:39.240 I mean, what if SNC-Lavalin,
00:06:41.760 just making a hypothetical scenario here,
00:06:43.780 I don't know the facts.
00:06:45.920 What if they donated
00:06:46.980 hundreds of thousands of dollars to,
00:06:48.600 I don't know,
00:06:49.860 some Trudeau slush fund,
00:06:51.840 some trust fund,
00:06:53.420 some entity that Trudeau benefited from,
00:06:55.520 not a checkmate out to Justin Trudeau.
00:06:57.940 These are sophisticated criminals.
00:06:59.740 They'd set up some fund.
00:07:02.240 And they would have Trudeau two ways,
00:07:04.080 wouldn't they?
00:07:05.420 They'd have the positive bribe.
00:07:07.840 I mean, they gave $48 million
00:07:10.220 to the Gaddafis.
00:07:11.200 That is a lot of money.
00:07:12.060 If that's the league
00:07:12.940 they're operating in,
00:07:14.860 why wouldn't they give
00:07:15.740 $10 million to Trudeau?
00:07:18.280 Not just $100 grand,
00:07:19.540 $1 million, $10 million.
00:07:20.800 Why not $48 million?
00:07:22.400 They do more business in Canada
00:07:23.780 than in Libya.
00:07:25.360 It's how they work in Europe.
00:07:26.740 It's how half of Europe's politicians
00:07:29.280 are on the payroll of someone.
00:07:30.820 France, Germany, Italy.
00:07:32.220 Politicians there are either outright
00:07:33.760 take cash personally
00:07:35.760 or take cash for their campaigns.
00:07:37.760 It's crooked.
00:07:38.660 That's the world of SNC-Lavalin.
00:07:40.040 They don't deny it.
00:07:40.820 That's the whole point here.
00:07:42.380 Do you think that Justin Trudeau
00:07:44.340 is above taking secret money?
00:07:48.980 Well, we know he's not.
00:07:50.200 He took an illegal vacation
00:07:52.700 valued at $200,000
00:07:54.020 on Billionaire's Island in the Bahamas
00:07:57.080 and tried to keep it a secret.
00:07:59.280 So you've got the positive bribe,
00:08:03.240 the carrot.
00:08:03.840 Here's $10 million for you.
00:08:05.060 Here's $48 million for you.
00:08:06.440 For you and your gold-digging wife.
00:08:09.460 But then you've got the negative bribe,
00:08:11.300 the extortion, if you will.
00:08:13.100 Okay, you took the $48 million.
00:08:14.920 Enjoy.
00:08:16.060 That's the carrot.
00:08:16.880 But the stick now,
00:08:18.440 well, you're compromised now, aren't you?
00:08:19.900 You're part of the family now.
00:08:21.940 You're part of the crime family now.
00:08:23.000 You can never leave now.
00:08:24.180 And if we go down,
00:08:25.860 you go down too with us, Trudeau.
00:08:28.300 Well, I'm just engaging in pure speculation here
00:08:30.660 because I simply can't imagine
00:08:32.260 what is so terrifying about a trial
00:08:35.480 prosecuting SNC-Lavalin for corruption.
00:08:37.960 What is so terrifying that would cause Trudeau
00:08:40.380 to wreck his cabinet,
00:08:42.880 to wreck his prime minister's office,
00:08:45.100 to wreck his whole term,
00:08:46.340 to wreck his poll.
00:08:47.200 What is so terrifying that even today
00:08:49.800 he's octupling down?
00:08:53.560 Unless there was something far, far, far worse
00:08:55.920 than what's come out so far.
00:08:57.260 Something implicating his inner circle,
00:08:59.900 something implicating maybe even he himself.
00:09:04.080 Can you think of a more plausible explanation?
00:09:08.380 And no, don't tell me he's doing it
00:09:09.620 for the 9,000 jobs.
00:09:11.080 First of all,
00:09:11.820 those SNC-Lavalin engineering jobs
00:09:13.600 are not at risk.
00:09:14.300 The company is huge.
00:09:15.700 I checked.
00:09:16.180 Its market capitalization today
00:09:17.600 is nearly $6 billion.
00:09:19.620 It can pay a fine.
00:09:21.820 The company has said
00:09:22.760 it is not leaving Quebec no matter what.
00:09:24.840 In fact, they just signed
00:09:25.520 a new long-term lease
00:09:26.980 in beautiful renovated offices.
00:09:28.800 They ain't going nowhere.
00:09:31.420 Trudeau doesn't care about jobs.
00:09:32.680 He doesn't care about 200,000 oil jobs.
00:09:34.900 He's not doing this for a few engineering jobs.
00:09:37.600 He's doing this because
00:09:38.680 I think he's really, really scared
00:09:41.140 about something.
00:09:43.860 Maybe it has to do with,
00:09:45.020 oh, I don't know,
00:09:45.600 this headline in today's CBC of all places.
00:09:48.500 Check this out.
00:09:49.080 I didn't see this till today.
00:09:50.840 Names of SNC employees,
00:09:52.580 executives behind thousands of dollars
00:09:54.640 in illegal Liberal Party donations revealed.
00:09:58.600 Oh, oh, just that.
00:10:00.580 Here, let me read a little bit.
00:10:02.800 Former Attorney General of Quebec
00:10:04.000 denies involvement in scheme
00:10:05.200 that broke a Canadian election law.
00:10:06.980 Oh, oh, so they were mucking around here.
00:10:08.760 I'm shocked.
00:10:09.740 Here, let me read a bit.
00:10:11.900 A confidential document
00:10:13.060 sent to the Liberal Party of Canada in 2016
00:10:15.400 and obtained by CBC
00:10:17.160 reveals how top officials
00:10:19.040 at the embattled engineering firm
00:10:20.960 SNC-Lavalin
00:10:21.760 were named in a scheme
00:10:23.720 to illegally influence Canadian elections.
00:10:27.940 No, I will not believe it.
00:10:29.880 SNC-Lavalin was trying to
00:10:31.560 illegally influence Canadian elections
00:10:33.380 and they were targeting
00:10:34.880 the historical party of corruption,
00:10:36.940 the Quebec Liberals.
00:10:37.720 Well, knock me over with a feather.
00:10:40.680 Yeah.
00:10:41.380 Let me read some more.
00:10:42.820 The list of names compiled in 2016
00:10:44.800 by federal investigators
00:10:46.180 probing political party donations
00:10:47.840 and leaked to CBC's The Fifth Estate
00:10:50.320 and Radio Canada's Enquette
00:10:52.200 raises new questions
00:10:53.880 about an agreement
00:10:55.100 by the Commissioner of Canada Elections
00:10:57.460 not to prosecute the company.
00:11:00.600 Really?
00:11:01.020 So they've gotten out of prosecutions before.
00:11:06.020 They do this a lot, do they?
00:11:08.840 They've been breaking the law again and again
00:11:10.940 and they keep getting let off the hook, eh?
00:11:15.060 By politicians.
00:11:17.380 And that whole thing was kept secret until today.
00:11:21.540 Is that how we do it in Canada?
00:11:23.980 You bet it is under the Liberals.
00:11:25.800 But it's all in the family.
00:11:27.960 Look, there's no need to upset outsiders,
00:11:30.580 the little people,
00:11:32.420 taxpayers.
00:11:33.860 They just wouldn't understand.
00:11:35.700 Let me read some more.
00:11:38.080 The federal Liberals were sent the list
00:11:39.440 in a letter marked confidential
00:11:40.940 from the Commissioner of Canada Elections,
00:11:43.540 the investigative branch of Elections Canada,
00:11:45.140 on August 5th, 2016.
00:11:47.380 But for nearly three years,
00:11:49.680 neither Elections Canada nor the Liberal Party
00:11:51.480 shared that information publicly.
00:11:52.800 Now, I can understand why the Liberal Party
00:11:56.860 would keep it a secret
00:11:58.220 that they took illegal donations
00:12:00.180 from a corrupt company.
00:12:01.320 I understand that.
00:12:02.160 That's obvious.
00:12:02.880 Self-interest.
00:12:03.680 They don't want the world to know.
00:12:04.720 But why did supposedly neutral
00:12:07.140 nonpartisan Elections Canada
00:12:08.520 keep it a secret?
00:12:09.760 Why did they run errands for the Liberals?
00:12:12.600 Who approved their secret deal
00:12:14.220 to let SNC-Levelin go?
00:12:16.240 And who said it could be secret?
00:12:17.700 Now, most of the donations in question
00:12:19.360 happened before Trudeau was a member of Parliament.
00:12:21.540 But not all of them.
00:12:24.100 So he was an MP when the Quebec Liberals
00:12:26.180 were taking illegal money from SNC-Levelin.
00:12:28.220 Did he personally benefit from this money?
00:12:31.500 How can you even trust his answer?
00:12:33.420 He's been convicted, what, four or five times
00:12:35.800 of breaking the Conflict of Interest Act,
00:12:38.720 hiding illegal gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars?
00:12:42.380 I won't go through all the details in today's story,
00:12:44.180 but it included donations from SNC-Levelin
00:12:46.720 through fake donors, straw donors, as they're called,
00:12:50.240 to hide the source of the donation
00:12:51.940 from the public, from authorities, from police.
00:12:54.060 Now, obviously, SNC-Levelin
00:12:55.340 wanted the recipient politicians
00:12:57.100 to know who was renting them.
00:12:59.400 They just didn't want the police to know.
00:13:01.100 So we just learned about this today.
00:13:04.700 Do you think there are other secret deals
00:13:06.420 that SNC-Levelin has struck?
00:13:07.880 They struck a secret deal
00:13:09.880 to make this election problem go away
00:13:11.380 without a prosecution.
00:13:12.800 Who gets to break the law, get caught,
00:13:15.980 and then make the problem go away
00:13:17.320 in complete secret?
00:13:19.660 As in no one even know it ever happened.
00:13:21.860 I mean, I've heard of pleading guilty
00:13:23.100 and getting a plea bargain,
00:13:24.220 but that's done in open court.
00:13:25.480 It ain't a secret.
00:13:28.240 That's the kind of deal Trudeau just loves, though,
00:13:30.240 doesn't he?
00:13:30.660 I wonder if Trudeau took any money.
00:13:34.220 What's your guess?
00:13:37.680 One more story in the Globe and Mail.
00:13:39.440 It seems related to me.
00:13:42.360 PMO's background checks on potential judges
00:13:44.400 reveal more than a decade of partisan past.
00:13:48.400 So Trudeau said he's going to be open
00:13:49.760 and merit-based in his judicial appointments,
00:13:51.840 who he puts on courts as judges.
00:13:53.560 He immediately proved that false, of course,
00:13:55.420 by saying he was going to have gender quotas
00:13:57.080 and race quotas for his appointments.
00:13:58.680 But still, for judges, he pretended it was merit-based.
00:14:01.420 He even invited the general public
00:14:02.900 to apply for all sorts of positions,
00:14:05.020 implying it wasn't just a list
00:14:06.120 of his old pals from McGill.
00:14:08.960 Yeah, about that, let me read some more.
00:14:11.340 The PMO's background checks of prospective judges
00:14:13.640 cover more than a decade of their partisan past,
00:14:16.220 revealing their history with the Liberal Party of Canada,
00:14:18.520 including details as specific as
00:14:21.760 whether they took lawn signs
00:14:23.540 during election campaigns, records show.
00:14:27.460 Hang on, so you've got a short list
00:14:28.660 of judges.
00:14:30.480 Presumably they're smart, they're ethical,
00:14:32.140 they're competent, they're respected, I hope.
00:14:35.040 You're putting someone on the Supreme Court,
00:14:36.760 and what you're making your decision based on
00:14:39.620 is if they put up a Liberal election sign
00:14:44.200 on their lawn.
00:14:45.580 Ten years ago, did you take a lawn sign?
00:14:47.620 Yes or no?
00:14:48.360 Better be yes, or you're not a good enough
00:14:50.040 Supreme Court justice for this country.
00:14:51.580 Are you serious?
00:14:52.400 That's not just partisan.
00:14:53.440 It's so weird.
00:14:55.060 It's so petty.
00:14:56.000 It's so obsessive.
00:14:57.340 It's like, you know, in Stalinist times
00:14:59.700 when they would clap and make note
00:15:01.700 of who was the first to stop clapping, dear leader.
00:15:04.380 You stop clapping too soon.
00:15:06.100 No judgeship for you.
00:15:07.640 You know what that is?
00:15:08.820 It's the kind of thing someone does
00:15:10.900 if they're so thin-skinned,
00:15:12.940 so needy, so desperate to be in total control.
00:15:17.100 Someone with a petty vengeance,
00:15:18.480 exactly the kind of person
00:15:20.540 who would fire Jody Wilson-Raybould
00:15:23.200 for not being loyal enough.
00:15:24.320 But hey, I'm sure she did have a lawn sign
00:15:27.000 being a former Liberal candidate.
00:15:29.860 The kind of person who'd do that
00:15:31.060 is the kind of person who would sneer
00:15:32.600 at desperate activists,
00:15:36.220 desperate for clean water and grassy narrows.
00:15:40.340 Thank you for being here tonight.
00:15:41.940 Thank you.
00:15:42.500 Thank you for being here.
00:15:50.440 Thank you very much for your donation tonight.
00:15:52.900 I really appreciate the donation
00:15:55.060 to the Liberal Party of Canada.
00:15:57.960 And as we know,
00:16:00.060 the Liberal Party is filled
00:16:02.380 with different perspectives
00:16:03.760 and different opinions,
00:16:04.760 and we respect them all,
00:16:05.880 and our commitment to reconciliation
00:16:07.340 continues to be strong and committed,
00:16:10.200 and we will continue to engage.
00:16:12.960 Thank you, sir,
00:16:13.740 for your donation
00:16:14.580 to the Liberal Party of Canada.
00:16:16.260 I really appreciate you being here tonight.
00:16:18.460 Thank you for being here.
00:16:19.760 That is why we are moving forward
00:16:21.520 on reconciliation
00:16:22.480 in a real and tangible way.
00:16:24.960 Thank you, sir.
00:16:26.060 Thank you for being here tonight.
00:16:27.600 Thank you for highlighting
00:16:28.620 how important reconciliation is.
00:16:31.660 Thank you for being here tonight, sir.
00:16:33.720 Thank you very much
00:16:34.700 for your donation to the Liberal Party.
00:16:36.200 A guy who would say
00:16:40.220 thank you for your donation
00:16:41.560 when sneering at a good faith critic
00:16:44.800 is exactly the kind of guy
00:16:47.400 who would appoint a judge
00:16:48.840 based on whether or not
00:16:49.780 they had a Trudeau law sign.
00:16:51.320 You know it's him.
00:16:54.240 These two things are related.
00:16:55.680 SNC-Lavalin repeatedly
00:16:57.080 getting sweetheart deals
00:16:58.780 in secret to cover up corruption,
00:17:00.900 this time explicitly making
00:17:02.340 secret donations
00:17:03.180 to the Liberal Party.
00:17:04.040 How many other times
00:17:05.320 have they gotten away with it?
00:17:06.580 And how much did Trudeau
00:17:08.160 himself pocket?
00:17:10.400 We know he knew about this in 2016.
00:17:13.580 Did he know earlier?
00:17:15.020 Was he in on it?
00:17:16.600 And now we know just how obsessed
00:17:17.900 Trudeau and his inner circle
00:17:18.920 are with total loyalty
00:17:20.740 as measured in
00:17:21.820 what money did he give?
00:17:23.180 Did you make a donation?
00:17:24.320 Did you put up a lawn sign?
00:17:27.640 Yeah, you know what?
00:17:28.420 I have no proof
00:17:30.700 that Justin Trudeau
00:17:32.160 has personally taken bribes
00:17:34.200 from SNC-Lavalin.
00:17:36.120 But given what we know
00:17:37.520 about his character
00:17:38.380 and about SNC-Lavalin's character
00:17:40.740 and how corrupt
00:17:41.900 this Liberal government is,
00:17:44.140 I would be shocked
00:17:45.740 if he and his gold-digging wife
00:17:47.760 aren't in for seven figures
00:17:50.900 personally.
00:17:53.520 Stay with us for more.
00:17:54.580 Welcome back.
00:18:09.380 Well, we have done
00:18:10.140 more than 100 stories
00:18:12.160 about Venezuela
00:18:12.920 over the years.
00:18:14.080 First at the Sun News Network,
00:18:15.100 then here at the Rebel News Network.
00:18:17.300 Although it is very far away
00:18:18.520 from Canada, frankly,
00:18:19.660 it's on the other side
00:18:20.900 of the world in South America.
00:18:22.460 I find it a terrible
00:18:24.820 and terrifying case.
00:18:26.540 One of the wealthiest countries,
00:18:28.180 in fact, about 70 years ago,
00:18:30.000 Venezuela was the fourth richest
00:18:32.360 country in the world
00:18:33.420 measured by per capita GDP.
00:18:35.500 It was more prosperous
00:18:36.280 even than Canada was.
00:18:38.960 It has the world's largest
00:18:40.560 oil reserves,
00:18:41.780 more even than Saudi Arabia
00:18:43.200 or Canada and our oil sands.
00:18:45.680 And yet it has been thrown
00:18:46.880 into deep poverty
00:18:47.920 by a series of more and more
00:18:50.100 authoritarian socialists.
00:18:51.800 But poverty is the least of it.
00:18:53.900 It's the repression,
00:18:55.340 the destruction of freedoms.
00:18:57.380 It's a terrible sight to behold.
00:19:00.100 Well, a few weeks ago,
00:19:01.780 we had our next guest
00:19:03.680 down in Venezuela itself
00:19:06.800 reporting with short video clips
00:19:09.380 from what seemed like
00:19:11.360 a people's movement.
00:19:12.780 Well, today that movement
00:19:13.860 boiled over and joining us now
00:19:15.640 to talk about it
00:19:16.380 is our friend, Annika Rothstein.
00:19:18.700 Great to see you again, Annika.
00:19:20.580 Great to see you.
00:19:21.420 Well, you've been down there
00:19:22.740 so many times
00:19:23.680 and I know it's not a secret.
00:19:26.340 I know you published it already.
00:19:27.760 The last time you were down there,
00:19:29.480 you went down there,
00:19:30.180 you were arrested
00:19:30.840 by Maduro's secret police
00:19:33.080 and literally forced
00:19:34.940 to get on a plane and fly out.
00:19:36.240 They did not like
00:19:37.160 your reporting there.
00:19:38.680 To me, that's a sign
00:19:39.640 you were doing
00:19:40.340 excellent reporting.
00:19:42.160 Well, tell me what the news is
00:19:43.540 in the last 24 hours
00:19:44.900 because it's not just
00:19:45.720 street protests.
00:19:47.100 Things have taken a turn
00:19:48.240 more violent,
00:19:49.800 haven't they?
00:19:51.000 Oh, quite.
00:19:51.960 And it's been a dramatic,
00:19:53.880 you know,
00:19:54.080 the past 12 hours
00:19:55.460 have really shifted
00:19:56.740 the entire situation.
00:19:58.500 You know,
00:19:58.700 I woke up to a text
00:19:59.880 from my contact in Caracas
00:20:01.220 saying there's a coup.
00:20:02.900 And then,
00:20:03.680 you know,
00:20:04.000 he sent me the video
00:20:04.920 of Guaido
00:20:05.400 and Leopoldo Lopez,
00:20:07.420 the former leader
00:20:08.600 of the opposition
00:20:09.600 who has been in house arrest
00:20:11.100 for quite some time.
00:20:12.520 Now,
00:20:12.980 Leopoldo Lopez
00:20:14.240 is free.
00:20:14.900 He was freed
00:20:15.480 by his own captors,
00:20:16.880 by the military,
00:20:18.280 was now flanking Guaido
00:20:19.860 as he was speaking
00:20:20.820 in the street in Caracas.
00:20:22.840 I mean,
00:20:23.140 incredibly dramatic scenes.
00:20:24.880 And of course,
00:20:25.300 this is what a lot of people
00:20:26.860 have been waiting for
00:20:28.020 because Guaido
00:20:29.180 has been saying
00:20:29.940 for weeks
00:20:30.540 and even months
00:20:31.160 that 85%
00:20:32.180 of the Venezuelan army
00:20:33.680 is on his side,
00:20:35.260 but that negotiations
00:20:36.780 were being held
00:20:38.060 in order for them
00:20:39.160 to shift
00:20:39.800 their alliances.
00:20:41.840 And that seems
00:20:42.540 to be happening right now.
00:20:43.840 Yeah.
00:20:44.460 Well,
00:20:45.060 just to recap
00:20:46.320 for our viewers,
00:20:47.040 I'm sure
00:20:47.420 our regular viewers know,
00:20:48.880 Nicolas Maduro
00:20:49.680 is the authoritarian
00:20:51.200 socialist strongman
00:20:52.360 who took over
00:20:53.020 from Higo Chavez.
00:20:54.480 He was Higo Chavez's
00:20:55.560 second in command.
00:20:56.860 In fact,
00:20:57.180 when Chavez
00:20:58.000 went to the United Nations
00:20:59.000 and first met
00:21:00.060 Barack Obama,
00:21:01.160 Maduro was in the background.
00:21:03.220 But if things
00:21:03.800 have gotten worse,
00:21:04.820 Maduro has gotten
00:21:05.380 more and more brutal.
00:21:06.600 Now,
00:21:06.860 Juan Guaido
00:21:07.780 was recognized widely
00:21:09.160 as the legitimate
00:21:10.720 winner
00:21:11.700 of a democratic election.
00:21:13.840 But there was
00:21:14.920 a real standoff.
00:21:16.880 Now,
00:21:17.240 until the last 24 hours,
00:21:19.380 you had Guaido
00:21:20.000 in the streets
00:21:20.620 with protests,
00:21:21.680 but you had Maduro
00:21:22.520 still controlling
00:21:23.280 the military.
00:21:24.920 What exactly
00:21:25.780 sparked the change?
00:21:27.320 Do we know?
00:21:28.800 You used the phrase
00:21:29.980 coup,
00:21:30.420 or you said
00:21:30.860 one of your friends
00:21:31.580 used the phrase.
00:21:32.940 Does that mean
00:21:33.780 some key general
00:21:35.720 finally said,
00:21:36.940 I've had enough
00:21:37.540 with Maduro?
00:21:38.200 What was the domino
00:21:40.280 that caused
00:21:40.800 the others to fall?
00:21:42.320 Well,
00:21:42.800 most think,
00:21:43.860 you know,
00:21:44.160 that there have been
00:21:44.940 negotiations
00:21:45.580 behind the scenes
00:21:46.500 the entire time.
00:21:47.560 And of course,
00:21:48.140 Guaido has
00:21:48.940 perhaps unwisely
00:21:50.600 alluded to this
00:21:51.500 several times.
00:21:53.060 Because of course,
00:21:54.000 the military is afraid
00:21:55.180 that should
00:21:55.860 Maduro fall,
00:21:57.680 they would
00:21:58.320 themselves
00:21:58.960 be found
00:21:59.660 in captivity,
00:22:01.720 you know,
00:22:02.080 be put on trial
00:22:03.440 for the crimes
00:22:04.180 that they committed
00:22:04.880 under the Maduro
00:22:07.720 regime.
00:22:08.880 But Guaido
00:22:10.080 has been negotiating
00:22:11.160 with key leaders
00:22:12.220 in the military
00:22:12.920 in order to give
00:22:14.020 them immunity.
00:22:15.040 And we don't know
00:22:15.700 yet if such a deal
00:22:17.200 is in place.
00:22:18.020 But what we do know
00:22:18.960 is that several
00:22:19.560 fractions within
00:22:20.280 the military
00:22:20.820 have already sided
00:22:22.000 with Guaido.
00:22:23.160 And I just,
00:22:24.040 a few minutes ago,
00:22:24.780 received video
00:22:25.580 of police officers
00:22:27.400 switching side
00:22:28.880 mid-protest
00:22:29.940 in downtown Caracas.
00:22:31.580 So it's not just
00:22:32.300 the military anymore.
00:22:33.400 And I was listening
00:22:35.240 to a speech
00:22:35.920 by Maduro's
00:22:37.540 strong man,
00:22:38.800 Diosdado,
00:22:39.560 earlier today
00:22:40.320 when he said
00:22:41.440 himself that
00:22:42.740 sections of
00:22:44.120 the Sevim,
00:22:45.020 the Venezuelan
00:22:46.520 intelligence,
00:22:47.260 the much-feared
00:22:48.040 Venezuelan
00:22:48.580 intelligence,
00:22:49.400 had also,
00:22:50.300 as he put it,
00:22:50.960 betrayed the
00:22:52.000 Maduro government.
00:22:53.180 So it seems to be
00:22:54.340 a trickle that
00:22:55.140 might turn into
00:22:56.120 a wave.
00:22:56.960 Wow.
00:22:57.580 Well,
00:22:58.120 one of the things
00:22:59.000 we've learned
00:22:59.580 before,
00:23:00.500 including from
00:23:01.260 pro-Liberty friends
00:23:02.960 like Joseph Humeyer
00:23:04.080 and others
00:23:04.880 who study
00:23:05.420 Venezuela,
00:23:06.220 is that the
00:23:07.080 regime has been
00:23:07.780 propped up for
00:23:08.540 years by foreign
00:23:10.120 forces,
00:23:10.860 mainly Cubans
00:23:12.700 who are mercenaries.
00:23:14.020 So they don't have
00:23:14.620 an affection,
00:23:16.160 a national affection,
00:23:17.800 a personal affection
00:23:18.620 for the people.
00:23:19.560 They're really there
00:23:20.660 as colonizers
00:23:22.120 by Castro,
00:23:23.200 so they don't give
00:23:23.680 a damn about
00:23:24.540 the people.
00:23:25.940 What I understood
00:23:27.200 is that it's
00:23:28.200 those Cubans,
00:23:29.440 it's Iran,
00:23:31.240 it's other
00:23:32.260 money and power
00:23:34.060 and intelligence
00:23:34.820 and even China
00:23:35.820 propping them up.
00:23:37.420 So how could
00:23:38.260 this coup happen
00:23:39.360 when obviously
00:23:40.540 if you're an agent
00:23:41.740 of Castro
00:23:43.040 or an agent
00:23:43.640 of Iran,
00:23:44.860 you're not going
00:23:45.860 to care about
00:23:47.900 negotiating with
00:23:48.660 Guaido because
00:23:49.280 your only power
00:23:50.580 comes from being
00:23:51.720 an occupier?
00:23:53.680 Well,
00:23:54.120 like I said,
00:23:55.060 you know,
00:23:55.340 we've known for
00:23:55.860 some time,
00:23:56.400 and according to
00:23:56.840 Guaido,
00:23:57.300 it's as high as
00:23:58.000 85% of the military
00:23:59.380 siding with him
00:24:00.280 when you have
00:24:01.180 the top 15%
00:24:02.320 of brass
00:24:02.840 that are siding
00:24:04.260 with the Maduro
00:24:06.400 government.
00:24:07.760 So the negotiations
00:24:09.200 have been held
00:24:10.200 with the lower levels,
00:24:11.820 the mid and lower
00:24:12.620 levels of the military.
00:24:15.100 But of course,
00:24:15.700 this is far from over.
00:24:17.220 Even now
00:24:18.240 with the military,
00:24:19.140 if 85%
00:24:20.320 of the military
00:24:21.120 switches sides
00:24:22.340 and goes with,
00:24:23.860 you know,
00:24:24.980 the interim
00:24:25.420 president Guaido,
00:24:26.780 that still leaves you
00:24:28.020 with 10,000
00:24:29.440 paramilitary troops,
00:24:31.140 it leaves you
00:24:31.680 with Cubans
00:24:32.440 with 200 Russian
00:24:33.940 troops,
00:24:34.780 but many,
00:24:35.520 many more
00:24:35.880 technical personnel
00:24:36.800 that have been
00:24:37.320 flown in from Russia.
00:24:39.300 And of course,
00:24:40.120 then you have the,
00:24:41.000 you know,
00:24:41.600 Iranians by proxy
00:24:42.760 through Hezbollah
00:24:43.680 and perhaps even
00:24:45.440 Colombian paramilitaries.
00:24:47.600 So whatever happens
00:24:49.260 now,
00:24:49.880 it's not the end.
00:24:51.400 It's far from the end.
00:24:52.660 Perhaps it's the beginning
00:24:54.180 of a very,
00:24:55.040 very drawn out
00:24:55.860 jungle war.
00:24:56.640 We don't know yet.
00:24:57.420 I saw images
00:24:58.900 on Twitter
00:24:59.520 of grassroots
00:25:00.800 Venezuelans
00:25:01.600 storming
00:25:03.640 an air force base.
00:25:05.680 I think La Carloja,
00:25:07.000 if I'm remembering
00:25:07.640 what it was called.
00:25:08.700 And I thought
00:25:09.020 that was very interesting
00:25:10.040 because of course
00:25:10.760 that would be
00:25:11.780 a very symbolic place,
00:25:13.620 a symbol of power
00:25:14.520 and nothing is more
00:25:15.760 terrifying
00:25:16.280 than an air force.
00:25:19.480 But I understand
00:25:20.820 that forces
00:25:22.160 loyal to Maduro
00:25:23.240 retook it.
00:25:24.900 Am I,
00:25:25.160 I'm just going
00:25:25.720 from strands
00:25:27.200 on Twitter
00:25:27.840 and I don't
00:25:28.380 speak Spanish
00:25:29.080 of course
00:25:29.420 so I'm relying
00:25:30.020 on you.
00:25:30.880 Is that what
00:25:32.300 happened?
00:25:32.860 I mean,
00:25:33.600 can you give us
00:25:34.360 any news
00:25:34.800 about that
00:25:35.480 air force base?
00:25:37.000 Well,
00:25:37.260 what is important
00:25:37.880 to know right now
00:25:38.880 is that
00:25:39.480 I received
00:25:40.420 note about
00:25:41.440 45 minutes ago
00:25:42.500 that they
00:25:43.320 turned off Twitter.
00:25:44.820 So it's
00:25:45.660 very,
00:25:46.320 very possible
00:25:46.980 that the information
00:25:48.380 that is coming out
00:25:49.240 or at least
00:25:49.600 has come out
00:25:50.200 in the past
00:25:50.860 hour or two
00:25:52.080 hours
00:25:52.520 is only
00:25:53.460 pro-regime
00:25:54.280 tweets.
00:25:55.080 So it's,
00:25:55.760 I think it's
00:25:56.440 very important
00:25:56.920 to have a critical
00:25:57.700 eye looking at it
00:25:58.720 because most
00:26:00.620 of my friends
00:26:01.180 in contact
00:26:01.640 are unable
00:26:02.280 to get to
00:26:03.540 Twitter right now
00:26:04.260 and are furiously
00:26:05.040 trying to get
00:26:05.760 there through VPNs.
00:26:07.360 What I do know
00:26:08.160 is that
00:26:08.860 there is military,
00:26:10.320 there are machine
00:26:11.120 guns,
00:26:11.940 deployed military
00:26:13.460 troops with
00:26:14.640 machine guns
00:26:15.380 in and around
00:26:16.780 Miraflores,
00:26:17.660 the presidential
00:26:18.620 palace,
00:26:19.780 which means
00:26:20.500 of course
00:26:20.960 that there
00:26:21.900 is no sign
00:26:22.740 whatsoever
00:26:23.260 that Maduro
00:26:24.200 is about
00:26:24.880 to back down
00:26:25.520 or that the
00:26:26.020 people close
00:26:26.600 to Maduro
00:26:27.020 are about
00:26:27.500 to back down.
00:26:28.440 They are
00:26:28.920 preparing
00:26:29.360 for a
00:26:30.420 standoff,
00:26:31.180 definitely.
00:26:32.500 And the
00:26:33.140 images that
00:26:33.700 I've seen,
00:26:34.220 I've received
00:26:34.740 video clips
00:26:35.540 through Telegram
00:26:36.520 and WhatsApp
00:26:37.000 all day.
00:26:38.260 And these
00:26:38.720 are incredibly
00:26:39.880 violent scenes
00:26:40.880 with live
00:26:41.800 fire in the
00:26:42.500 streets,
00:26:43.460 with people.
00:26:44.200 It's very
00:26:44.540 difficult also
00:26:45.240 to distinguish
00:26:46.080 who's on
00:26:47.480 what side
00:26:48.080 because the
00:26:48.560 paramilitaries,
00:26:49.360 of course,
00:26:49.720 they wear jeans
00:26:50.220 and a t-shirt.
00:26:51.400 Opposition
00:26:51.840 fighters,
00:26:52.540 they wear jeans
00:26:53.040 and a t-shirt.
00:26:54.120 It's very,
00:26:54.800 very hard
00:26:55.220 to see what's
00:26:56.280 going on
00:26:56.980 because it's
00:26:58.000 all-out chaos
00:26:58.820 in the streets
00:26:59.420 right now.
00:27:00.020 Right.
00:27:00.440 We're just looking
00:27:01.060 at incredible
00:27:01.700 footage,
00:27:02.280 we've shown
00:27:02.660 it a couple
00:27:03.000 times now,
00:27:03.700 of armored
00:27:04.520 cars literally
00:27:05.520 rolling over
00:27:06.560 citizens.
00:27:07.580 I presume
00:27:08.100 that was
00:27:08.540 forces of
00:27:09.260 Maduro
00:27:09.660 rolling over
00:27:11.000 Guaido's
00:27:11.840 grassroots army.
00:27:14.180 And we saw
00:27:14.980 Guaido
00:27:15.580 Maduro giving
00:27:16.780 a speech
00:27:17.320 flanked by
00:27:18.100 two uniformed
00:27:20.400 military,
00:27:21.880 I presume,
00:27:22.340 who switched
00:27:22.860 sides.
00:27:23.700 Has Maduro
00:27:24.240 made any
00:27:24.860 public announcement
00:27:25.660 either in the
00:27:26.240 speech or
00:27:27.020 even via
00:27:27.740 video or
00:27:29.440 even radio,
00:27:30.320 I suppose?
00:27:30.820 Do you know
00:27:31.140 if he said
00:27:31.660 anything?
00:27:33.180 No,
00:27:33.580 the person
00:27:34.000 who has
00:27:34.280 been speaking
00:27:34.740 is Diosdado,
00:27:35.500 the number
00:27:35.780 two.
00:27:37.000 The person
00:27:37.740 that many
00:27:38.200 believe is,
00:27:39.620 you know,
00:27:39.960 he was,
00:27:40.400 as I'm sure
00:27:41.080 you know,
00:27:41.780 he was the
00:27:42.100 one everyone
00:27:42.480 thought would
00:27:43.020 take over
00:27:43.460 after Chavez
00:27:44.120 and he's
00:27:45.140 himself a
00:27:46.020 military man,
00:27:47.320 feared and
00:27:48.440 let's say
00:27:49.100 respected by
00:27:49.860 many.
00:27:50.680 And he
00:27:51.560 has been
00:27:51.940 giving speeches
00:27:52.640 on and off.
00:27:53.360 I also
00:27:54.280 got the
00:27:56.180 file of a
00:27:56.960 phone conversation
00:27:57.800 of his
00:27:58.800 today where
00:28:00.060 he called
00:28:00.940 upon all
00:28:01.520 paramilitary
00:28:02.140 troops to
00:28:02.660 come to
00:28:02.940 Miraflores.
00:28:04.680 And of
00:28:05.600 course,
00:28:05.880 they listened
00:28:06.580 to him
00:28:07.120 directly.
00:28:08.480 He is
00:28:08.860 very respected
00:28:10.120 in Chavista
00:28:10.780 circles because
00:28:12.100 he himself
00:28:13.120 is a
00:28:13.760 fighter.
00:28:14.440 He's a
00:28:14.940 military.
00:28:15.980 So they
00:28:16.540 are ramping
00:28:17.460 up this.
00:28:18.100 And of
00:28:18.560 course,
00:28:18.740 everyone is
00:28:19.140 asking,
00:28:19.560 where is
00:28:19.940 Maduro at
00:28:20.500 this time?
00:28:21.260 Why has
00:28:21.680 he yet to
00:28:22.300 make an
00:28:22.660 announcement?
00:28:23.780 And the
00:28:24.360 honest answer
00:28:25.700 to that is,
00:28:26.280 I just
00:28:26.620 don't know.
00:28:27.660 But as
00:28:28.140 of now,
00:28:28.540 it seems
00:28:28.860 that Diosdado
00:28:29.740 Cabello is
00:28:30.380 the one who's
00:28:30.920 doing the
00:28:31.440 talking.
00:28:32.380 And what
00:28:32.860 he's saying
00:28:33.360 is that we
00:28:33.980 are defending
00:28:34.440 the revolution.
00:28:35.260 We are not
00:28:35.740 giving up.
00:28:36.660 He said
00:28:37.180 that Guaido's
00:28:37.980 military coup
00:28:38.720 has failed
00:28:39.380 already.
00:28:40.080 It is already
00:28:40.840 dead on
00:28:41.500 arrival.
00:28:41.940 Now,
00:28:43.480 I want to
00:28:43.780 ask you one
00:28:44.140 more thing
00:28:44.560 about,
00:28:45.080 we showed
00:28:46.080 those armored
00:28:46.860 vehicles rolling
00:28:47.540 over people,
00:28:48.100 shocking footage.
00:28:50.020 We saw
00:28:50.840 something burning
00:28:51.500 at an Air
00:28:51.960 Force base
00:28:52.520 there.
00:28:53.260 At what
00:28:53.660 point do
00:28:55.300 abuses by
00:28:57.940 Maduro and
00:28:58.780 his thugs
00:28:59.540 prick the
00:29:00.960 international
00:29:01.660 conscience?
00:29:02.400 Because there
00:29:02.780 have been
00:29:03.140 votes.
00:29:04.060 Months ago,
00:29:04.560 there were
00:29:04.740 votes.
00:29:05.460 Who's on the
00:29:06.160 side of Maduro?
00:29:07.080 Who's on the
00:29:07.640 side of the
00:29:08.760 people?
00:29:09.060 And it
00:29:09.460 was split.
00:29:10.460 I mean,
00:29:10.640 it was most
00:29:11.600 democracies were
00:29:12.980 either neutral or
00:29:13.860 for Guaido.
00:29:15.140 But if I'm not
00:29:16.640 mistaken,
00:29:17.160 Russia,
00:29:17.880 China,
00:29:18.520 Iran,
00:29:19.240 other countries
00:29:19.840 like that.
00:29:21.020 And more to
00:29:21.580 the point,
00:29:21.920 Maduro wasn't
00:29:22.500 moving.
00:29:23.320 If he behaves
00:29:24.480 badly,
00:29:25.200 if there was,
00:29:26.280 God forbid,
00:29:26.700 a massacre of
00:29:27.420 50 people or
00:29:28.160 something like
00:29:28.580 that caught on
00:29:29.720 his cell phone
00:29:30.340 footage,
00:29:31.020 would that be
00:29:31.680 enough to
00:29:32.160 spark some
00:29:33.940 international
00:29:34.800 momentum?
00:29:36.180 Or does
00:29:36.720 Maduro just
00:29:37.300 not really even
00:29:38.100 care about
00:29:38.600 anything?
00:29:40.100 Well,
00:29:40.560 I think those
00:29:41.860 are two
00:29:42.160 different issues.
00:29:43.220 I believe that
00:29:44.080 it would take
00:29:44.740 at this point,
00:29:45.300 especially if we
00:29:45.920 speak specifically
00:29:46.720 about a
00:29:47.200 possible American
00:29:48.460 intervention,
00:29:49.140 for example.
00:29:50.280 Given that I
00:29:51.480 personally believe
00:29:52.380 that the support
00:29:53.020 for that is
00:29:53.600 quite low
00:29:54.360 among the
00:29:56.300 U.S.
00:29:56.760 public,
00:29:57.700 the fact that
00:29:58.500 Trump is up
00:29:59.080 for election,
00:29:59.840 that he ran
00:30:00.640 a non-intervention,
00:30:01.580 et cetera,
00:30:01.940 et cetera,
00:30:02.840 it doesn't
00:30:03.260 really matter.
00:30:04.000 The strong
00:30:04.560 rhetoric that he
00:30:05.280 has had and
00:30:06.060 that several
00:30:06.580 other people as
00:30:07.540 Bolton,
00:30:08.600 Abrams have
00:30:10.360 had on
00:30:11.100 Venezuela,
00:30:12.240 that is far
00:30:12.880 from actually
00:30:14.360 entering the
00:30:15.020 country.
00:30:15.840 It would take
00:30:16.480 something,
00:30:17.020 not to be
00:30:17.620 cynical,
00:30:18.100 but it would
00:30:18.400 take a
00:30:19.180 Tiananmen Square
00:30:19.840 situation,
00:30:20.560 I believe,
00:30:21.100 for the
00:30:22.900 international
00:30:23.320 community to
00:30:24.180 wake up.
00:30:24.980 And, of course,
00:30:26.220 they have been
00:30:26.640 very effective,
00:30:28.080 the Maduro
00:30:28.480 government,
00:30:29.220 in squashing
00:30:30.680 opposition,
00:30:31.540 in also
00:30:32.100 silencing
00:30:32.760 voices.
00:30:33.200 I mean,
00:30:33.560 I personally
00:30:34.100 was deported,
00:30:35.280 of course,
00:30:36.000 and I'm
00:30:36.860 not the
00:30:37.200 only journalist
00:30:37.800 who has
00:30:38.080 been deported
00:30:38.660 by the
00:30:39.960 government.
00:30:41.120 And it's
00:30:41.840 very difficult
00:30:42.520 to get the
00:30:43.520 story out
00:30:44.120 there,
00:30:44.440 and what
00:30:45.100 you need
00:30:45.580 is to sell
00:30:46.880 this and
00:30:47.280 for people
00:30:47.700 to understand
00:30:48.380 how dire
00:30:48.980 the situation
00:30:49.680 is.
00:30:50.040 And I'm
00:30:50.200 not sure
00:30:50.700 that the
00:30:51.040 international
00:30:51.480 community and
00:30:52.260 the public
00:30:52.780 understands what's
00:30:53.840 actually going
00:30:54.440 on in
00:30:54.820 Venezuela now.
00:30:55.980 Yeah,
00:30:56.300 well,
00:30:56.520 it's very
00:30:56.980 far away
00:30:57.540 for Canadians.
00:30:58.540 I think
00:30:58.740 Americans are
00:30:59.900 geographically
00:31:00.800 closer,
00:31:01.300 and there's
00:31:01.500 a larger
00:31:02.560 Spanish-speaking
00:31:03.420 community,
00:31:03.980 of course,
00:31:04.480 that cares.
00:31:05.060 There's a lot
00:31:05.900 of exiled
00:31:07.600 Venezuelans in
00:31:08.600 Miami,
00:31:09.060 for example.
00:31:11.160 Well,
00:31:11.980 I don't think
00:31:13.140 America will
00:31:13.800 get involved
00:31:14.420 formally,
00:31:15.640 and I don't
00:31:16.140 think Americans,
00:31:19.300 the public,
00:31:19.840 would want it,
00:31:20.440 but I have no
00:31:21.160 doubt that behind
00:31:22.020 the scenes,
00:31:23.040 whether it's
00:31:23.580 the CIA or
00:31:24.660 private contractors,
00:31:26.820 that there is
00:31:27.180 some American
00:31:27.700 presence on the
00:31:28.440 ground working
00:31:29.960 hard with
00:31:31.960 whatever allies
00:31:33.580 they can.
00:31:34.600 I mean,
00:31:34.780 that's how
00:31:35.720 Margaret Thatcher
00:31:37.180 and Ronald Reagan
00:31:38.000 and Pope John
00:31:38.700 Paul II
00:31:39.260 worked with
00:31:40.560 Solidarnosc,
00:31:41.520 with the
00:31:41.840 Solidarity
00:31:42.360 Movement,
00:31:43.200 in Gdansk,
00:31:44.100 Poland,
00:31:45.000 to undermine
00:31:45.940 the Soviet
00:31:47.300 domination.
00:31:49.100 It wasn't
00:31:49.900 marching troops
00:31:51.180 in with
00:31:52.020 American flags
00:31:53.200 on their
00:31:54.160 epaulets.
00:31:55.700 It was
00:31:56.140 on the low
00:31:58.460 down,
00:31:58.780 with typewriters
00:31:59.700 and photocopping
00:32:00.700 and things
00:32:01.060 like that.
00:32:01.920 I'm sure
00:32:02.520 that's happening,
00:32:03.200 aren't you?
00:32:04.480 Yeah,
00:32:05.020 I mean,
00:32:05.340 we saw,
00:32:06.200 actually,
00:32:06.580 Reuters had a
00:32:07.100 very interesting
00:32:07.580 piece today
00:32:08.080 about Blackwater
00:32:08.820 and about
00:32:09.300 mercenaries,
00:32:10.100 the possibility
00:32:10.640 of mercenaries
00:32:11.280 being placed
00:32:11.780 inside of
00:32:13.260 Venezuela
00:32:13.660 with the help
00:32:14.300 of CIA
00:32:15.060 and others,
00:32:15.860 and of course,
00:32:16.620 with the help
00:32:17.280 of exiled
00:32:17.980 Venezuelans,
00:32:19.220 some of them
00:32:20.140 quite influential
00:32:20.960 in the States.
00:32:23.140 I definitely
00:32:24.020 think that that's
00:32:24.820 a possibility,
00:32:25.580 and of course,
00:32:26.080 but this
00:32:26.540 is also
00:32:27.880 the kind
00:32:28.240 of rhetoric
00:32:28.620 that Maduro
00:32:29.580 has been using,
00:32:30.520 and I think
00:32:30.800 it's a very
00:32:31.180 sensitive issue
00:32:32.040 in South America
00:32:32.960 because even
00:32:34.960 though Venezuelans
00:32:36.140 are desperate
00:32:36.660 for help,
00:32:37.980 they are not
00:32:38.520 of one mind
00:32:39.280 when it comes
00:32:39.880 to American
00:32:40.660 interference
00:32:41.360 in the region,
00:32:42.360 and I think
00:32:43.020 it's a highly,
00:32:43.900 highly sensitive
00:32:44.420 issue,
00:32:44.800 and of course,
00:32:45.420 the rhetoric
00:32:45.880 that Maduro
00:32:47.480 has been using,
00:32:48.320 and it's that
00:32:49.220 very rhetoric
00:32:49.740 that of course
00:32:50.300 got me deported,
00:32:51.120 is this idea
00:32:53.200 that it's all
00:32:55.340 about imperialist
00:32:57.840 intervention
00:32:58.640 and overtaking,
00:32:59.680 and I think,
00:33:00.180 you know,
00:33:00.860 it is a very,
00:33:01.860 very sensitive issue.
00:33:03.140 Yeah.
00:33:03.660 Well, listen,
00:33:04.380 if you,
00:33:05.400 I look forward
00:33:06.660 to more of your
00:33:07.700 reporting,
00:33:08.280 whether it's
00:33:08.700 from overseas
00:33:09.260 or if you are
00:33:10.780 permitted back
00:33:11.560 in the jurisdiction.
00:33:12.480 I know they
00:33:12.740 deported you last time,
00:33:13.780 that's always a good sign.
00:33:14.960 It's great to catch up
00:33:15.880 with you via Skype.
00:33:16.680 Thanks very much
00:33:17.240 for your time today.
00:33:18.260 Thank you so much.
00:33:19.220 All right,
00:33:19.540 that's Annika Rothstein,
00:33:20.500 as you recall.
00:33:21.600 She did videos
00:33:22.380 for us
00:33:22.960 from the streets
00:33:23.600 of Caracas.
00:33:24.440 You can still see those
00:33:25.540 at rebelvenezuela.com.
00:33:27.600 Stay with us.
00:33:28.160 More ahead on The Rebel.
00:33:40.220 Hey, welcome back.
00:33:41.100 On my monologue yesterday
00:33:41.900 about Justin Trudeau's
00:33:42.860 really bad weekend,
00:33:43.940 Betty writes,
00:33:45.200 if Trudeau can't remember
00:33:46.340 that the person
00:33:46.920 standing right beside him
00:33:47.820 is from Japan,
00:33:48.540 not China,
00:33:49.160 I don't even know
00:33:49.740 what to say about that.
00:33:50.520 Yeah, I suppose
00:33:52.700 when you're a child
00:33:53.660 and you're growing up
00:33:56.120 in a white country
00:33:56.940 like Canada,
00:33:57.740 you might not know
00:33:58.600 the difference
00:33:59.020 between someone
00:33:59.980 who's Korean
00:34:00.540 and someone who's Japanese
00:34:01.440 and someone who's Chinese,
00:34:03.280 but then you grow up
00:34:06.320 and you know
00:34:06.920 those are different countries
00:34:08.100 and then maybe
00:34:09.560 you run for parliament
00:34:10.520 and you study a little bit
00:34:12.100 and then you're
00:34:12.460 the prime minister
00:34:13.180 and it's your job
00:34:14.280 and then maybe
00:34:14.680 you read a briefing note
00:34:16.200 and you know
00:34:17.220 they're different countries.
00:34:20.160 They're different countries.
00:34:23.360 You know,
00:34:23.840 we didn't play the clip
00:34:24.560 yesterday,
00:34:25.120 but do you remember
00:34:26.020 when he was answering
00:34:26.960 rapid fire questions
00:34:28.700 from McLean's magazine
00:34:30.380 and I think the question was,
00:34:31.980 which is your favorite
00:34:32.580 Baltic country?
00:34:33.380 And he didn't have
00:34:34.880 someone there
00:34:35.780 to coach him
00:34:36.320 because the whole thing
00:34:36.920 was immediate reaction
00:34:38.520 answers and he said,
00:34:39.540 there's no such thing.
00:34:41.400 He thought it was a trick
00:34:42.880 because he probably thought
00:34:44.120 Balkans are a country
00:34:45.760 but Baltics are not.
00:34:47.400 The difference,
00:34:47.820 of course,
00:34:48.100 is Estonian,
00:34:49.260 Lithuania, Latvia.
00:34:50.780 Listen,
00:34:51.480 maybe he's not
00:34:52.200 a Jeopardy buff,
00:34:53.720 but if you've never heard
00:34:55.740 of the Baltic Sea,
00:34:57.900 you've never heard of it.
00:34:59.540 You've never heard
00:35:00.340 of the Baltic countries.
00:35:01.300 There's three of them.
00:35:02.860 I suppose you could call
00:35:03.540 Russia a Baltic country too.
00:35:05.940 You've never heard of it.
00:35:07.520 You're an MP now.
00:35:08.940 You've never heard of it.
00:35:11.080 Yeah.
00:35:14.460 Maybe we should bring
00:35:15.620 Gerald Butts back.
00:35:17.780 Chris writes,
00:35:18.600 Trudeau may very well
00:35:19.400 lose the next election
00:35:20.180 for Canada's sake.
00:35:20.900 I hope he does.
00:35:21.560 However,
00:35:21.880 it is not due to Andrew Scheer
00:35:23.000 and the Conservatives.
00:35:24.600 These are self-inflicted wounds.
00:35:27.000 Ain't that the triple truth,
00:35:27.940 Chris?
00:35:28.560 Holy moly.
00:35:29.320 Talk about lucky, lucky.
00:35:31.000 Andrew Scheer did not really win
00:35:32.560 the Conservative leadership race.
00:35:34.280 What were there?
00:35:34.600 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 candidates?
00:35:36.900 He was sort of everybody's,
00:35:38.360 well, he's okay.
00:35:39.280 Everyone had a first choice
00:35:40.280 and then, well, Andrew Scheer is okay.
00:35:41.740 And in the ranking method,
00:35:43.340 he was everyone's second choice.
00:35:44.980 I think he won on the 13th round.
00:35:47.660 So he crept across the border.
00:35:50.760 He had a bunch of gaffes.
00:35:52.040 He endorsed global warming.
00:35:53.680 He did a whole bunch of weird,
00:35:56.240 politically correct things.
00:35:57.320 But I suppose half of good luck
00:36:00.620 is showing up
00:36:01.560 and he showed up
00:36:02.420 and he's there
00:36:03.280 when Trudeau stabbed himself to death.
00:36:05.540 I hope.
00:36:06.160 Let's knock on wood.
00:36:07.020 I mean, it's still six months to go.
00:36:10.800 Ron writes,
00:36:11.780 I think you overstepped a boundary
00:36:13.200 when you referred to
00:36:13.880 Justin Trudeau's interaction
00:36:14.820 with Rose Knight
00:36:15.400 as a one-night stand.
00:36:16.980 That implies a level
00:36:17.820 of willing participation
00:36:18.580 on her part.
00:36:19.900 In my mind,
00:36:20.360 it was clearly a Me Too moment
00:36:21.540 in which he was
00:36:22.380 an unwilling victim.
00:36:24.140 You're absolutely right, Ron.
00:36:25.980 I suppose I was using it
00:36:28.500 too casually
00:36:29.020 as all these people
00:36:30.620 that Justin Trudeau
00:36:32.360 has taken advantage of
00:36:33.360 and dropped.
00:36:33.780 But yeah,
00:36:34.080 that wasn't a romantic connection.
00:36:36.940 That was a sexual grope.
00:36:38.840 So says the New York Times
00:36:40.060 and so says Trudeau himself
00:36:41.780 in his sort of apology
00:36:43.480 the next day.
00:36:45.140 Well, that's our show for today.
00:36:46.420 Until tomorrow,
00:36:47.200 on behalf of all of us here,
00:36:48.200 good night.
00:36:49.240 Keep fighting for freedom.
00:36:53.160 We'll be right back.