Verdict with Ted Cruz - September 02, 2025


BONUS POD： Cartels Look OUT! Trump sends Military to Southern Caribbean & Venezuela 


Episode Stats

Length

13 minutes

Words per Minute

162.2015

Word Count

2,228

Sentence Count

162

Misogynist Sentences

1

Hate Speech Sentences

4


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.
00:00:04.760 If they express their gratitude towards the United States government
00:00:08.840 and towards President Trump for the pressure he's adding against Maduro,
00:00:12.020 they're going to face horrible consequences.
00:00:13.980 That's why you don't really see a lot of expressions coming out of Venezuela.
00:00:17.740 But, you know, I have people there.
00:00:19.560 I talk to them.
00:00:20.600 They are happy.
00:00:21.460 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:00:25.160 Good Tuesday morning.
00:00:26.160 It is nice to have you with us after the Labor Day weekend.
00:00:29.180 And to all American workers, thank you for what you do.
00:00:32.340 We've got one big story this morning,
00:00:34.660 and it involves Donald Trump going after cartels
00:00:39.300 who've been designated as terrorist organizations
00:00:42.180 in a way we haven't seen in my lifetime.
00:00:45.200 The United States has significantly ramped up its military presence
00:00:49.440 in the Southern Caribbean.
00:00:51.500 And now there are seven to eight warships,
00:00:54.020 including a nuclear-powered submarine,
00:00:56.520 on top of thousands of U.S. military personnel.
00:01:01.680 So what is this all about?
00:01:03.500 I'm going to explain it to you.
00:01:05.160 And why is Maduro terrified after we've upped the bounty on him
00:01:09.560 as a narco-terrorist?
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00:03:18.240 It's the 47th morning update,
00:03:20.080 and it starts right now.
00:03:21.700 Story number one.
00:03:22.880 President Donald Trump made it very clear
00:03:24.980 when he was running for president
00:03:26.240 and backing it up now
00:03:27.620 that if you are in the drug trade,
00:03:30.600 he considers you a dangerous individual
00:03:33.040 that is a member of a terrorist organization,
00:03:35.700 and he's not going to allow Americans to die
00:03:38.460 at the hands of fentanyl
00:03:40.280 and other drugs that have been pouring into this country.
00:03:43.780 Now, lots of those drugs have been stopped
00:03:45.740 because we have secured the border,
00:03:47.380 but the president says that's not enough,
00:03:49.960 and now we're seeing what is next
00:03:52.560 on the president's agenda.
00:03:54.040 The United States has significantly ramped up
00:03:57.480 its military presence in the Southern Caribbean,
00:04:00.360 we are now learning.
00:04:01.460 This started in late August
00:04:04.180 and now into September
00:04:05.860 as the U.S. Navy has deployed
00:04:07.940 around seven to eight warships,
00:04:11.440 including very large cruisers,
00:04:14.820 amphibious assault vessels,
00:04:16.420 and at least one nuclear-powered submarine.
00:04:19.960 That's not all.
00:04:21.380 More than 4,000 U.S. personnel,
00:04:24.240 including about 2,200 Marines,
00:04:26.520 are now operating in the area.
00:04:28.860 This buildup includes surveillance aircraft
00:04:31.860 and even a U.S. spy plane, we're being told.
00:04:35.820 The stated objective is actually very clear.
00:04:39.440 Combat drug cartels.
00:04:41.580 And the Trump administration has framed this deployment
00:04:44.320 as part of a broader campaign
00:04:46.120 against Latin American drug trafficking
00:04:48.360 and criminal networks.
00:04:50.420 Officials have labeled Venezuelan President Maduro
00:04:53.280 as a narco-trafficker,
00:04:55.160 boosting the reward for his capture
00:04:57.560 now to $50 million
00:05:00.000 and designating his alleged Cartel of the Suns
00:05:04.420 a terrorist organization.
00:05:06.960 Maduro's reaction has been fierce.
00:05:09.920 He's armed and mobilized and defiant.
00:05:13.000 President Maduro taking strong countermeasures,
00:05:16.060 deploying troops along the coast
00:05:17.680 and Colombia border.
00:05:19.480 He's also called on citizens
00:05:20.940 to join civilian militias
00:05:23.200 and warned he would, quote,
00:05:25.280 constitutionally declare republic in arms
00:05:28.160 if the U.S. forces attack.
00:05:30.580 Maduro and other Venezuelan officials
00:05:32.200 are now accusing the U.S.
00:05:33.860 of using anti-drug rhetoric
00:05:36.320 as a pretext for regime change
00:05:38.620 and gunboat diplomacy.
00:05:41.180 Here's more about the move from Fox News.
00:05:43.960 Well, the U.S. is deploying destroyers
00:05:46.740 and thousands of Marines towards Venezuela
00:05:48.860 as President Trump looks to crack down
00:05:51.240 on cartels and the Maduro regime.
00:05:53.640 They could reportedly reach the country's coast
00:05:55.720 as soon as tomorrow.
00:05:57.540 Here to discuss is dissident project speaker
00:05:59.720 and an immigrant from Venezuela,
00:06:01.620 Jorge Galicia,
00:06:02.860 along with PragerU political commentator
00:06:04.740 and Venezuelan political refugee,
00:06:07.580 Franklin Camargo.
00:06:09.580 So great to have you both on.
00:06:11.740 I'm going to start with you, Jorge.
00:06:13.240 What is the reaction of Venezuelans?
00:06:15.320 I know you guys are in close contact
00:06:16.780 with people who are living there right now.
00:06:20.140 Over 70, 80 percent of the country voted
00:06:23.020 for the opposition party against Maduro.
00:06:26.520 How are they feeling in this moment,
00:06:28.160 knowing that these destroyers are coming
00:06:29.900 so close to the Venezuelan coast?
00:06:32.180 Well, first of all, Rachel,
00:06:33.140 thank you for having me again.
00:06:34.380 I think many people in Venezuela
00:06:36.480 are extremely optimistic.
00:06:39.160 They cannot really be loud about it
00:06:40.480 because they're facing
00:06:41.300 a terrible criminal regime.
00:06:43.080 Yeah, I spoke to one of the opposition activists
00:06:48.480 who was holed up in that embassy
00:06:50.020 for over a year before she was rescued.
00:06:53.020 And I asked her and she said,
00:06:54.280 it's a silent euphoria.
00:06:56.880 And so while they're quietly celebrating
00:07:00.000 what President Trump is doing right now
00:07:03.060 in Venezuela and frankly,
00:07:04.560 for the whole Western hemisphere, Franklin,
00:07:07.380 meanwhile, Venezuelans who are living abroad
00:07:10.060 are putting out the most remarkable TikTok,
00:07:13.320 Instagram videos I've ever seen.
00:07:15.200 You're seeing the destroyers coming into the ocean
00:07:17.860 and the planes coming overhead
00:07:19.160 and YMCA playing
00:07:21.720 and just the euphoria from the dissident community
00:07:24.820 who's abroad is so palpable
00:07:27.740 and thankful to the administration.
00:07:29.800 Give us more context to that.
00:07:31.220 Yes, the Venezuelan people recognizes
00:07:33.660 that the Trump administration
00:07:34.980 is probably one of the biggest allies,
00:07:36.860 that freedom fighters,
00:07:39.120 Venezuelan freedom fighters
00:07:40.300 have had over the last 25 years
00:07:42.420 is someone who has recognized
00:07:44.140 that Maduro is not just a threat
00:07:46.020 to South America.
00:07:47.160 It's not just a threat to Venezuelans,
00:07:49.120 but it's also a threat
00:07:50.460 to the American people.
00:07:51.700 And I think this is the most important thing
00:07:53.300 to mention right now.
00:07:54.740 When we talk about Nicolas Maduro,
00:07:56.280 when we talk about the Venezuelan regime,
00:07:58.120 we're not just talking about
00:07:59.300 a government that we dislike
00:08:01.100 or a dictatorship,
00:08:02.480 a soft dictatorship.
00:08:03.620 We're talking about a narco state,
00:08:05.600 a government that produced
00:08:08.140 over 25% of the entire cocaine
00:08:11.580 that is produced in the entire world.
00:08:14.440 It's also a regime
00:08:15.660 that sent Trandoragua,
00:08:17.460 the same criminal organization
00:08:19.140 that killed, for example,
00:08:21.100 Lakeyn Riley,
00:08:22.060 or that killed Jocelyn Nungarai.
00:08:24.780 So there is a need
00:08:26.220 for the American people,
00:08:28.140 for the well-being
00:08:29.020 of the American people
00:08:29.980 in the Western Hemisphere
00:08:31.520 to have a regime change,
00:08:34.120 to stop these cartels.
00:08:36.980 But Venezuelans recognize
00:08:38.580 that Trump is an ally,
00:08:40.540 that the U.S. government
00:08:42.480 is probably the biggest hope
00:08:44.020 that we currently have.
00:08:45.620 Now, you hear the stats there,
00:08:47.400 and it's very clear
00:08:48.260 that not only is this,
00:08:49.220 in essence, a failed state,
00:08:50.480 it's a state where the people
00:08:51.660 rose up against Maduro
00:08:53.100 and he just clung to power anyway.
00:08:55.680 And now we know
00:08:56.600 that he is nothing
00:08:57.440 but a narco-terrorist.
00:08:58.920 It is a terrorist organization
00:09:00.380 that he's a part of,
00:09:01.380 and his money
00:09:02.160 is coming directly
00:09:03.040 from the cocaine
00:09:04.740 that he is delivering
00:09:05.840 to the world.
00:09:06.940 Yet, Venezuela's president
00:09:08.320 is now accusing
00:09:09.260 the United States
00:09:09.800 of seeking regime change
00:09:11.140 in his country.
00:09:12.160 And the military deployment
00:09:13.320 that has happened now,
00:09:14.700 it was authorized
00:09:15.460 by President Trump
00:09:16.680 in a simple effort
00:09:17.880 to disrupt
00:09:18.540 drug cartel activity.
00:09:20.240 It's part of the White House,
00:09:21.540 as they described it,
00:09:22.300 his broader border policy.
00:09:24.540 Maduro said the buildup
00:09:25.700 is an intervention
00:09:26.500 in his, quote,
00:09:27.480 country's affairs,
00:09:28.560 saying this to the people.
00:09:29.760 They are seeking regime change
00:09:31.840 through military threat.
00:09:34.240 And that's what he also wants
00:09:35.360 the rest of the world
00:09:36.160 to believe.
00:09:37.340 Maduro added, quote,
00:09:38.400 Venezuela is confronting
00:09:39.840 the biggest threat
00:09:40.680 that it has ever seen
00:09:42.140 on our continent
00:09:43.320 in the last hundred years
00:09:45.320 and saying a situation
00:09:46.740 like this
00:09:47.620 has never been seen.
00:09:49.540 Maduro said Venezuela
00:09:50.400 won't bow to threats
00:09:51.820 and that it was
00:09:52.920 super prepared.
00:09:54.740 Now, the Trump administration
00:09:55.740 is accused, again,
00:09:56.840 Maduro,
00:09:57.140 of engaging in drug trafficking,
00:09:58.760 going so far
00:09:59.960 as to announce
00:10:00.600 that $50 million reward
00:10:02.360 for information
00:10:03.120 leading to his arrest
00:10:04.040 and his conviction.
00:10:05.760 The $50 million,
00:10:07.220 that is not
00:10:08.140 a little amount of money
00:10:09.320 when it comes to
00:10:10.340 how much we're willing
00:10:11.380 to pay as a nation.
00:10:13.020 This is one of the biggest
00:10:13.900 rewards we've ever had.
00:10:16.040 Take a listen to this
00:10:17.060 from Fox as well.
00:10:18.240 People have wanted
00:10:18.980 to do this for years.
00:10:20.500 President Trump
00:10:21.240 putting war
00:10:21.960 back in the war on drugs,
00:10:23.760 designating eight drug cartels
00:10:25.620 as foreign terrorist organizations.
00:10:27.760 It allows us to now
00:10:29.040 target what they're operating
00:10:30.120 and to use other elements
00:10:31.400 of American power,
00:10:32.940 intelligence agencies,
00:10:33.980 the Department of Defense,
00:10:34.960 whatever,
00:10:35.380 to target these groups
00:10:36.540 if we have an opportunity
00:10:37.420 to do it.
00:10:38.160 We have to start treating them
00:10:39.280 as armed terrorist organizations,
00:10:41.120 not simply drug dealing organizations.
00:10:43.940 That changes the battlefield.
00:10:46.100 Cartel members become
00:10:47.160 enemy combatants
00:10:48.320 and allow the use
00:10:49.340 of military assets.
00:10:51.240 The question is how?
00:10:52.960 The Navy intercepting ships
00:10:54.500 carrying narcotics?
00:10:55.460 Special operations
00:10:56.880 targeting cartel leaders
00:10:58.360 or drone strikes
00:10:59.700 on drug labs in Mexico?
00:11:01.560 Mexico probably
00:11:02.440 doesn't want that,
00:11:03.560 but we have to do
00:11:04.320 what's right.
00:11:05.860 Publicly,
00:11:06.440 President Claudia Scheinbaum
00:11:07.560 says Mexico will cooperate,
00:11:09.480 but claims the U.S. plans
00:11:10.900 no boots on the ground.
00:11:12.740 It has nothing to do
00:11:14.380 with Mexican territory.
00:11:16.140 It has to do
00:11:16.920 with their country.
00:11:18.100 It does not involve
00:11:19.040 our territory.
00:11:19.800 Yet most cocaine
00:11:22.160 goes through Mexico
00:11:23.280 and it produces
00:11:24.100 most of the fentanyl
00:11:25.220 that killed
00:11:25.740 more than 265,000 Americans
00:11:28.260 during President Biden's term.
00:11:30.520 These are armed organizations
00:11:32.040 that have their own militaries.
00:11:34.220 I absolutely believe
00:11:35.660 that we need to take action.
00:11:37.380 It's what type of action
00:11:38.860 are we going to take?
00:11:40.400 But just because
00:11:41.180 you don't hear about
00:11:41.980 an operation
00:11:42.600 doesn't mean
00:11:43.480 it didn't happen.
00:11:44.740 Now, one of the name cartels
00:11:46.160 is the Venezuelan gang
00:11:47.440 Trende Agua.
00:11:48.480 Last week, the U.S. slapped
00:11:49.860 a $50 million bounty
00:11:51.560 on President Nicolas Maduro,
00:11:53.480 accusing him
00:11:54.260 of using it
00:11:55.120 to help traffic narcotics
00:11:56.400 into the U.S.
00:11:57.460 Let's just stop there
00:11:58.500 for a second
00:11:59.120 and also just recognize
00:12:00.840 something that was said there.
00:12:02.080 Under the Biden administration,
00:12:03.560 more than a quarter million
00:12:04.480 Americans died
00:12:05.600 from fentanyl,
00:12:06.680 an overdose
00:12:07.300 from fentanyl.
00:12:08.400 You think about that number
00:12:09.960 and then you think
00:12:10.820 about these cartels.
00:12:12.180 They've engaged
00:12:12.740 in historic violence
00:12:13.800 and terror
00:12:14.600 throughout our hemisphere
00:12:15.520 and around the globe.
00:12:16.920 They have destabilized
00:12:18.280 the economies
00:12:18.960 and internal security
00:12:20.800 of countries
00:12:21.740 while also flooding
00:12:23.060 the United States
00:12:23.720 with deadly drugs,
00:12:25.200 violent criminals,
00:12:26.420 and vicious gangs.
00:12:27.960 That is what
00:12:28.640 the Chief Pentagon Spokesman
00:12:30.500 Sean Parnell said
00:12:31.860 during a news conference
00:12:33.140 this week.
00:12:33.760 He also said this,
00:12:35.080 It requires a whole
00:12:36.480 of government effort
00:12:37.400 and through coordination
00:12:38.720 with regional partners,
00:12:39.960 the Department of Defense
00:12:41.300 will undoubtedly play
00:12:42.420 an important role
00:12:43.340 in meeting the President's
00:12:44.500 objective to eliminate
00:12:45.680 the ability of these cartels
00:12:47.100 to threaten the territory,
00:12:49.280 safety,
00:12:49.920 and the security
00:12:50.800 of the United States
00:12:51.700 and its people.
00:12:53.020 As a matter of security
00:12:54.260 and policy,
00:12:55.320 we do not speculate
00:12:56.700 on future operations.
00:12:58.820 Now, what is very clear
00:13:00.880 is the President saying,
00:13:02.540 I'm not waiting around
00:13:03.560 for nations to act.
00:13:05.500 I'm going to act now
00:13:07.040 because it's important
00:13:08.140 that we protect
00:13:08.880 and defend America's homeland
00:13:10.360 and make sure
00:13:11.300 that while he's present,
00:13:12.860 another quarter million Americans
00:13:14.240 don't lose their lives
00:13:15.540 to fentanyl overdoses.
00:13:17.520 And that doesn't count
00:13:18.340 all of those
00:13:19.000 that are killed
00:13:19.500 by cartel members
00:13:20.640 and the violent gangs
00:13:22.220 that are in America as well.
00:13:23.880 Thank you for listening
00:13:24.720 to the 47 Morning Update
00:13:26.440 with Ben Ferguson.
00:13:28.120 Please make sure
00:13:29.000 you hit subscribe
00:13:29.940 wherever you're listening
00:13:31.380 to this podcast right now.
00:13:33.420 And for more in-depth news,
00:13:35.180 also subscribe
00:13:35.940 to the Ben Ferguson Podcast
00:13:37.460 and we will see you
00:13:38.800 back here tomorrow.
00:13:40.780 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:13:43.280 Guaranteed Human.