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

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 0.98

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. 0.95

00:06:08.700 SNC-Lavalin bought prostitutes 0.65

00:06:10.620 and drugs for Gaddafi's son. 1.00

00:06:13.400 SNC-Lavalin are criminals, 0.92

00:06:15.140 obviously. 0.97

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. 0.97

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. 0.91

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. 0.66

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. 0.78

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 0.97

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 0.99

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 0.77

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. 0.91

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 0.97

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 0.97

00:28:58.780 his thugs 0.98

00:28:59.540 prick the 0.77

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 1.00

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 0.97

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 0.92

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 1.00

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. 0.74

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. 0.92

00:36:36.940 That was a sexual grope.

00:36:38.840 So says the New York Times 0.92

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.

Rebel News Podcast - May 01, 2019

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

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