Verdict with Ted Cruz - May 19, 2026


BONUS POD： CUBA + IRAN + RUSSIA=Potential Drone Warfare Just 90 Miles From Florida


Episode Stats


Length

16 minutes

Words per minute

146.74796

Word count

2,351

Sentence count

206

Harmful content

Hate speech

10

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
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00:01:21.940 Because Bass wants to put the tooth fairy on city payroll.
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00:01:47.060 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:01:50.800 Good Tuesday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.
00:01:55.240 You may have thought the Cold War was over when it deals with Cuba.
00:01:59.440 But when it comes to the Western Hemisphere, we may be all wrong.
00:02:04.480 In fact, there's now major concerns in Cuba of a massive buildup of drones from Iran and even Russia.
00:02:12.800 So what could they do with these drones?
00:02:15.340 And could they be used to attack the United States of America?
00:02:18.520 There's a lot on this issue, and I'm going to give it all to you.
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00:04:03.700 It's the 47 morning update and it starts right now.
00:04:07.500 Story number one.
00:04:08.660 I want to start out by talking about what is happening in Cuba.
00:04:11.540 We know that the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, went down to Cuba and met with top leaders,
00:04:16.380 including some of those connected directly with the Castro family leadership.
00:04:20.220 And for decades, Americans have also been told the Cold War is over, that the threats
00:04:27.120 sitting just 90 miles off the coast of Florida were relics of another era.
00:04:32.320 Not now, right?
00:04:33.280 That was back in the day.
00:04:35.060 Well, there's growing real concern now inside the intelligence and military circles that
00:04:41.360 Cuba is once again becoming a staging ground for America's adversaries. 0.83
00:04:46.120 And this time, the concern is not Soviet nuclear missiles, it's drones, a lot of them, Iranian
00:04:54.700 drones and Russian drones, and the possibility that hostile regimes are quietly building
00:05:01.080 a launch platform with striking distance of the United States of America.
00:05:05.940 90 miles for a drone is nothing.
00:05:09.180 And let's be clear, they can also fly very low, you could describe it as under the radar.
00:05:14.820 Now, there's no clear public evidence that Cuba has launched any attacks on the United States of America
00:05:21.180 or that an imminent strike is about to happen or even underway.
00:05:25.620 But what is raising alarm bells is the increasing military cooperation
00:05:30.120 that we have seen between Cuba, Iran, and Russia, and even China.
00:05:36.260 Now, you think about the three countries that hate the United States the most.
00:05:40.020 Iran chants death to America, Russia, we know, hates America, and China, yes, they hate America.
00:05:47.040 All of these nations openly talk about their hostility to American power and American influence.
00:05:55.100 And if you think this sounds far-fetched, remember history.
00:05:58.620 Back in 1962, you basically had the same type of leadership in Cuba.
00:06:03.740 And the Cuban Missile Crisis brought America literally to the brink of nuclear war.
00:06:07.920 between the Soviet Union and the United States of America
00:06:11.840 because Soviet weapons were placed on that island.
00:06:16.040 Today, the weapons are much smaller.
00:06:18.480 They're a lot cheaper, and they're harder to detect,
00:06:22.000 and they're even easier to get into a country.
00:06:26.040 Modern drones have changed warfare entirely.
00:06:29.080 We've witnessed this on the battlefield in the Middle East
00:06:31.180 and especially between Ukraine and the Russia war.
00:06:34.800 Iran has become one of the world's leading exporters
00:06:37.840 of expensive but deadly drone technology the iranian drones for example have been used extensively 0.90
00:06:45.560 by the russians in ukraine they're that's how good they are and these drones are relatively
00:06:52.060 cheap to produce they're difficult to intercept in large swarms and they're capable of carrying
00:06:58.460 large explosives over long distances russia has used them to terrorize civilian infrastructure
00:07:04.640 to attack power grids and overwhelm the air defenses in Ukraine. 0.85
00:07:11.960 Now imagine that type of technology positioned in Cuba.
00:07:16.600 Imagine dozens or hundreds and hundreds of drones stored in warehouses,
00:07:22.280 hidden in shipping containers, or assembled in covert facilities
00:07:26.200 just miles from the United States of America's homeland.
00:07:29.280 Suddenly, this changes everything from a military standpoint.
00:07:34.640 Now, experts warn that drones don't need massive runways or obvious missile silos.
00:07:41.500 They can be launched from trucks.
00:07:43.320 They can be launched from fields.
00:07:44.960 They can be launched from cargo ships or improvised sites that you never detected beforehand.
00:07:51.440 And a coordinated swarm attack targets ports.
00:07:54.260 It can target military bases.
00:07:56.360 It can target our fuel depots, our airports, or even civilian infrastructure that could
00:08:02.160 create chaos for Americans.
00:08:03.740 It could also attack our power grid.
00:08:07.200 And that's exactly why intelligence officials in the U.S. are increasingly focused on this type of warfare.
00:08:15.900 America's enemies know they cannot defeat the U.S. military head-to-head.
00:08:20.060 So instead, what they've all decided to do is look for ways to exploit our vulnerabilities,
00:08:26.160 create fear, disrupt our economy, and undermine public confidence.
00:08:31.200 And drones fit that strategy perfectly.
00:08:35.500 Now, over the past several years, Cuba has dramatically deepened its ties not only with Russia.
00:08:41.400 There's also another very interesting data point.
00:08:44.220 Over the last several years, Cuba has dramatically deepened their ties with Moscow and Tehran.
00:08:51.000 Russian naval vessels have visited Cuba ports multiple times.
00:08:55.780 Cuban officials have met openly with Iranian leadership.
00:08:59.720 Economic agreements have been agreed to and signed.
00:09:03.020 They've even signed intelligence cooperation.
00:09:06.440 And they've signed military coordination that have all expanded as these countries align themselves against the United States of America.
00:09:15.120 Now, Iran, meanwhile, has aggressively expanded its influence throughout Latin America.
00:09:19.800 U.S. officials have repeatedly and openly warned that Iranian networks have been operating in Venezuela.
00:09:27.080 They're operating in Nicaragua.
00:09:28.940 and other parts of the region.
00:09:31.380 Hezbollah-linked operatives have reportedly used parts of Latin America for fundraising,
00:09:35.740 as well as logistics and illicit finance operations for decades.
00:09:41.120 Add drone technology into this equation,
00:09:43.960 and suddenly the Western Hemisphere starts looking a lot more dangerous.
00:09:48.860 And that brings us to Donald Trump's whole promise
00:09:52.160 to make sure that the Western Hemisphere is safe.
00:09:55.660 And there's another layer, by the way, of this story that you need to understand as well.
00:10:00.400 That's the border crisis.
00:10:02.340 For years, critics have warned that an unsecured southern border creates vulnerabilities far beyond illegal immigration.
00:10:11.240 If hostile foreign actors wanted to move equipment, operatives, electronics, or drone components into the United States of America, an overwhelmed border system provided that opportunity.
00:10:22.940 You now combine those concerns of millions of people who we don't know who they are
00:10:27.920 that are in this country right now with adversarial regimes operating close to U.S. mainland
00:10:33.440 who could even stage an attack that is coordinated from people within the United States of America.
00:10:39.220 Imagine what that could look like.
00:10:41.740 Military analysts have increasingly warned about what's known as gray zone warfare.
00:10:47.360 That's actions deliberately designed to stay below the threshold of open war.
00:10:52.940 while still damaging an enemy, cyber attacks, infrastructure sabotage, drone incursions,
00:11:00.520 GPS interference, disinformation campaigns, as well as economic disruption all on the table.
00:11:07.800 In fact, many of them have been used on the United States of America by China and Russia.
00:11:12.540 Now, this is what has been described to me as the battlefield of the future.
00:11:17.300 And America's enemies are watching this carefully.
00:11:21.300 Russia has already demonstrated how effective drone warfare can be in Ukraine.
00:11:26.160 They've actually really learned a lot and mastered the art.
00:11:30.080 Iran has shown how proxy groups armed with drones can threaten U.S. troops and allies across the Middle East.
00:11:37.040 China is also rapidly expanding its own drone and AI warfare capabilities.
00:11:43.440 The terrifying reality is that a drone doesn't need to carry a massive explosive payload to cause major disruption. 0.62
00:11:52.460 A strike on an electrical substation, fuel pipeline, shipping port or crowded transportation hub could create panic as well as economic shockwaves, which is exactly what Cuba, Russia and China and Iran would love to happen.
00:12:08.240 So think about what happens when small drones disrupt airports in Europe several years ago.
00:12:13.940 All the flights were grounded.
00:12:15.920 The security systems were overwhelmed.
00:12:18.360 Now, you do that type of coordinated attack using military-grade systems, and it's on a whole other level.
00:12:25.780 Now, this is why national security experts are now increasingly calling for stronger homeland defense systems,
00:12:33.400 specifically focused on drone threats.
00:12:36.660 It's something the president has also agreed we need.
00:12:40.660 Many American military bases are still vulnerable to low-flying drones.
00:12:45.760 Ports and civilian infrastructure often lack sophisticated counter-drone systems.
00:12:50.820 And local law enforcement agencies are largely unprepared for mass drone incidences as well.
00:12:57.340 Now, the Pentagon has spent billions preparing for traditional warfare.
00:13:00.680 But the next threat may not come from bombers or missiles, but from swarms of inexpensive unmanned aircraft launched very close to home.
00:13:11.140 And Cuba's geographic position matters enormously.
00:13:14.760 From Havana to Key West, it's roughly 90 miles.
00:13:18.400 That's it. A relatively short flight for modern drone systems.
00:13:22.920 Again, this is all about looking at what could happen before it happens.
00:13:27.540 Because history teaches us something important.
00:13:30.680 Major threats are often ignored until it's too late.
00:13:34.080 Before 9-11, warnings existed.
00:13:37.140 Before Pearl Harbor, there were warning signs as well.
00:13:40.700 Before the Cuban Missile Crisis exploded into public view, Soviet activity was already well underway. 0.66
00:13:47.920 And in the modern era, the speed of warfare has accelerated dramatically. 0.63
00:13:52.380 A drone swarm launch from close proximity could give decision makers only minutes to react.
00:13:59.960 And that is why the American public should be aware of this.
00:14:04.060 We shouldn't panic, but we should absolutely pay attention to the growing military cooperation between Cuba, Iran, and Russia.
00:14:11.860 And the president clearly is demanding stronger border security, serious homeland security defense investments, and aggressive intelligence monitoring.
00:14:21.280 Now the real question is, if there is a large stockpile of drones in Cuba, is it America's job to make sure that we make those inoperable?
00:14:32.000 I wouldn't be surprised if that's on the table right now.
00:14:35.540 And it's something we should all be taking a look at and make sure we understand this is clearly an important moment that should be on everyone's radar screen.
00:14:44.520 Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:14:48.280 Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now.
00:14:54.040 And for more in-depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast, and we will see you back here tomorrow.
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