Verdict with Ted Cruz - BONUS POD： Deadliest U.S.–Cuba Flashpoint in Decades plus MN's Outrageous Medicaid Scam

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.500 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.580 First, get your take on the president really handing the Democrats an opportunity to profess

00:00:10.180 their duty and dedication to protect American citizens first.

00:00:14.100 They refuse to do that.

00:00:15.860 You couldn't have asked for a better gift to show the American people the difference

00:00:19.560 between Donald Trump and Republican candidates that want to work with him and the Democratic

00:00:24.680 Party who says, no, no, no, we do not put Americans first.

00:00:28.420 We put illegal immigrants first. 1.00

00:00:30.980 We protect waste, fraud, and abuse that's happening in Minnesota.

00:00:34.480 We put these criminals ahead of you.

00:00:37.240 That tells you what the Democratic Party will do if they're back in power.

00:00:41.920 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

00:00:45.920 Good Thursday morning.

00:00:46.860 Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.

00:00:49.280 And we've got two major stories for you.

00:00:51.340 First up, Cuba Coast Guard opens fire on a U.S.-registered speedboat, killing four.

00:00:57.040 The White House has a response as well as Marco Rubio.

00:01:00.960 And we'll explain what this means for all Americans and for what's going on with Cuba relations.

00:01:07.580 Also, fraud.

00:01:09.220 We know it's massive in Minnesota.

00:01:11.580 And that's exactly why the vice president announcing with Dr. Oz that a major payment,

00:01:17.720 more than $250 million, is being paused going to Minnesota until they can prove that they're

00:01:24.200 actually not taking that money and using it for fraudulent means.

00:01:29.340 This is a big move for the Trump administration.

00:01:32.540 It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now.

00:01:36.000 Story number one.

00:01:37.480 We have to talk about the dramatic and deadly international incident that's unfolding right now.

00:01:42.780 One that has shaken nerves across Washington, Miami, and Havana.

00:01:48.200 The Cuban Coast Guard opening fire on a U.S.-registered speedboat,

00:01:54.160 killing four people and injuring others in what Cuba calls an infiltration attempt

00:01:59.820 inside its territorial waters.

00:02:02.980 We're going to walk you through everything we know,

00:02:05.880 what Cuba is now claiming, as well as America's reaction.

00:02:09.500 We have comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and why this matters both geopolitically

00:02:16.220 and also for our national security.

00:02:19.560 Now, Florida registered speedboat flying U.S. documentation.

00:02:23.300 We assume that means an American flag.

00:02:26.080 It was intercepted by Cuban Border Guard troops.

00:02:29.680 This, again, right close to, they claim, their border.

00:02:34.100 According to the Cuban government official account,

00:02:36.500 when its border guard units approach the vessel to identify it

00:02:41.140 and challenge what Cuba considers a violation of its territorial waters,

00:02:46.960 those aboard open fire first, they're claiming.

00:02:50.520 Cuban authorities say the armed occupants fired on the Cuban patrol,

00:02:55.780 wounding a commander.

00:02:57.300 In response, Cuban forces returned fire.

00:03:00.480 The result?

00:03:01.140 Four people on the speedboat were killed and six others were wounded.

00:03:06.500 The injured were reportedly evacuated for medical treatment,

00:03:10.720 and Cuban authorities say they have also detained survivors.

00:03:15.840 Cuba claims the boat carried 10 passengers who were Cuban nationals living in the United States

00:03:22.560 and that many of them had a history of criminal or violent activity.

00:03:27.220 Officials even alleged the passengers were carrying assault rifles,

00:03:30.280 handguns, as well as bulletproof vests, telescopic sights, and camouflaged gear.

00:03:37.080 And were attempting an armed infiltration for terrorist purposes.

00:03:41.840 Now, again, this is coming from Cuba's government.

00:03:45.560 The authorities also released names of several of those on board,

00:03:48.760 including at least one of the four killed

00:03:51.100 and several of the survivors who are now in custody.

00:03:54.720 But here's a key point that many of you need to know.

00:03:58.600 The U.S. government has not independently verified

00:04:01.540 any of what the Cuban government is actually saying on their version of the events.

00:04:06.560 Details about the boat, the motives of those on board,

00:04:09.760 and whether Cuba claims of armed terrorism are accurate

00:04:14.020 remain obviously unconfirmed.

00:04:16.800 Which brings us to the U.S. response.

00:04:19.440 Marco Rubio in Washington weighing in saying this.

00:04:22.580 So this morning, we were made aware by Cuban authorities

00:04:26.260 of an incident off the coast of Cuba.

00:04:29.320 We immediately began to look into it.

00:04:32.600 As it stands now, the Department of Homeland Security,

00:04:35.240 the Coast Guard, others are involved.

00:04:37.600 The majority of the information we still possess

00:04:39.680 is what Cuban authorities are providing,

00:04:41.460 both the public and the U.S. government.

00:04:44.220 We have our embassy on the ground in Havana working this as we speak,

00:04:47.800 asking for access to the people that were on those vessels,

00:04:51.060 if they were American citizens or permanent residents.

00:04:53.580 According to the Cuban regime, the boat was registered in Florida.

00:04:59.040 We're tracking that down.

00:05:00.580 We will know shortly, and we will know quickly,

00:05:02.880 many more facts about this incident.

00:05:05.420 The majority of the facts, we will verify that independently.

00:05:08.540 And as we gather more information,

00:05:10.320 then we'll be prepared to respond accordingly.

00:05:13.180 I'm not going to speculate.

00:05:15.280 I'm not going to opine on what I don't know.

00:05:18.680 But we're going to find out exactly what happened here,

00:05:21.160 and then we'll respond accordingly.

00:05:23.100 Now, Rubio also stressed that there is no indication

00:05:26.220 that this was a U.S. government operation

00:05:28.300 and that Washington had no involvement in the speedboat's activity.

00:05:32.300 At the same time, he described events like this as highly unusual,

00:05:36.100 saying that shootouts on the open sea between Cuba forces

00:05:39.120 and U.S. flagged boats simply don't happen every day.

00:05:42.020 And he urged calm while this investigation continues.

00:05:46.860 Now, beyond Rubio's comments,

00:05:48.340 other U.S. leaders have reacted with concern as well.

00:05:52.020 The Vice President, J.D. Vance,

00:05:53.520 said the White House is monitoring the situation closely,

00:05:56.700 though he did not provide further details.

00:05:59.720 Florida officials, including the state attorney general

00:06:02.200 and members of Congress,

00:06:03.960 have also called for a thorough investigation

00:06:06.440 and accountability if Cuba use excessive or unjustified force.

00:06:11.480 Now, this is not just a headline story.

00:06:14.940 It's a major flashpoint in already tense U.S.-Cuba relations.

00:06:19.380 And this is the reason why it's such a big deal.

00:06:22.140 Territorial sovereignty versus international law.

00:06:25.280 That is what's at stake.

00:06:27.040 Cuba is claiming this was a violation of its territorial waters

00:06:30.960 and armed attempt to infiltrate or carry out a violent activity on their land.

00:06:36.900 But the U.S. has not corroborated that either.

00:06:41.060 The question now is,

00:06:42.500 did the ship actually engage in any hostile actions towards Cuba?

00:06:46.700 Or was it something else entirely?

00:06:49.800 The facts are still very unclear.

00:06:52.120 And that's exactly why you have Rubio,

00:06:54.600 the White House, and J.D. Vance all saying,

00:06:56.840 we're not going to trust Cuba's word for this.

00:06:59.040 We're going to do our own investigation

00:07:01.520 because we cannot trust them.

00:07:04.340 There's also the historical context here.

00:07:07.060 There is a long and fraught history between the U.S. and Cuba

00:07:09.760 when it comes to maritime confrontations.

00:07:12.620 As you know, one of the most famous was back in 1996

00:07:15.600 when brothers to the rescue shoot down.

00:07:18.880 The Cuban forces shot down two civilian planes near the island,

00:07:23.900 killing four Americans.

00:07:25.020 That episode deeply scarred the U.S.-Cuba relations

00:07:28.880 and, well, reignited calls in Congress

00:07:31.260 for a hardline approach to Cuba.

00:07:33.900 This new incident recalls that legacy.

00:07:37.180 And given the current hardline U.S. posture towards Havana

00:07:39.880 under the Trump administration,

00:07:41.920 it's pretty clear the stakes are probably even higher.

00:07:45.400 Now, relations have been increasingly strained.

00:07:48.020 The U.S. has tightened sanctions,

00:07:50.120 cut off all of the Venezuelan oil shipments

00:07:52.700 that Cuba depends on and publicly labeled the island

00:07:56.140 an extraordinary threat.

00:07:58.460 Havana, for its part, has reacted with defiance

00:08:01.640 and rhetoric about sovereignty.

00:08:03.420 The latest episode could set off a real diplomatic crisis

00:08:06.480 if it's not handled carefully.

00:08:09.140 There's also the safety of U.S. citizens.

00:08:11.480 At the heart of this is the question of human lives.

00:08:14.900 You have four people who are dead,

00:08:17.240 six others that are wounded,

00:08:18.880 and their families deserve answers.

00:08:20.740 Because if it turns out that these were U.S. residents,

00:08:25.020 or citizens,

00:08:26.320 then the Trump administration will have to make

00:08:28.120 some very tough decisions about how to respond

00:08:30.280 to Cuba's actions,

00:08:32.080 especially if their actions were aggressive in nature

00:08:35.060 from the beginning.

00:08:36.740 So right now, here's what we know.

00:08:38.680 The truth is unknown,

00:08:40.120 and the Cuban narrative is just one version,

00:08:42.680 and more than likely a version the U.S. government

00:08:44.380 cannot trust at all.

00:08:46.060 That's why the Trump administration is making it clear

00:08:48.440 that the U.S. government investigations are ramping up

00:08:51.560 to find the actual factual record.

00:08:54.800 And in the coming days,

00:08:55.740 we're likely to see U.S. verification of identities

00:08:58.540 of those aboard the speedboat.

00:09:00.860 Statements also from Florida law enforcement

00:09:03.020 and possibly federal intelligence as well.

00:09:06.400 An international reaction from the Caribbean community

00:09:09.200 and NATO partners,

00:09:10.720 as well as congressional pressure on the administration

00:09:13.080 for accountability and an American response.

00:09:16.660 The story is far from over.

00:09:18.700 One thing's for sure,

00:09:19.940 Donald Trump has already pledged

00:09:21.300 that he'll get to the bottom of exactly what happened.

00:09:23.940 Next, story number two.

00:09:25.180 In a major federal action today,

00:09:28.360 the Trump administration has gone after

00:09:31.020 the Biden-era Medicaid funding system

00:09:33.780 that has become ground zero

00:09:35.320 for what Donald Trump has called a war on fraud.

00:09:39.780 Vice President J.D. Vance,

00:09:42.280 tasked by President Trump

00:09:43.500 with leading a nationwide crackdown on government fraud,

00:09:46.300 and Dr. Oz,

00:09:47.440 the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,

00:09:51.200 announced that the federal government

00:09:52.880 is temporarily halting about $259.5 million

00:09:58.740 in Medicaid reimbursements to the state of Minnesota.

00:10:02.580 Now, that's more than a quarter of a billion dollars

00:10:05.860 that the federal government had planned

00:10:07.940 to send to Minnesota for Medicaid spending,

00:10:10.660 and it's being paused until the state can prove

00:10:13.660 that it's properly policing the program

00:10:16.680 and preventing taxpayer dollars

00:10:19.280 from being wasted or flat-out stolen.

00:10:23.520 At a joint press conference,

00:10:25.860 Vance said the move is aimed squarely

00:10:28.840 at ensuring Minnesota takes its obligations seriously

00:10:32.680 to be good stewards of the American people's tax money.

00:10:36.900 Here's more of what Dr. Oz and the Vice President

00:10:40.440 had to say in a major move

00:10:42.760 to stop corruption in Minnesota.

00:10:45.620 There is a fraud scheme in Minnesota

00:10:47.960 where criminals, soon-to-be criminals,

00:10:51.580 pay moms $1,000 roughly

00:10:53.700 in order to enroll their children as being autistic,

00:10:57.300 falsely, dishonestly claiming their children are autistic.

00:11:00.380 They then bill Medicaid.

00:11:01.740 This has already happened.

00:11:02.720 Millions of dollars for services

00:11:03.920 that were never rendered, never delivered

00:11:05.780 by a qualified staff member.

00:11:07.640 These schemes disproportionately involve

00:11:09.260 immigrant communities.

00:11:10.740 They're insulated.

00:11:11.380 They're able to organize efforts,

00:11:13.540 and sometimes they don't understand what's going on.

00:11:15.460 And it ultimately diverts resources

00:11:17.180 away from kids who truly have autism.

00:11:18.860 Because if every kid in the neighborhood is autism,

00:11:21.520 then nobody has autism

00:11:22.740 in terms of how you can manage them.

00:11:24.780 There was one behavioral...

00:11:26.200 And by the way, these kids,

00:11:27.000 they carry that diagnosis of autism

00:11:28.540 the rest of their lives.

00:11:29.980 Their mom made a bad decision. 0.67

00:11:31.240 The kid pays the price for the rest of their life.

00:11:33.400 There's one behavioral health organization,

00:11:35.520 Mr. Vice President, in Minnesota.

00:11:37.240 They received $11.5 million in Medicaid payments,

00:11:39.840 but the top biller submitted 450 days

00:11:43.800 where they claimed they were working

00:11:45.040 more than 24 hours a day.

00:11:46.620 I mean, even in the White House, that's tough.

00:11:48.980 It's hard to work more than 24 hours a day.

00:11:50.960 How it didn't get picked up is shocking to us at CMS.

00:11:54.280 There are other red flags in Minnesota,

00:11:55.780 including hundreds of beneficiaries

00:11:57.140 receiving treatment linked to one location,

00:11:59.060 which was impossible physically to be true.

00:12:01.900 We had eight beneficiaries

00:12:03.020 in one of these substance use disorder centers,

00:12:05.120 eight who were already dead,

00:12:07.020 but the center was still billing us.

00:12:09.380 Not only did they let the person pass,

00:12:11.340 they kept billing for it.

00:12:12.340 That's the level of average we're talking about.

00:12:13.900 So CMS is done paying and chasing.

00:12:16.260 We don't think jail sentences are the right way out.

00:12:18.180 These criminals flee the country.

00:12:19.600 Many are foreign nationals.

00:12:20.920 Instead, we're launching the largest action

00:12:22.620 against fraud that we've ever taken.

00:12:24.900 The money's not going to ever leave the building again.

00:12:27.200 We're going to start draining the swamp

00:12:29.140 of the crooks that have inhabited it

00:12:30.820 and are defrauding us.

00:12:31.980 There are three bold actions.

00:12:33.780 The first, and for many of you,

00:12:35.820 maybe the most important,

00:12:37.140 is we're going to, for the first time,

00:12:38.640 take a massive action to defer funds to a state.

00:12:41.720 Let's start with this Medicaid program in Minnesota,

00:12:44.060 which serves pregnant women.

00:12:45.220 Medicaid takes care of our children.

00:12:46.560 53% of kids are born in the poverty.

00:12:48.860 They're supported through Medicaid.

00:12:50.540 Disadvantaged seniors.

00:12:51.660 Individual disabilities.

00:12:52.600 It's unponderable that you would take advantage

00:12:56.340 of these precious programs.

00:12:57.700 Yet, they are putting it at risk,

00:12:59.740 all of it, by stealing the money.

00:13:01.660 So it's our duty to preserve Medicaid.

00:13:03.320 And what we're going to do is identify the scammers,

00:13:06.380 which we have done in Minnesota.

00:13:08.060 We've identified that they've hijacked,

00:13:09.560 in particular, a certain part

00:13:10.840 of the Minnesota Medicaid system.

00:13:13.020 Said differently,

00:13:14.120 and I'll just put the numbers out there,

00:13:15.440 it's going to be $259 million

00:13:18.120 of deferred payments for Medicaid to Minnesota,

00:13:21.620 which we're announcing as I speak

00:13:23.400 to Governor Walz and his team.

00:13:25.780 And that's based on an audit

00:13:26.940 of the last three months of 2025.

00:13:29.180 Restated, a quarter billion dollars

00:13:31.320 is not going to be paid this month

00:13:33.760 to Minnesota for its Medicaid claims.

00:13:36.600 Now, that's a million,

00:13:37.440 rather a quarter billion dollars of money

00:13:39.440 that's your money.

00:13:40.760 It's your taxpayer money.

00:13:42.520 And these home and community-based services,

00:13:44.640 which, again, are services

00:13:45.840 that are typically things you would do

00:13:47.120 for your family,

00:13:48.260 but for whatever reason,

00:13:49.180 your family's not there to provide them

00:13:50.500 are very hard to audit.

00:13:51.860 And for that reason,

00:13:52.560 there's been a lot of slippage.

00:13:53.960 The guardrails have not been well maintained.

00:13:55.860 And if you're not serious

00:13:56.940 about the integrity of the program,

00:13:58.460 you'll see these problems

00:13:59.520 happening in your state,

00:14:00.500 which is why Minnesota's not alone,

00:14:02.500 although they're the first

00:14:03.240 to receive this action.

00:14:05.340 These high-growth areas of fraud

00:14:07.020 are difficult to police,

00:14:08.820 and so we require the states

00:14:09.980 to take these issues seriously.

00:14:11.740 This quarter billion dollar deferment

00:14:14.000 is hopefully going to get

00:14:15.020 on the radar screen

00:14:15.960 for the state of Minnesota

00:14:17.500 and make sure they are responsive

00:14:18.980 to our requests.

00:14:20.340 We did what any honest

00:14:21.200 and patient-focused agency would do.

00:14:23.020 We have notified the state

00:14:24.520 that we will give them the money,

00:14:26.800 but we're going to hold it

00:14:27.840 and only release it

00:14:29.480 after they propose an act

00:14:30.800 on a comprehensive corrective action plan

00:14:32.820 to solve the problem.

00:14:34.280 If Minnesota fails to clean up the systems,

00:14:36.340 the state will rack up a billion dollars

00:14:37.940 of deferred payments this year.

00:14:40.120 Governor Walz has 60 days,

00:14:41.880 60 days, sir,

00:14:42.860 to respond to our letter,

00:14:44.500 and if providers and beneficiaries

00:14:46.000 are worried about getting their money

00:14:47.300 in services,

00:14:47.920 please call your governor.

00:14:49.220 These are services

00:14:49.860 the governor has already paid for.

00:14:51.800 We are just not reimbursing the state.

00:14:53.720 To make it clear,

00:14:54.340 there is a rainy day fund in Minnesota,

00:14:55.780 so we are very confident

00:14:57.280 that people will not be hurt in Minnesota.

00:14:59.960 This is not a problem

00:15:00.760 with the people of Minnesota.

00:15:01.640 It's a problem with the leadership

00:15:02.620 of Minnesota and other states

00:15:04.140 who do not take Medicaid

00:15:05.180 preservation seriously.

00:15:06.700 You listen to Dr. Oz there,

00:15:08.440 and he lays it out perfectly,

00:15:10.000 exactly who they're at war with.

00:15:12.280 It is not the people in Minnesota.

00:15:14.860 It is those in charge of Minnesota

00:15:17.420 that are allowing this to happen.

00:15:19.220 Vice President J.D. Vance

00:15:20.780 putting it this way.

00:15:22.420 We're announcing today

00:15:23.560 that we have decided

00:15:24.920 to temporarily halt

00:15:28.200 certain amounts of Medicaid funding

00:15:30.600 that are going to the state of Minnesota

00:15:32.900 in order to ensure

00:15:34.640 that the state of Minnesota

00:15:35.880 takes its obligations seriously

00:15:37.660 to be good stewards

00:15:39.660 of the American people's tax money.

00:15:41.900 Now, what is this going to mean?

00:15:43.440 What this means is that,

00:15:44.680 first of all,

00:15:45.560 the providers on the ground

00:15:47.280 in Minnesota

00:15:47.880 have actually already been paid.

00:15:49.580 The state has paid

00:15:50.360 those providers the money.

00:15:51.780 What we're doing

00:15:52.640 is we are stopping

00:15:53.700 the federal payments

00:15:54.720 that will go to the state government

00:15:56.480 until the state government

00:15:58.680 takes its obligations seriously

00:16:01.840 to stop the fraud

00:16:03.800 that's being perpetrated

00:16:04.760 against the American taxpayers.

00:16:06.140 Now, the Vice President

00:16:07.820 and Dr. Oz

00:16:08.860 officially halting

00:16:10.220 a quarter of a billion dollars

00:16:11.360 in federal Medicaid payments

00:16:12.780 to Tim Walz

00:16:13.500 in the state of Minnesota

00:16:14.240 is massive.

00:16:15.660 They're cutting off the cash.

00:16:18.240 This is massive

00:16:19.180 because of the fraud,

00:16:20.700 and they know the money

00:16:22.040 is going to fraud. 0.52

00:16:23.720 So they're saying,

00:16:24.460 the governor,

00:16:25.420 open your books,

00:16:27.440 show us,

00:16:28.720 do an investigation,

00:16:30.460 make sure we understand

00:16:32.040 exactly what's happening here.

00:16:34.020 And if you can show

00:16:36.260 that the money's not going

00:16:37.280 to massive fraud,

00:16:38.240 fine,

00:16:38.740 you can have the money.

00:16:40.480 This is exactly,

00:16:41.660 by the way,

00:16:42.240 what so many Americans

00:16:43.180 were hoping would happen

00:16:44.300 when Trump was elected,

00:16:45.320 accountability,

00:16:46.600 and Donald Trump

00:16:47.280 is now doing it right now

00:16:49.180 in real time

00:16:50.060 to Minnesota.

00:16:50.820 Thank you for listening

00:16:51.960 to the 47 Morning Update

00:16:53.680 with Ben Ferguson.

00:16:55.360 Please make sure

00:16:56.240 you hit subscribe

00:16:57.160 wherever you're listening

00:16:58.620 to this podcast right now,

00:17:00.400 and for more in-depth news,

00:17:02.360 also subscribe

00:17:03.180 to the Ben Ferguson Podcast,

00:17:05.080 and we will see you

00:17:06.000 back here tomorrow.

00:17:07.980 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:17:10.600 Guaranteed Human.

00:17:12.000 Bye-bye.

00:17:27.940 Bye.

00:17:28.120 Bye.

00:17:28.340 Bye.

00:17:28.440 Bye.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - February 26, 2026

BONUS POD： Deadliest U.S.–Cuba Flashpoint in Decades plus MN's Outrageous Medicaid Scam

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