Verdict with Ted Cruz - BONUS POD： Trump’s Plan to Rebuild Venezuela’s Broken Oil Empire plus Maduro in the Big Apple

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.580 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.820 Senator John Fetterman sits on the Homeland Security Committee and he joins us now.

00:00:08.800 I think I don't know why we can't just acknowledge that it's been a good thing what's happened.

00:00:13.440 I mean, I've seen the speeches from whether it's Leader Schumer or kinds of past tweets from President Biden.

00:00:20.580 No, we all wanted this man gone and now he is gone.

00:00:24.020 I think we should really appreciate exactly what happened here.

00:00:27.340 And I think we did, just as I salute our military, what they've done.

00:00:31.740 That was really surgical and precise and very efficient.

00:00:35.200 So why we can't celebrate these kinds of things.

00:00:37.820 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

00:00:41.800 Good Tuesday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.

00:00:45.600 First up, Donald Trump has a plan for Venezuela.

00:00:49.060 It's a well-thought-out plan that deals with oil as well.

00:00:52.160 So what is going to happen next? We'll explain it all to you.

00:00:55.460 Also, Maduro makes his first court appearance in the United States of America.

00:01:01.360 Did he plead guilty or not guilty?

00:01:03.300 And what else did he have to say? We have it all for you.

00:01:05.980 But first, I want to tell you about an amazing opportunity right now that I'm involved in

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00:03:09.140 It's the 47 morning update, and it starts right now.

00:03:12.660 Story number one.

00:03:13.880 Donald Trump coming out, making it very clear on Venezuela and their oil reserves,

00:03:18.920 we're going to run everything.

00:03:21.720 We're going to run it when asked what would happen to Venezuela's oil reserves,

00:03:25.320 which are now worth trillions of dollars.

00:03:29.420 Trump's remarks came aboard Air Force One

00:03:31.800 during a gaggle with reporters on a flight back to D.C. from Palm Beach.

00:03:36.240 And according to the newest report, Venezuela has, as of Saturday's oil prices,

00:03:42.740 approximately $17.3 trillion in oil reserves,

00:03:47.860 which exceeds the collective global gross domestic product,

00:03:52.040 excluding the United States and China.

00:03:54.940 Just to put it in perspective,

00:03:56.960 a reporter started a question by stating,

00:04:00.000 Venezuela has $17 billion worth of oil reserves.

00:04:04.040 Donald Trump responded with,

00:04:05.720 You mean trillion.

00:04:07.460 Did you say billion or trillion?

00:04:09.380 I said billion, the reporter replied,

00:04:11.300 to which Trump emphasized,

00:04:12.960 it's much more than that.

00:04:14.680 And then the president had this to say.

00:04:17.560 Venezuela right now is a dead country.

00:04:19.560 We have to bring it back.

00:04:20.600 And we're going to have to have big investments by the oil companies

00:04:23.540 to bring back the infrastructure.

00:04:24.900 And the oil companies are ready to go.

00:04:28.020 They're going to go in.

00:04:28.820 They're going to rebuild the infrastructure.

00:04:30.620 You know, we built it to start off with many years ago.

00:04:34.020 They took it away.

00:04:35.800 You can't do that.

00:04:36.980 You can't do that with me.

00:04:38.160 They did it with other presidents.

00:04:39.300 How soon can an election take place?

00:04:42.700 How soon can an election take place?

00:04:44.860 Well, I think we're looking more at getting it fixed,

00:04:47.980 getting it ready first, because it's a mess.

00:04:50.560 The country is a mess.

00:04:52.280 It's been horribly run.

00:04:53.440 The oil is just flowing at a very low level.

00:04:57.980 Much lower than, even if it was badly run,

00:05:00.960 it should have more income, more oil than what they're doing. 0.99

00:05:04.020 So we're going to have the big oil companies go in,

00:05:06.640 and they're going to fix the infrastructure,

00:05:08.200 and they're going to invest money.

00:05:09.980 We're not going to invest anything.

00:05:11.520 We're going to just take care of the country.

00:05:13.860 We're going to cherish the country.

00:05:15.480 We're going to take care, more importantly, of the people,

00:05:17.720 including Venezuelans that are living in our country,

00:05:20.320 that were forced to leave their country.

00:05:22.460 And they're going to be taking very good care of.

00:05:26.320 Yes, ma'am.

00:05:26.680 Have you spoken with the oil companies

00:05:28.140 and that are going into Venezuela?

00:05:29.720 I have.

00:05:29.980 Which ones?

00:05:30.520 Have you received any amendments?

00:05:31.700 All of them, basically.

00:05:32.700 Any amendments from the oil companies?

00:05:34.440 They want to go in so badly.

00:05:36.720 Did you speak with them before the operation took place?

00:05:39.160 Yes.

00:05:39.920 Did you maybe tip them off?

00:05:41.220 Before and after.

00:05:42.940 And they want to go in.

00:05:44.440 And they're going to do a great job for the people of Venezuela.

00:05:47.560 And they're going to represent us well.

00:05:50.060 But, you know, the infrastructure is rusty, rotten.

00:05:53.120 Most of it unusable.

00:05:55.040 It's old.

00:05:55.900 It's broken.

00:05:56.600 You see pipes laying all over the ground.

00:05:59.340 Has it been?

00:06:00.180 Nothing's been invested for years.

00:06:02.160 Chevron's in it.

00:06:02.920 You know, they've done a good job.

00:06:03.920 But even they haven't been in a position to invest money

00:06:07.740 because they're on a month-to-month basis.

00:06:10.560 What happens to that?

00:06:11.300 They're only there because I wanted them to be.

00:06:13.440 Donald Trump, again, making it clear.

00:06:15.280 We're going to run everything.

00:06:16.340 We're going to run it.

00:06:16.980 We're going to fix it.

00:06:17.820 We'll have elections at the right time.

00:06:19.600 And the main thing is you have to fix it.

00:06:21.620 It's a broken country.

00:06:23.260 There's no money.

00:06:24.760 There's inflation like we would have had

00:06:27.000 if we didn't win this election.

00:06:29.040 And we would have been Venezuela on steroids,

00:06:31.740 the president said.

00:06:32.620 Trump noted Saturday that American oil companies

00:06:35.780 will go into Venezuela to repair

00:06:37.800 the badly broken oil infrastructure.

00:06:41.100 The world agrees it is absolutely broken.

00:06:44.040 And he said that he had spoken with the oil companies

00:06:46.100 before and after the operation about resolve

00:06:49.100 to remove the former dictator Maduro from power.

00:06:53.100 This, of course, tried to turn into a fake controversy

00:06:56.060 by the media claiming that he had tipped off

00:06:58.640 by asking the question to the oil companies. 0.95

00:07:01.280 Another pathetic story, yet again, from the left. 0.91

00:07:05.800 What we also know is this. 0.98

00:07:08.740 Chevron's in.

00:07:09.780 As you know, the president said,

00:07:11.740 they've done a good job,

00:07:13.000 but they haven't been in a position to invest money

00:07:15.340 because they're on a month-to-month basis.

00:07:18.380 They're only there because I wanted them to be there.

00:07:21.840 Now things are changing.

00:07:23.260 And what's very clear is the president of the United States

00:07:26.040 of America is not holding back,

00:07:28.720 saying this is how the country will be saved.

00:07:31.780 And as he described it,

00:07:32.960 it will not cost Americans any money.

00:07:37.780 Something very different from what we witnessed

00:07:39.840 in Afghanistan and Iraq.

00:07:42.260 The president making it clear,

00:07:43.960 we'll fix it,

00:07:44.800 and then they're going to pay for all of it.

00:07:47.680 That is something that the president was very clear on.

00:07:50.600 He was also asked by NBC's Kristen Welker

00:07:54.060 in an interview about are we at war with Venezuela?

00:07:58.340 I want you to hear how NBC News

00:08:00.400 is reporting on that as well.

00:08:02.800 The president reacting to today's arraignment

00:08:05.400 during my phone call with him telling me,

00:08:08.020 quote, it is an extraordinary moment in history.

00:08:10.500 That's true.

00:08:11.440 And it's great for the hemisphere.

00:08:13.500 He went on to say the prices of oil

00:08:15.780 are going to, you know, be reduced.

00:08:18.680 The president also telling me

00:08:20.460 we are not at war with Venezuela

00:08:22.460 and that he would not need congressional approval

00:08:25.780 to send in a second strike.

00:08:28.320 One of the biggest questions right now

00:08:29.760 is who is really in charge in Venezuela

00:08:31.700 after President Trump said explicitly on Saturday

00:08:34.840 that the U.S. would run the country.

00:08:37.040 I asked the president about that today.

00:08:39.320 If Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth,

00:08:42.120 Stephen Miller would be the top three people

00:08:44.380 in charge of Venezuela,

00:08:45.720 the president said, yeah, among the top people,

00:08:48.840 including J.D. Vance.

00:08:51.080 I then asked him, who will be the top person

00:08:54.040 if there is one?

00:08:55.140 The president's answer to that question was me.

00:08:59.220 The president of the United States of America

00:09:00.720 yet again giving simple answers to the media

00:09:03.520 that, of course, makes the liberals lose their mind

00:09:06.780 and doing it in a way that shows he is in charge

00:09:10.280 and actually has a plan.

00:09:12.000 Now story number two.

00:09:13.060 Nicolas Maduro's first court appearance,

00:09:15.820 it has officially happened.

00:09:17.600 The ousted Venezuelan president

00:09:19.380 was arraigned Monday in a federal courtroom in Manhattan

00:09:22.540 on U.S. narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges.

00:09:27.140 He pled not guilty to all of the charges,

00:09:30.060 denying any wrongdoing.

00:09:32.180 Maduro repeatedly insisted through an interpreter

00:09:35.040 that he is innocent

00:09:36.420 and described himself as a, quote,

00:09:38.260 prisoner of war and said he remains

00:09:41.300 a legitimate president of Venezuela.

00:09:44.200 He also characterizes capture by U.S. forces

00:09:46.660 as an abduction.

00:09:49.440 Maduro's wife also appeared.

00:09:51.900 She pled not guilty

00:09:53.020 and has visible injuries

00:09:55.660 that her lawyer says may include rib fractures

00:09:58.620 from the arrest operation.

00:10:01.580 Both are being held

00:10:02.720 at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn

00:10:05.080 and waived bail for now.

00:10:07.400 The judge scheduled the next hearing

00:10:09.420 for March the 17th, 2026.

00:10:12.720 There are protests as well

00:10:14.360 as radicals on the left

00:10:15.800 are outside the courthouse

00:10:17.100 saying that this was, well,

00:10:19.340 a terrible day for America.

00:10:21.580 Official U.S. government line?

00:10:23.660 Very different.

00:10:24.620 Coming from the White House.

00:10:26.120 The government is defending

00:10:27.320 the military operation

00:10:28.580 and Maduro's prosecution

00:10:30.080 as legitimate action

00:10:32.080 against narco-trafficking

00:10:33.660 and criminal syndicates

00:10:35.500 even as international critics

00:10:37.920 are, of course,

00:10:39.440 siding with Maduro

00:10:40.680 saying it was illegal.

00:10:43.280 A White House spokesman

00:10:44.280 pushed back strongly today

00:10:45.660 on domestic criticism

00:10:46.960 from the left.

00:10:48.620 Many liberal commentators

00:10:50.000 saying of the Venezuela raid

00:10:51.960 many countries consider Maduro illegitimate

00:10:54.900 and we should go back

00:10:57.060 and report on the words

00:10:59.080 of so many countries now

00:11:00.360 that are just criticizing Trump

00:11:01.840 because he's in charge.

00:11:03.980 The FBI director,

00:11:05.200 Cash Patel,

00:11:06.100 went on TV to talk about

00:11:07.460 the real threat

00:11:08.280 that Maduro posed

00:11:09.400 to the United States of America

00:11:10.500 and here's part of what he had to say

00:11:12.300 about the fentanyl

00:11:13.080 that had been seized

00:11:13.920 by the Trump administration.

00:11:15.800 Mr. Director,

00:11:16.700 correct me if I'm wrong,

00:11:17.560 but didn't you meet

00:11:18.200 with Chinese officials

00:11:19.020 about stopping

00:11:19.840 the precursors to fentanyl

00:11:21.440 and what has happened

00:11:23.460 since that meeting?

00:11:24.580 The president pushed

00:11:25.620 with tariffs to stop it.

00:11:27.840 What could you tell us

00:11:29.240 happened with the flow

00:11:30.440 into Mexico

00:11:31.280 where they refine it

00:11:32.600 and send it to us?

00:11:34.380 That's just it.

00:11:35.660 There was nobody,

00:11:36.720 no other administration

00:11:37.700 was willing to engage

00:11:38.880 with our counterparts

00:11:39.740 on things like fentanyl

00:11:41.480 which were killing

00:11:42.080 almost 100,000 Americans

00:11:43.620 per year

00:11:44.380 and President Trump

00:11:45.420 laid the groundwork

00:11:46.380 for us to go over there

00:11:47.640 and engage directly

00:11:48.860 and say,

00:11:49.280 hey,

00:11:49.600 you've got to shut off

00:11:50.480 the flow of the chemical precursors,

00:11:53.000 the ingredients

00:11:53.660 that they utilize

00:11:54.680 to make fentanyl

00:11:55.720 and we went over there

00:11:57.260 and we got that agreement

00:11:58.560 while we were there

00:11:59.140 thanks to President Trump's leadership

00:12:00.480 and we were able

00:12:01.380 to literally shut off

00:12:02.740 the flow of all 13 precursors

00:12:05.040 and eight chemical adjuster agents

00:12:06.920 and what that does

00:12:08.080 is it suffocates

00:12:09.480 the drug trafficking organization's

00:12:11.100 ability in Mexico

00:12:12.280 and South America

00:12:13.020 and Central America

00:12:13.620 and elsewhere

00:12:14.120 to create and manufacture

00:12:16.560 the fentanyl

00:12:17.420 and just look at what we did

00:12:18.980 this past year

00:12:19.880 under President Trump's leadership.

00:12:21.020 We seized enough fentanyl

00:12:22.960 to kill 175 million

00:12:25.660 American citizens. 1.00

00:12:27.160 That is an increase

00:12:28.000 in fentanyl seizures

00:12:28.980 by over 30%.

00:12:30.580 That is what a coalition,

00:12:33.460 a team-led effort

00:12:34.500 by a decisive White House

00:12:35.680 and President Trump

00:12:36.300 looks like

00:12:36.760 to counter narcotics,

00:12:38.160 not just these great

00:12:39.740 successful operations

00:12:41.020 like what we saw

00:12:41.880 this past weekend

00:12:42.740 in Venezuela

00:12:43.200 but a continuing onslaught

00:12:45.460 of law enforcement activity

00:12:46.800 to safeguard the American public

00:12:48.520 and we're not going to stop.

00:12:49.980 The FBI director

00:12:50.820 wasn't finished with that.

00:12:52.380 He also praised

00:12:53.260 Donald Trump's

00:12:53.920 decisive leadership

00:12:55.000 for having a drastic reduction

00:12:57.860 in narcotics

00:12:59.140 available on our streets

00:13:00.700 which is saving American lives.

00:13:02.900 I want you to put on

00:13:03.780 your former prosecutor hat

00:13:05.100 because you know these charges

00:13:06.640 and I'm not asking you

00:13:07.280 to prosecute for our audience

00:13:08.940 but explain to us

00:13:10.300 the charges

00:13:11.260 and how long are we talking about

00:13:13.040 before Maduro

00:13:14.740 sees the other side of justice?

00:13:17.940 I just want to be

00:13:18.660 very careful here.

00:13:19.600 Department of Justice

00:13:20.320 and our DEA partners

00:13:21.460 are going to be running point

00:13:23.100 on these prosecution charges

00:13:25.020 for narco-terrorism

00:13:26.280 but generally speaking

00:13:27.800 it's what I alluded to earlier

00:13:29.220 it is a large

00:13:30.900 and continuous volume

00:13:32.700 of illicit narcotics

00:13:35.780 to include cocaine

00:13:36.920 and fentanyl

00:13:37.960 and meth

00:13:38.440 and everything else

00:13:39.160 that we see

00:13:39.680 harm our children

00:13:40.720 and that poured

00:13:41.740 into our communities

00:13:42.520 and thanks to President Trump's

00:13:43.660 decisive leadership

00:13:44.420 we've seen a drastic reduction

00:13:46.440 in not just deaths

00:13:47.720 the quantity of narcotics

00:13:49.020 available on our streets

00:13:49.860 but Venezuela acted

00:13:51.320 not only as a large

00:13:52.920 and massive transshipment point

00:13:54.800 by air and by sea

00:13:56.200 but also allowed drug traffickers

00:13:57.860 to operate

00:13:58.700 with reckless abandon

00:14:00.540 inside their borders

00:14:01.640 and their direct target

00:14:03.480 of deployment

00:14:04.120 was the United States of America

00:14:05.480 in large part

00:14:06.300 and that's what these charges

00:14:07.600 in my opinion

00:14:08.180 I believe will address

00:14:09.240 and thankfully

00:14:10.180 that these individuals

00:14:11.920 are now behind bars

00:14:12.880 to face the justice system

00:14:14.180 and for me quite frankly

00:14:15.720 it doesn't matter

00:14:17.280 how long

00:14:18.020 or how short

00:14:18.840 the process is

00:14:19.960 as long as we get it right

00:14:21.320 and we're off to a great start

00:14:22.620 thanks to the decisive leadership

00:14:24.040 this week

00:14:24.520 and of President Trump

00:14:25.260 and his national security team

00:14:26.260 yeah as long as he's in custody

00:14:27.500 I don't think

00:14:28.540 people just want to see

00:14:29.760 Venezuela get back to normal

00:14:30.940 as you heard there

00:14:31.980 from the FBI director

00:14:32.960 it's about national security

00:14:34.420 it's about saving American lives

00:14:36.160 it's also about making sure

00:14:37.860 that there is a better nation

00:14:39.700 in Venezuela

00:14:40.320 for the people

00:14:41.140 that have been oppressed

00:14:41.980 by Maduro

00:14:42.700 and that is clearly

00:14:44.100 part of Donald Trump's doctrine

00:14:45.960 thank you for listening

00:14:46.920 to the 47 Morning Update

00:14:48.620 with Ben Ferguson

00:14:49.840 please make sure

00:14:51.180 you hit subscribe

00:14:52.120 wherever you're listening

00:14:53.580 to this podcast right now

00:14:55.200 and for more in-depth news

00:14:56.960 also subscribe

00:14:58.140 to the Ben Ferguson podcast

00:14:59.640 and we will see you

00:15:01.000 back here tomorrow

00:15:01.900 this is an iHeart podcast

00:15:04.400 guaranteed human

Verdict with Ted Cruz - January 06, 2026

BONUS POD： Trump’s Plan to Rebuild Venezuela’s Broken Oil Empire plus Maduro in the Big Apple

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