Verdict with Ted Cruz - Venezuela Victory part 2-Historically Transforming Latin America & What Happens Next

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.660 Guaranteed human.

00:00:05.420 Welcome, it is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz,

00:00:07.720 Ben Ferguson with you.

00:00:08.940 It is nice to have you with us

00:00:10.200 as we are doing part two

00:00:11.720 of our in-depth conversation on Venezuela.

00:00:14.780 What has happened since Maduro has left?

00:00:16.780 What is next?

00:00:17.580 And Senator, we've got three different things

00:00:19.140 we're gonna talk about.

00:00:20.000 And if people miss episode one,

00:00:22.440 it's one that really went viral.

00:00:23.940 So make sure you go back and listen to it.

00:00:25.760 But we're gonna go in-depth again

00:00:27.360 in this episode on three major different aspects

00:00:30.320 of this story.

00:00:31.780 Well, listen, episode one, which came out Monday,

00:00:34.860 we did a deep dive into number one, what happened?

00:00:37.380 What happened in Venezuela?

00:00:39.200 What President Trump did sending in the military

00:00:41.980 to capture and arrest Nicolas Maduro and his wife?

00:00:46.260 We secondly discussed why Venezuela matters.

00:00:49.320 What are the geopolitical consequences of Venezuela?

00:00:52.660 The massive oil reserves,

00:00:54.000 the massive gold reserves and other minerals.

00:00:55.800 We talked about why Russia and China and Iran

00:01:00.340 and Hezbollah were all in Venezuela.

00:01:02.580 And finally, we did a very careful explanation

00:01:04.960 of the legal basis, the legal authority

00:01:07.760 for why President Trump had the authority

00:01:10.000 to order this attack, to order this arrest.

00:01:13.320 We laid it out in detail.

00:01:15.420 We're seeing a lot of Democrats in the media

00:01:17.680 and law professors, all of which are coming

00:01:19.820 from exactly the same place,

00:01:21.820 claiming this is illegal, this was a kidnapping.

00:01:24.080 All of that is nonsense.

00:01:26.140 And if you didn't listen to Monday's podcast,

00:01:28.100 you should go back and I lay out the legal basis.

00:01:31.080 And in fact, the opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice

00:01:34.660 for the January 3rd, 1990 arrest of Manuel Noriega

00:01:40.500 in Panama under very similar circumstances.

00:01:43.480 And so those are three big questions we addressed.

00:01:46.780 Today, we're going to address three additional questions.

00:01:49.940 Number one, a lot of folks are asking,

00:01:52.820 who is the first lady of Venezuela?

00:01:57.440 And why was she arrested?

00:01:58.820 Why was she included in that?

00:02:00.120 We're going to lay out some more detail

00:02:02.080 as to what her background is.

00:02:04.180 Secondly, we're going to talk about

00:02:05.960 what are the geopolitical consequences

00:02:07.940 of Maduro being arrested, being prosecuted

00:02:12.040 for the rest of Latin America

00:02:13.880 and for the Western Hemisphere.

00:02:15.140 They are significant.

00:02:16.260 We're going to break them down

00:02:17.240 carefully and systematically.

00:02:19.640 And finally, and this is important,

00:02:21.980 we're going to talk about what's next in Venezuela,

00:02:24.360 what we can expect in the days and weeks

00:02:26.220 and months ahead.

00:02:27.520 What does this mean?

00:02:28.620 What's the leadership going to be in Venezuela?

00:02:30.760 And what should the United States

00:02:32.440 want to happen next in Venezuela?

00:02:35.180 All of that on today's pod.

00:02:36.640 Yeah, it's really going to be a fun one.

00:02:38.720 I want to also talk to you real quick

00:02:40.020 about our friends at Compassion International.

00:02:42.680 There's an invisible thread

00:02:44.320 that connects humans across distance.

00:02:47.540 You can't see it, but you can feel it when you pull.

00:02:51.380 And when a child in Guatemala learns to read,

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00:02:55.520 The thread vibrates with every new word they master.

00:02:59.500 When a teenager in Kenya gets medical care

00:03:02.480 that saves their sight,

00:03:04.340 that thread pulls tighter.

00:03:06.100 And when a young woman in the Philippines

00:03:08.520 breaks her family cycle of poverty,

00:03:11.420 you're standing there with her.

00:03:12.980 And here's what's remarkable.

00:03:15.380 That thread goes both ways.

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00:03:20.540 they're changing yours too.

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00:03:30.340 It is the powerful thread of Compassion International.

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00:03:52.260 That's Compassion.com.

00:03:54.480 All right, so Senator,

00:03:55.820 we're going to pick it up literally

00:03:56.860 where we left off in Monday's pod.

00:03:59.660 And there have been so many questions

00:04:01.720 about the wife of Maduro.

00:04:04.260 Why was she arrested?

00:04:05.820 Why was she charged?

00:04:06.900 Why was she brought to America?

00:04:08.700 I had to watch some of the crazy liberals

00:04:10.800 and debate them on TV.

00:04:12.080 They're angry that she was arrested

00:04:13.880 instead of others around Maduro

00:04:16.440 that they would have rather have had arrested.

00:04:18.560 It was the argument that was being made,

00:04:20.400 which just made my head explode

00:04:21.840 as I was listening to the incompetence.

00:04:23.860 But let's go through why she was actually indicted,

00:04:27.620 why she's being held,

00:04:28.800 why she's arrested,

00:04:29.680 and why she's probably going to be found guilty

00:04:30.880 of a lot of major crimes.

00:04:32.980 Yeah, look, look, she has been indicted.

00:04:34.760 She has been charged,

00:04:35.680 and she's being prosecuted.

00:04:37.200 And yes, she is Maduro's wife.

00:04:39.560 She is also a lawyer.

00:04:41.180 She's a longtime Hugo Chavez loyalist.

00:04:44.440 She's a communist.

00:04:45.320 She's a Marxist.

00:04:46.280 She is viciously anti-American.

00:04:50.300 She is corrupt.

00:04:52.600 She was intimately involved

00:04:54.700 in the narco-trafficking

00:04:56.360 that Maduro was engaged in.

00:04:58.600 She has been sanctioned

00:04:59.780 by the Treasury Department

00:05:00.820 for her involvement in that.

00:05:02.520 And she's also been

00:05:03.520 a senior government official.

00:05:06.000 And in fact, here,

00:05:06.760 I'm going to give you some of the background

00:05:08.200 the New York Post reported.

00:05:10.300 So Celia Flores

00:05:11.280 was arrested.

00:05:15.240 Celia Flores is the first lady.

00:05:17.000 She has been called

00:05:18.220 the Latin Lady Macbeth.

00:05:20.780 She's 69 years old.

00:05:22.500 And she's been described

00:05:24.140 by a former head of intelligence

00:05:25.640 in Venezuela

00:05:26.240 as being, quote,

00:05:27.620 behind the curtain,

00:05:29.400 pulling the strings.

00:05:31.760 And here's what one prosecutor

00:05:34.360 in the Maduro government said,

00:05:35.740 quote,

00:05:36.020 she is a fundamental figure

00:05:37.080 in corruption in Venezuela.

00:05:39.300 Absolutely fundamental.

00:05:40.300 And especially

00:05:41.820 in the structure of power.

00:05:44.260 And he continued,

00:05:45.660 many people consider her

00:05:46.800 far more astute

00:05:47.840 and shrewd

00:05:49.300 than Maduro himself.

00:05:52.000 Now,

00:05:52.940 what is her background?

00:05:55.760 Her background,

00:05:57.940 she was a lawyer

00:06:00.080 for Hugo Chavez,

00:06:03.000 the original Marxist

00:06:04.540 who took over Venezuela,

00:06:05.840 was elected

00:06:06.480 and drove the economy

00:06:07.860 into the ground.

00:06:08.540 She has been nicknamed

00:06:11.220 in addition to Latin Lady Macbeth.

00:06:13.520 She's been nicknamed

00:06:14.400 First Warrior.

00:06:16.720 Yeah.

00:06:17.100 And she's accused

00:06:18.760 of accepting massive bribes

00:06:20.580 from drug dealers.

00:06:22.500 And in fact,

00:06:23.600 her nephews,

00:06:24.500 and in fact,

00:06:24.940 they've been called

00:06:25.540 her narco nephews,

00:06:27.280 were both previously arrested

00:06:29.340 in the United States

00:06:30.160 for cocaine trafficking.

00:06:31.200 And they planned

00:06:34.040 to use the money

00:06:35.300 from their drug sales,

00:06:36.340 this is the narco nephews,

00:06:37.720 to fund Flores'

00:06:39.880 2015 campaign

00:06:41.340 for National Assembly

00:06:42.500 in Venezuela.

00:06:44.040 Yep.

00:06:44.220 She is a political leader.

00:06:49.200 She is alleged

00:06:50.360 to have participated

00:06:51.040 in the trafficking

00:06:51.780 of cocaine,

00:06:52.440 quote,

00:06:53.560 much of which

00:06:54.540 had been seized

00:06:55.740 by Venezuelan law enforcement

00:06:57.280 with the assistance

00:06:58.040 of armed military escorts,

00:06:59.820 that's according

00:07:00.480 to the indictment,

00:07:01.860 while guarded

00:07:02.620 by, quote,

00:07:03.420 state-sponsored gangs

00:07:05.160 known as colectivos.

00:07:07.960 And the gangs,

00:07:09.380 according to the indictment,

00:07:10.400 were to, quote,

00:07:11.040 protect their drug

00:07:12.180 trafficking operation.

00:07:14.800 By the way,

00:07:15.300 10 years ago,

00:07:16.160 it had to be

00:07:16.640 at least 10 years ago now,

00:07:17.940 I went back

00:07:18.720 to a conversation

00:07:19.500 I had in New York City

00:07:20.360 in the green room

00:07:21.460 at Fox.

00:07:22.560 There was a

00:07:23.360 Venezuelan dissident,

00:07:24.780 basically,

00:07:25.320 that had been put

00:07:25.800 into exile,

00:07:26.740 and we were sitting

00:07:27.620 talking about

00:07:28.620 the oil

00:07:29.540 and the narco-terrorism.

00:07:31.780 This was over

00:07:32.260 a decade ago

00:07:32.920 from him.

00:07:34.360 And they described

00:07:35.160 the wife to me

00:07:36.040 as, quote,

00:07:36.800 not a housewife,

00:07:38.040 but a brilliant mastermind.

00:07:39.920 They said that Chavez

00:07:41.040 would have never gotten

00:07:42.460 to where he was

00:07:43.900 without her being

00:07:45.480 behind him

00:07:46.380 that she was able

00:07:47.800 to really,

00:07:48.880 and as you mentioned,

00:07:49.740 a lawyer.

00:07:50.880 They said she's very smart.

00:07:52.540 She understands

00:07:53.260 how to set this stuff up.

00:07:54.820 She understands

00:07:55.480 how to work it

00:07:56.160 to the family's advantage

00:07:57.200 and to make money.

00:07:58.740 And the idea,

00:07:59.580 they were laughing,

00:08:00.300 basically,

00:08:00.620 as they were describing,

00:08:01.320 they're like,

00:08:01.560 if you think this is just

00:08:02.580 some first lady,

00:08:03.580 in essence,

00:08:04.040 a housewife,

00:08:05.060 you are mistaken.

00:08:06.660 She is ruthless

00:08:07.540 to the core,

00:08:08.320 as they described it,

00:08:09.060 saying that she was

00:08:09.960 a businesswoman

00:08:11.580 that the mob

00:08:12.320 would even be afraid of.

00:08:14.060 Yeah,

00:08:14.420 I mean,

00:08:14.640 listen,

00:08:14.940 I mentioned Flores

00:08:16.140 got her start

00:08:17.000 with Hugo Chavez.

00:08:18.520 Actually,

00:08:19.020 Hugo Chavez

00:08:19.600 was arrested

00:08:20.600 in the wake

00:08:22.160 of a failed coup attempt

00:08:23.320 in 1992,

00:08:24.220 and Flores

00:08:25.700 stepped forward

00:08:26.500 as his lawyer.

00:08:28.740 And, in fact,

00:08:29.760 she was such a socialist

00:08:31.560 and such a Marxist,

00:08:32.660 she was literally

00:08:33.800 spray-painting

00:08:34.880 Chavez's names

00:08:36.240 on walls

00:08:37.740 around Caracas.

00:08:39.360 And she stepped forward,

00:08:40.480 she represented

00:08:41.160 Hugo Chavez

00:08:41.920 pro bono,

00:08:42.820 for free,

00:08:43.680 and she ended up

00:08:44.420 getting him out of jail

00:08:45.340 in 1994

00:08:46.240 before he ever stood trial.

00:08:48.640 And she met,

00:08:50.980 she met Maduro

00:08:52.700 while being an activist

00:08:54.860 for Chavez,

00:08:57.820 and Chavez

00:08:58.560 was elected president

00:09:00.480 in 1998,

00:09:04.360 and Maduro

00:09:05.100 and Flores

00:09:06.260 both served

00:09:07.200 under Chavez.

00:09:08.080 She was attorney general,

00:09:09.840 and he was vice president.

00:09:12.720 And this,

00:09:15.060 you know,

00:09:15.800 she is someone

00:09:17.360 intimately involved

00:09:19.000 in the corruption,

00:09:20.900 in the drug trafficking,

00:09:23.220 and that's why

00:09:24.420 she's been arrested,

00:09:25.720 it's why she is indicted,

00:09:27.780 and it's why,

00:09:29.000 I believe,

00:09:29.580 both she and her husband

00:09:30.460 will be convicted.

00:09:32.040 It really is interesting

00:09:32.980 to see how the media

00:09:33.840 has just gone to,

00:09:34.820 like, compassion on this,

00:09:36.320 where they're just like,

00:09:37.180 well,

00:09:37.360 you know,

00:09:37.560 she's just a sweet

00:09:38.420 little old lady.

00:09:39.460 You know,

00:09:39.920 why are you picking on

00:09:41.100 this sweet little old lady?

00:09:42.600 Yeah,

00:09:42.900 and you know,

00:09:43.320 sweet little old lady,

00:09:44.380 attorney general,

00:09:45.640 you know,

00:09:46.340 sweet little old lady,

00:09:47.580 attorney general,

00:09:48.480 narco-terrorist,

00:09:49.660 drug trafficker,

00:09:50.780 but other than that,

00:09:51.560 she's a sweet little old lady.

00:09:52.940 Yeah,

00:09:53.220 this is why I,

00:09:53.940 by the way,

00:09:54.220 love doing this show,

00:09:55.060 because no one else

00:09:56.240 is talking about this,

00:09:57.340 and I hope people

00:09:57.980 that listen,

00:09:58.500 they're like,

00:09:58.820 okay,

00:09:59.060 well,

00:09:59.240 now we know,

00:09:59.900 so you can correct the record

00:10:01.060 and be like,

00:10:01.560 well,

00:10:01.760 it's just,

00:10:02.600 it was just an easy one

00:10:03.900 for them to grab,

00:10:04.780 so they grabbed her.

00:10:05.480 No,

00:10:05.780 this is a woman

00:10:06.580 who literally helped

00:10:07.560 set up all of this corruption

00:10:09.000 and was heavily involved in it,

00:10:10.360 which brings me

00:10:11.500 to the big issue,

00:10:12.300 and we've seen a lot

00:10:13.320 of conversation

00:10:14.000 about this as well

00:10:15.120 by the talking heads,

00:10:17.040 members of Congress

00:10:17.860 that you serve with,

00:10:19.200 and the word

00:10:20.260 that I wrote down

00:10:21.000 was Western Hemisphere.

00:10:22.360 There has been

00:10:23.060 a fever pitch

00:10:24.280 of Western Hemisphere

00:10:25.460 and how Venezuela

00:10:27.140 fits into this

00:10:28.060 and what happens

00:10:28.480 if China or Russia

00:10:29.680 or Iran,

00:10:31.140 Cuba gets involved

00:10:31.980 X,

00:10:32.320 Y,

00:10:32.520 and Z

00:10:32.920 in Venezuela.

00:10:34.480 Can we just take

00:10:35.380 a half a step back,

00:10:37.780 explain politically

00:10:39.080 what the meaning

00:10:40.540 of Western Hemisphere

00:10:41.640 means for people

00:10:42.440 that maybe don't understand

00:10:43.680 why it's so important

00:10:44.980 and how it relates

00:10:46.400 to national security

00:10:47.320 with the United States

00:10:48.020 of America

00:10:48.500 as a broader point

00:10:49.940 before we go into

00:10:50.860 then why so many

00:10:51.940 other countries

00:10:52.460 want to be involved

00:10:53.260 in Venezuela.

00:10:53.740 Yeah, look,

00:10:54.920 the Western Hemisphere

00:10:55.900 is just North America

00:10:57.140 and South America.

00:10:58.200 It's our half of the world.

00:10:59.840 It's the,

00:11:01.140 and also the Caribbean Islands

00:11:02.560 and,

00:11:04.080 but it's essentially

00:11:04.940 the land that has

00:11:06.120 the Atlantic Ocean

00:11:07.120 on the east

00:11:08.200 and the Pacific Ocean

00:11:09.080 on the west

00:11:09.720 and the Western Hemisphere

00:11:11.440 is distinct

00:11:12.300 from the Eastern Hemisphere

00:11:13.420 which is Europe

00:11:14.520 and Asia

00:11:15.180 and Africa

00:11:15.880 and Australia,

00:11:16.840 all of that's

00:11:17.320 in the Eastern Hemisphere.

00:11:18.020 But the Western Hemisphere,

00:11:19.640 you know,

00:11:19.960 going back to the very

00:11:20.960 earliest days of America

00:11:22.400 where the Monroe Doctrine

00:11:24.220 laid out

00:11:24.820 that we're going

00:11:26.180 to protect

00:11:26.860 the Western Hemisphere.

00:11:28.320 This is our hemisphere

00:11:29.300 and we talked about

00:11:30.580 in Monday's podcast

00:11:31.520 how Donald Trump

00:11:32.920 believes very much

00:11:33.760 in the Monroe Doctrine

00:11:34.900 so much so

00:11:35.640 that it's now

00:11:36.160 being widely referred

00:11:37.100 to as the Don-Ro Doctrine

00:11:38.800 because he's put

00:11:40.260 his own stamp on it.

00:11:42.660 And I'm going to give

00:11:43.640 a couple of stories

00:11:44.760 to give some context

00:11:45.760 because I think

00:11:46.320 this is massively

00:11:47.500 consequential

00:11:48.520 for other countries

00:11:50.040 in the Western Hemisphere

00:11:51.340 and for U.S. national security.

00:11:53.560 I mentioned

00:11:54.460 on Monday's pod

00:11:55.420 that the Office

00:11:58.360 of Legal Counsel

00:11:59.220 is who prepared

00:12:00.180 the legal memorandum

00:12:02.140 that laying out

00:12:03.500 the basis

00:12:04.100 for arresting

00:12:05.440 Noriega and Panama.

00:12:07.700 And I mentioned

00:12:08.600 that Bill Barr

00:12:09.440 was the head

00:12:10.260 of the Office

00:12:10.680 of Legal Counsel

00:12:11.200 who wrote that memo

00:12:12.080 but I also mentioned

00:12:13.160 that there had been

00:12:14.140 lots of very respected

00:12:16.320 lawyers who had headed

00:12:17.480 OLC

00:12:18.120 including Antonin Scalia

00:12:20.180 including William Rehnquist

00:12:21.300 and I mentioned

00:12:21.780 Chuck Cooper

00:12:22.360 who was my very first boss

00:12:24.280 when I came from

00:12:26.320 clerking for Chief Justice Rehnquist

00:12:28.080 and I was a 27-year-old lawyer

00:12:30.680 my first boss

00:12:31.560 was Chuck Cooper

00:12:32.600 he's one of the top

00:12:33.460 Supreme Court litigators

00:12:34.980 in the country

00:12:35.560 and as it so happened

00:12:37.080 we recorded Monday's pod

00:12:38.600 Sunday evening

00:12:40.320 and then we finished

00:12:41.620 recording the pod

00:12:42.500 and I went to have

00:12:43.280 dinner with Chuck

00:12:43.960 so I literally went

00:12:44.800 to Chuck's house

00:12:45.500 as soon as we finished

00:12:46.860 recording

00:12:47.260 and he told me

00:12:48.160 a story I didn't know

00:12:49.400 which is

00:12:51.020 during the Reagan

00:12:51.760 administration

00:12:52.460 Chuck as a young

00:12:54.400 30-something lawyer

00:12:56.220 was the one

00:12:58.600 that Reagan

00:12:59.320 sent down

00:13:00.580 to Panama

00:13:01.820 to negotiate

00:13:03.720 with Noriega

00:13:04.700 no way

00:13:05.840 and so he went

00:13:07.520 down there

00:13:08.000 and he was sort of

00:13:08.560 laughing

00:13:08.880 he was like

00:13:09.320 I was the only one

00:13:10.220 kind of foolish enough

00:13:11.240 to accept the assignment

00:13:12.440 and he went down

00:13:14.740 and he said

00:13:16.580 you know

00:13:16.960 Noriega came

00:13:18.260 and arrived

00:13:19.000 in like a caravan

00:13:20.480 of big armored cars

00:13:22.440 and he had all sorts

00:13:23.780 of soldiers

00:13:24.720 with automatic weapons

00:13:26.140 and you know

00:13:26.720 Chuck's sitting there

00:13:27.560 as this you know

00:13:28.220 young lawyer

00:13:29.520 from DOJ

00:13:30.300 and they were trying

00:13:31.120 to negotiate

00:13:32.040 Noriega's

00:13:33.480 leaving voluntarily

00:13:34.820 and he was going

00:13:35.620 to leave voluntarily

00:13:36.620 and go to a third

00:13:37.480 country

00:13:38.140 and he could live

00:13:39.140 in exile

00:13:40.120 and live in peace

00:13:41.100 and by the way

00:13:41.840 Trump tried to do

00:13:43.100 the same thing

00:13:43.720 which is negotiate

00:13:44.440 with Maduro

00:13:45.120 if you want to

00:13:46.420 leave in peace

00:13:47.200 we'll let you

00:13:47.800 leave in peace

00:13:48.640 and Noriega

00:13:50.140 just Noriega

00:13:51.160 and Maduro

00:13:51.540 both made the same

00:13:52.880 stupid mistake

00:13:54.060 they said no

00:13:54.780 I'm not going to leave

00:13:56.560 and Chuck told me

00:13:57.300 he said he was negotiating

00:13:58.340 and Noriega was like

00:13:59.360 absolutely not

00:14:00.280 I'm not going anywhere

00:14:01.440 that will never happen

00:14:03.500 and Chuck told me

00:14:04.860 he finished the meeting

00:14:05.820 at the end of the meeting

00:14:06.700 and he said

00:14:07.920 Mr. President

00:14:09.700 I need to tell you something

00:14:10.960 which is

00:14:12.360 I'm going to leave now

00:14:13.540 I'm going to go back

00:14:14.940 to the United States

00:14:15.840 but people are going

00:14:17.420 to come

00:14:17.920 after me

00:14:19.020 and they're not going

00:14:19.840 to take no

00:14:20.260 for an answer

00:14:20.780 and he did that

00:14:22.420 by the way

00:14:23.140 isn't it amazing

00:14:23.900 that Chavez

00:14:24.540 this happened to him

00:14:25.500 Maduro saw it

00:14:26.840 Maduro's wife saw it

00:14:28.260 and they still

00:14:29.440 somehow believe

00:14:30.220 not Chavez

00:14:30.260 Noriega

00:14:30.660 sorry

00:14:31.480 yeah Noriega

00:14:33.180 it's hard to keep

00:14:34.220 these Latin American

00:14:34.820 dictators straight

00:14:35.600 exactly

00:14:36.460 but you see it

00:14:37.360 it's like you would

00:14:38.060 think they would

00:14:38.560 look at the history

00:14:39.180 and be like

00:14:39.460 okay we know

00:14:40.480 how this ends

00:14:41.580 like we understand

00:14:42.780 how this ends

00:14:44.040 and yet

00:14:44.920 and it's there

00:14:46.200 like they can see

00:14:47.120 it it's tangible

00:14:47.820 they can see

00:14:48.360 the fallout afterwards

00:14:49.220 they can see

00:14:49.660 how it went down

00:14:50.420 and then when

00:14:51.440 Donald Trump calls you

00:14:52.560 and is like

00:14:52.980 hey man

00:14:53.400 like we'll let you leave

00:14:54.420 like we're literally

00:14:55.620 letting you leave

00:14:56.700 if you'll just leave

00:14:57.780 and he's like

00:14:58.100 nope never leaving

00:14:58.900 you can

00:14:59.620 and then he goes

00:15:00.100 out on stage

00:15:00.580 you can come

00:15:01.120 and get me

00:15:01.540 you coward

00:15:02.120 well okay

00:15:03.140 we did it

00:15:03.880 yeah no

00:15:04.500 he was literally

00:15:05.140 chanting

00:15:05.720 and screaming

00:15:06.940 at Trump

00:15:07.600 calling him

00:15:08.040 a coward

00:15:08.580 in Spanish

00:15:09.800 and well it turned

00:15:11.660 out he said

00:15:12.360 come and get me

00:15:13.080 and Trump said

00:15:13.660 oh okay

00:15:14.140 and he did

00:15:15.700 and that

00:15:17.320 look

00:15:19.020 in terms of

00:15:20.280 Latin America

00:15:20.780 I'll tell you

00:15:21.400 also yesterday

00:15:22.320 I spoke with

00:15:23.340 President Trump

00:15:24.020 and in the Oval

00:15:25.660 and we talked

00:15:26.060 about a lot of topics

00:15:26.900 but I told him

00:15:28.560 I said

00:15:28.860 listen congratulations

00:15:30.120 on the Venezuela

00:15:31.860 attack

00:15:33.180 on the arrest

00:15:33.940 I said

00:15:34.980 Mr. President

00:15:35.780 candidly

00:15:36.420 that took

00:15:37.640 cast iron balls

00:15:39.440 to issue

00:15:40.440 that order

00:15:41.000 because frankly

00:15:41.780 it could have

00:15:42.900 gone wrong

00:15:43.720 a thousand

00:15:45.020 different ways

00:15:45.940 and there's also

00:15:47.700 part of it

00:15:48.260 when you make

00:15:48.680 those orders

00:15:49.140 that I think

00:15:49.640 people don't realize

00:15:50.660 you've been around

00:15:51.580 it and I've been

00:15:52.520 around it

00:15:53.040 you were making

00:15:54.640 a decision

00:15:55.180 that very well

00:15:55.820 could cost

00:15:56.280 an American

00:15:56.800 their lives

00:15:57.480 well and the

00:15:58.740 president and I

00:15:59.180 talked about that

00:16:00.120 that's a lot

00:16:01.140 I mean people

00:16:01.820 don't realize

00:16:02.360 I think how much

00:16:03.180 that weighed

00:16:03.640 even on President Bush

00:16:04.700 when I was around him

00:16:05.720 when he knew

00:16:06.480 that there were

00:16:06.960 Americans dying

00:16:07.760 because the decision

00:16:08.740 that you're making

00:16:09.680 Donald Trump

00:16:10.460 I think really

00:16:11.180 understands that as well

00:16:12.280 yeah and we talked

00:16:14.000 about that

00:16:14.460 and we both talked

00:16:15.240 about we marveled

00:16:16.160 at the incredible

00:16:17.340 military precision

00:16:19.860 that they carried out

00:16:21.880 that the fact

00:16:22.780 that this attack

00:16:23.680 they went in

00:16:24.400 and they landed

00:16:26.980 in the middle

00:16:27.660 of a major

00:16:28.400 metropolitan city

00:16:29.460 with five million people

00:16:30.460 they landed in the middle

00:16:31.160 of a huge military base

00:16:32.740 you know

00:16:33.820 it's been now

00:16:34.980 publicly reported

00:16:35.880 that there were

00:16:36.360 32 Cuban soldiers

00:16:38.340 guarding Maduro

00:16:39.200 all of whom were killed

00:16:40.200 yeah

00:16:41.000 and we did not lose

00:16:42.860 a single

00:16:44.020 U.S. service

00:16:45.360 serviceman

00:16:46.700 who was there

00:16:47.420 two were shot

00:16:49.280 but neither was killed

00:16:50.940 and I'll tell you

00:16:52.940 something

00:16:53.220 a fact I learned today

00:16:54.540 which I didn't know

00:16:55.820 which is when they had

00:16:57.720 Maduro

00:16:58.160 and the first lady

00:16:59.220 and the Cuban

00:17:00.540 security forces

00:17:01.420 were opening fire

00:17:02.540 on them

00:17:03.800 and then they were

00:17:04.680 engaged in a firefight

00:17:05.680 our soldiers

00:17:07.440 blocked Maduro

00:17:09.500 and the first lady

00:17:10.440 with their own bodies

00:17:11.500 now they had body armor

00:17:12.540 but they were trying

00:17:13.720 to make it an arrest

00:17:15.060 that they actually

00:17:16.340 treated it under

00:17:17.200 the protocol

00:17:17.800 for a hostage extraction

00:17:19.420 because they didn't

00:17:21.100 want them shot

00:17:22.060 in the process

00:17:22.720 they wanted them

00:17:23.400 to come back

00:17:23.840 to the United States

00:17:24.820 and face prosecution

00:17:26.520 and face justice

00:17:27.400 and so you want to

00:17:28.500 talk about the bravery

00:17:29.820 of Delta Force

00:17:30.800 literally putting

00:17:32.160 their bodies

00:17:32.840 with body armor

00:17:33.700 in front of

00:17:35.380 Maduro

00:17:36.540 and the first lady

00:17:37.560 so that they didn't

00:17:38.440 get shot

00:17:39.160 by the Cubans

00:17:40.380 that's extraordinary

00:17:42.340 and I gotta say

00:17:45.460 so when I was talking

00:17:46.880 with President Trump

00:17:47.620 he actually asked me

00:17:48.480 he brought up

00:17:49.100 he said

00:17:49.520 he brought up

00:17:50.940 in the first term

00:17:52.180 his taking out

00:17:53.580 General Soleimani

00:17:54.420 in Iran

00:17:54.900 he talked about

00:17:57.140 his taking out

00:17:57.960 al-Baghdadi

00:17:58.620 he talked about

00:18:00.060 his launching

00:18:01.660 the military bombing

00:18:02.760 attack on the

00:18:03.440 nuclear facilities

00:18:04.140 in Iran

00:18:04.640 and he talked

00:18:06.500 about this

00:18:07.040 and all of them

00:18:08.260 were spectacular

00:18:09.060 successes

00:18:09.720 and actually

00:18:11.220 President Trump

00:18:12.000 asked me a question

00:18:12.720 he said

00:18:13.080 Ted which was

00:18:13.880 more important

00:18:14.560 the nuclear facilities

00:18:16.940 in Iran

00:18:17.520 or

00:18:18.640 arresting Maduro

00:18:21.500 and actually

00:18:22.600 stopped

00:18:22.880 that's a hard one

00:18:24.040 I said

00:18:25.500 Mr. President

00:18:25.880 that is a very good question

00:18:27.380 and I said

00:18:28.780 to be honest

00:18:29.320 it's really close

00:18:30.280 if you forced me

00:18:32.380 to answer that

00:18:33.340 here's what I would say

00:18:34.880 I think taking out

00:18:35.840 the nuclear facilities

00:18:36.800 in Iran

00:18:37.240 was more important

00:18:38.480 geopolitically

00:18:39.840 in terms of

00:18:40.380 our national security

00:18:41.500 the Ayatollah

00:18:42.600 with nuclear weapons

00:18:43.880 could have murdered

00:18:44.580 vast numbers of Americans

00:18:45.960 and so taking out

00:18:46.960 those nuclear facilities

00:18:47.940 made America

00:18:48.980 much much safer

00:18:49.920 but I said

00:18:51.000 arresting Maduro

00:18:53.240 is a very close second

00:18:54.820 because it changed

00:18:56.480 the entire

00:18:57.200 geopolitical balance

00:18:58.440 of power

00:18:58.900 in the western hemisphere

00:19:00.240 and it's interesting

00:19:00.900 the president said

00:19:01.940 you know I agree

00:19:02.760 that's exactly

00:19:03.740 how I would rank

00:19:04.480 those two

00:19:04.920 and so it was

00:19:05.340 an interesting

00:19:05.840 you know

00:19:07.140 Trump is rarely

00:19:08.200 I would say

00:19:09.060 deeply introspective

00:19:11.440 that's not

00:19:12.600 that's not just

00:19:13.380 his nature

00:19:13.920 and he was kind

00:19:14.460 of reflecting on that

00:19:15.460 and we had

00:19:15.660 a good conversation

00:19:16.740 and to be honest

00:19:17.840 I hadn't

00:19:18.700 until he asked me

00:19:19.500 that question

00:19:20.040 I hadn't really

00:19:20.740 thought of

00:19:21.060 but hands down

00:19:23.760 those are the two

00:19:24.400 most important

00:19:25.280 foreign policy decisions

00:19:26.640 that he's made

00:19:28.640 and in terms of

00:19:29.620 the western hemisphere

00:19:30.460 what does that mean

00:19:31.340 well let's take Cuba

00:19:32.740 Cuba is probably

00:19:33.540 the country

00:19:34.060 most impacted

00:19:35.160 we talked about this

00:19:35.900 a little on Monday's pod

00:19:36.900 Canadian women

00:19:38.580 are looking for more

00:19:39.640 more out of themselves

00:19:40.720 their businesses

00:19:41.560 their elected leaders

00:19:42.680 and the world around them

00:19:43.900 and that's why

00:19:44.540 we're thrilled

00:19:45.040 to introduce

00:19:45.700 the Honest Talk podcast

00:19:47.180 I'm Jennifer Stewart

00:19:48.720 and I'm Catherine Clark

00:19:49.940 and in this podcast

00:19:51.020 we interview

00:19:51.840 Canada's most inspiring women

00:19:53.620 entrepreneurs

00:19:54.200 artists

00:19:55.080 athletes

00:19:55.740 politicians

00:19:56.380 and newsmakers

00:19:57.260 all at different stages

00:19:58.580 of their journey

00:19:59.420 so if you're looking

00:20:00.740 to connect

00:20:01.280 then we hope

00:20:01.960 you'll join us

00:20:02.720 listen to the Honest Talk podcast

00:20:04.340 on iHeart Radio

00:20:05.240 or wherever you listen

00:20:06.300 to your podcasts

00:20:07.020 so Cuba for years

00:20:10.420 it's a communist dictatorship

00:20:11.700 it's been under

00:20:12.820 communist control

00:20:13.760 since Fidel Castro

00:20:14.720 led a revolution

00:20:15.540 that succeeded in 1959

00:20:17.040 and the people

00:20:18.940 just like Venezuela

00:20:20.180 the communists

00:20:21.140 in Cuba

00:20:22.240 destroyed the economy

00:20:23.760 the people suffer

00:20:24.500 in misery

00:20:25.040 and poverty

00:20:25.860 but they've been ruthless

00:20:28.060 and for many decades

00:20:29.480 they survived

00:20:31.240 in significant part

00:20:32.280 because the Soviet Union

00:20:33.340 sent them vast amounts

00:20:34.280 of money

00:20:34.580 and so they were

00:20:35.080 a satellite power

00:20:36.060 of the Soviet Union

00:20:37.060 obviously led to things

00:20:38.780 like the Cuban Missile Crisis

00:20:39.880 where the Soviets

00:20:40.700 were trying to put missiles

00:20:43.200 in Cuba

00:20:43.660 to target the United States

00:20:44.960 but in the early 1990s

00:20:48.140 when the Soviet Union

00:20:49.060 collapsed

00:20:49.700 suddenly Cuba

00:20:51.440 did not have

00:20:52.440 that financial lifeline

00:20:53.860 anymore

00:20:54.320 and when that happened

00:20:55.860 the country that stepped in

00:20:58.380 was Venezuela

00:20:59.040 and because Venezuela

00:21:00.800 has these massive

00:21:02.540 oil reserves

00:21:03.300 and at the time

00:21:04.860 still had significant money

00:21:06.220 essentially the trade-off

00:21:07.900 that Venezuela

00:21:08.440 has done for years

00:21:09.820 is Venezuela

00:21:11.320 sends massive amounts

00:21:12.900 of oil to Cuba

00:21:13.680 and it fuels

00:21:14.580 the Cuban economy

00:21:15.460 what little of it

00:21:16.520 there is

00:21:17.080 and Cuba

00:21:18.640 in effect

00:21:19.220 pays for it

00:21:20.260 by sending thugs

00:21:22.400 by sending soldiers

00:21:23.720 and guards

00:21:24.600 and the Cuban thugs

00:21:25.980 they number one

00:21:27.740 they repress

00:21:30.320 the Venezuelan people

00:21:31.540 they murder people

00:21:32.420 they torture people

00:21:33.340 but look

00:21:34.220 it speaks volumes

00:21:35.320 that Maduro's guards

00:21:38.020 were the 32 Cubans

00:21:39.300 who were guarding him

00:21:39.940 I mean that's literally

00:21:40.960 his armed forces

00:21:42.960 around him

00:21:43.680 it wasn't Venezuelan

00:21:45.000 armed forces

00:21:45.540 it was Cubans

00:21:46.680 and

00:21:47.960 President Trump

00:21:49.980 is continuing

00:21:50.600 to enforce

00:21:51.300 the oil blockade

00:21:52.380 so there is not

00:21:53.240 Venezuelan oil

00:21:54.320 flowing to Cuba

00:21:55.900 right now

00:21:56.460 that is putting

00:21:57.040 massive pressure

00:21:58.300 on the Cuban economy

00:21:59.780 and I gotta say

00:22:00.760 the communist leadership

00:22:02.140 there is looking around

00:22:03.480 and number one

00:22:04.620 you wanna talk about

00:22:05.300 their military prowess

00:22:06.360 they had 32 soldiers

00:22:07.680 guarding Maduro

00:22:08.460 all 32 Cuban soldiers

00:22:10.460 are dead

00:22:10.960 not a single US soldier

00:22:12.220 lost his life

00:22:13.140 they're sitting there

00:22:14.800 going

00:22:15.140 okay

00:22:15.660 our days are numbered

00:22:17.100 and I'm hopeful

00:22:18.280 one of the consequences

00:22:20.420 of this

00:22:21.100 will be a free Cuba

00:22:22.560 that the communist regime

00:22:23.800 falls in Cuba

00:22:24.880 and that could be a fall

00:22:27.020 because of just

00:22:27.780 the economy

00:22:28.440 totally collapsing

00:22:29.940 and the lack

00:22:31.040 of the lights

00:22:31.800 literally staying on

00:22:33.180 because of the oil

00:22:34.060 not showing up

00:22:35.160 yes

00:22:36.320 and I'll say

00:22:37.300 more broadly

00:22:37.900 dictatorships

00:22:39.200 depend upon

00:22:41.080 the perception

00:22:41.880 of strength

00:22:42.540 the perception

00:22:43.160 of invulnerability

00:22:44.340 we're seeing this

00:22:46.580 play out in Iran

00:22:47.320 right now

00:22:47.780 in Iran

00:22:48.200 there are protests

00:22:48.880 all over

00:22:49.760 Iran

00:22:50.960 on the streets

00:22:51.880 and the people

00:22:52.380 are rising up

00:22:53.220 and regular listeners

00:22:54.880 of Verdict

00:22:55.360 will recall

00:22:56.040 that in the wake

00:22:57.840 of President Trump

00:22:59.240 ordering the bombing

00:23:00.420 on the Iranian nuclear facilities

00:23:01.780 I predicted on this podcast

00:23:03.080 I said

00:23:03.760 I think the Ayatollah

00:23:05.160 and the Mullahs

00:23:05.980 their days are numbered

00:23:07.320 and here's why

00:23:08.260 the Ayatollah

00:23:10.700 lost a war

00:23:12.320 and there are

00:23:13.140 real consequences

00:23:14.480 in the real world

00:23:15.520 when you lose a war

00:23:16.440 now first

00:23:17.660 they lost

00:23:18.720 the 12 day war

00:23:19.640 to Israel

00:23:20.120 and Israel

00:23:20.780 took out

00:23:21.800 all of their air defenses

00:23:22.940 took out much

00:23:23.640 of their senior leadership

00:23:24.600 took out much

00:23:25.200 of the IRGC

00:23:26.260 took out the head

00:23:27.180 of the IRGC

00:23:27.980 literally day after day

00:23:29.360 after day

00:23:29.840 they kept appointing

00:23:30.580 someone new

00:23:31.080 and he was killed

00:23:31.540 the next day

00:23:32.140 and if you are

00:23:34.960 a radical Islamist leader

00:23:37.660 who not only

00:23:39.840 loses a war

00:23:40.740 but loses a war

00:23:41.960 to Israel

00:23:42.900 yeah

00:23:43.780 you know what

00:23:45.600 you ain't the supreme

00:23:46.680 leader in any war

00:23:47.620 you look weak

00:23:48.640 and ineffective

00:23:49.680 and there's no

00:23:50.700 ambiguity about it

00:23:51.620 there's no amount

00:23:52.420 of spinning

00:23:53.000 that can say

00:23:54.240 no no no

00:23:54.760 we didn't lose

00:23:55.740 and then you put

00:23:56.400 on top of that

00:23:57.200 the president

00:23:57.700 of the United States

00:23:58.720 bombs into oblivion

00:24:01.260 your nuclear facilities

00:24:02.380 and what I said

00:24:03.360 is look

00:24:03.680 we don't have

00:24:05.840 to send in

00:24:06.720 the US military

00:24:07.780 to Iran

00:24:08.580 for the regime

00:24:09.320 to fall

00:24:09.900 the regime

00:24:11.560 is so weakened

00:24:12.640 my hope is

00:24:13.400 the Iranian people

00:24:14.240 will rise up

00:24:15.060 and I think

00:24:15.260 there's a real possibility

00:24:16.440 that's happening

00:24:17.200 right now

00:24:17.940 and they are weakened

00:24:19.400 well the same

00:24:20.000 is true

00:24:20.620 certainly

00:24:22.680 Venezuela

00:24:23.260 the fact

00:24:24.020 that Maduro

00:24:25.380 was captured

00:24:26.080 has weakened

00:24:26.920 the communist

00:24:27.640 regime there

00:24:28.540 but the communist

00:24:30.700 regime in Cuba

00:24:31.580 the fact that

00:24:32.240 their soldiers

00:24:32.860 were just

00:24:33.340 obliterated

00:24:34.120 just like it

00:24:35.560 weakens Iran

00:24:36.780 it weakens Cuba

00:24:37.880 as well

00:24:38.360 and by the way

00:24:38.920 the same thing

00:24:39.520 is true

00:24:40.020 for Daniel Ortega

00:24:42.000 in Nicaragua

00:24:42.860 another communist

00:24:43.760 of Sandinista

00:24:44.540 the same thing

00:24:46.280 is true

00:24:46.820 for Gustavo Petro

00:24:48.000 in Colombia

00:24:48.920 another radical

00:24:49.900 left winger

00:24:51.100 who's viciously

00:24:51.880 anti-American

00:24:52.640 and even Lula

00:24:54.260 in Brazil

00:24:54.980 now Brazil

00:24:55.520 is a more stable

00:24:57.220 and stronger country

00:24:58.120 than the other players

00:24:59.100 but Lula

00:25:00.120 likewise

00:25:00.660 every leftist

00:25:02.100 in Latin America

00:25:02.980 who hates America

00:25:04.900 and hates President Trump

00:25:06.160 is materially weaker

00:25:09.700 and I believe

00:25:10.820 arresting Maduro

00:25:13.560 is going to result

00:25:14.860 in more freedom-loving

00:25:18.600 and America-loving

00:25:20.060 leaders in Latin America

00:25:21.800 and more countries

00:25:23.000 moving in the direction

00:25:25.160 to be our friends

00:25:26.200 that's good for Latin America

00:25:27.500 but it's good for America

00:25:28.460 and there's another country

00:25:29.680 I want to ask you about

00:25:30.460 and that's Mexico

00:25:31.500 yeah

00:25:32.160 you actually had a Codell

00:25:34.220 what three four months ago

00:25:35.900 where you went down

00:25:37.140 into Latin America

00:25:37.900 I would be very interested

00:25:39.720 to see how that Codell

00:25:40.980 would go down today

00:25:42.220 and what the conversations

00:25:44.240 would be like

00:25:45.060 with the leaders

00:25:45.540 you met with today

00:25:46.500 compared to then

00:25:47.580 let's talk a little bit

00:25:49.200 about Mexico

00:25:49.840 it's pretty clear now

00:25:51.960 that people are accepting

00:25:53.320 the fact that it's a failed state

00:25:54.900 the narco terrorists

00:25:56.300 are in charge of it

00:25:57.260 the president of Mexico

00:25:58.560 is a figurehead at best

00:26:00.720 there's a lot of people

00:26:02.480 that are asking the question

00:26:04.000 is that now

00:26:05.000 I guess you could say

00:26:05.600 the reality of this

00:26:06.900 because of what we are witnessing

00:26:09.360 and maybe she doesn't seem

00:26:10.840 to be as strong as she was before

00:26:12.440 what does this mean

00:26:13.800 for the narco terrorists there

00:26:15.220 and what does this mean

00:26:16.120 for America's response

00:26:17.220 and is this also an opportunity

00:26:18.900 with us to stop the flow of drugs

00:26:20.580 we've stopped the human trafficking

00:26:22.000 we've stopped the illegal immigrants

00:26:23.320 coming across the border

00:26:24.280 that's amazing

00:26:25.040 but there's still a lot of drugs

00:26:27.060 that are in Mexico

00:26:27.840 that come into the United States of America

00:26:29.360 find their way in

00:26:30.280 so what does this do now

00:26:31.980 for Donald Trump's hand

00:26:33.080 and our national security

00:26:34.300 stopping the drugs

00:26:34.920 the same way we did in Venezuela

00:26:36.100 yeah look

00:26:37.540 so I think what you said

00:26:38.780 about Claudia Scheinbaum

00:26:39.920 the president of Mexico

00:26:40.700 is too strong

00:26:41.700 I would not describe Mexico

00:26:44.040 as a failed state

00:26:45.140 and I think she is

00:26:47.180 in a fundamentally different position

00:26:49.120 than a Maduro

00:26:52.000 or the other communist dictators

00:26:54.540 in Latin America

00:26:55.300 she is a leftist

00:26:57.040 she's following AMLO

00:26:59.100 who was elected as a leftist

00:27:00.520 but listen

00:27:00.960 Mexico and the United States

00:27:02.320 have massive trade

00:27:04.560 and commerce back and forth

00:27:05.860 we cooperate on a great deal of matters

00:27:11.180 you know we've talked on this podcast

00:27:13.660 before about Mexican water

00:27:15.140 there's a water treaty

00:27:16.160 called the Water Treaty of 1944

00:27:18.060 that obligates Mexico

00:27:19.940 to provide 350,000 acre feet of water

00:27:22.720 a year to South Texas

00:27:24.000 and under Biden

00:27:25.200 the Biden administration

00:27:26.680 didn't enforce that treaty

00:27:27.920 and Mexico walked all over us

00:27:29.640 and ended up being

00:27:32.100 1.3 million acre feet of water in arrears

00:27:34.860 now what did that mean

00:27:35.560 as a practical matter

00:27:36.360 it meant that the farmers

00:27:38.380 in South Texas

00:27:39.240 were facing a drought

00:27:40.420 not a natural disaster

00:27:41.940 but a man-made disaster

00:27:43.060 it was caused by the Mexican government

00:27:44.820 defying their treaty obligations

00:27:47.500 and by the way

00:27:48.060 the Mexicans were diverting that water

00:27:49.960 from South Texas

00:27:51.440 to the farmers in Northern Mexico

00:27:53.300 and so the drought in South Texas

00:27:55.580 you had farmers

00:27:56.540 who were taking about half their acreage

00:27:58.380 out of production

00:27:59.020 were laying off workers

00:28:00.200 the only sugar mill in Texas

00:28:02.840 in 2024 closed down

00:28:04.780 because of the drought

00:28:06.320 caused by Mexico

00:28:07.480 defying the treaty

00:28:09.500 and the farms in Northern Mexico

00:28:12.020 were lush and verdant

00:28:13.460 I mean they were awash in water

00:28:14.820 and I spent the entire Biden presidency

00:28:17.740 trying to get the Biden State Department

00:28:19.460 to stand up to Mexico

00:28:20.340 they refused to do so

00:28:21.500 when Trump came in

00:28:23.120 I went to him directly

00:28:25.580 and asked him

00:28:26.480 and in fact I worked with him

00:28:27.900 to draft a tweet that he sent

00:28:29.480 that made very clear

00:28:31.140 he threatened Mexico

00:28:32.260 if you don't give the water

00:28:33.600 that Texas deserves

00:28:34.660 we're going to impose sanctions

00:28:36.380 or tariffs

00:28:37.100 the day President Trump

00:28:39.840 sent the tweet

00:28:40.760 and to be clear

00:28:41.340 it was a tweet that I helped write

00:28:42.840 that night

00:28:45.200 Claudia Scheinbaum

00:28:46.560 called an emergency cabinet meeting

00:28:48.500 at 7pm that evening

00:28:49.940 to decide how to respond

00:28:51.560 and she responded

00:28:53.060 by releasing about

00:28:54.060 400,000 acre feet of water

00:28:55.900 which was enormously helpful

00:28:58.180 to the farmers in South Texas

00:28:59.700 and then

00:29:00.260 just in December

00:29:02.080 the Mexicans had started

00:29:04.260 slow walking the water again

00:29:05.700 and so I went to Trump again

00:29:06.840 I went to the Oval

00:29:07.700 and number one

00:29:08.540 I told him the story

00:29:09.420 of like the emergency cabinet meeting

00:29:10.880 which I don't know

00:29:12.040 that he had heard

00:29:12.700 the blow by blow

00:29:13.880 of what had happened

00:29:14.660 but then I said

00:29:17.060 look they're slow walking it again

00:29:18.700 would you send another tweet

00:29:19.760 he said sure

00:29:20.340 draft something for me

00:29:21.340 and we'll do it

00:29:21.940 within like a day or two

00:29:23.700 he sent out the other tweet

00:29:24.880 and he said

00:29:25.680 look we're going to respond

00:29:27.580 forcibly against Mexico

00:29:29.040 unless

00:29:29.840 you agree to provide us

00:29:32.760 they owe us

00:29:34.020 under the treaty

00:29:34.900 a little over 800,000

00:29:36.280 acre feet of water remaining

00:29:37.600 and Mexico agreed

00:29:39.360 we're going to provide the water

00:29:40.480 so I will say

00:29:41.640 Mexico

00:29:42.940 look look

00:29:43.680 Claudia Scheinbaum

00:29:44.660 is no doubt disturbed

00:29:47.820 by seeing Maduro weakened

00:29:49.420 and Mexico had

00:29:50.740 to some extent

00:29:52.200 aligned with the

00:29:53.500 Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua

00:29:55.200 Colombia access

00:29:56.340 but Mexico also

00:29:58.120 has very close

00:29:59.040 relationships

00:29:59.560 with the United States

00:30:00.320 so it stands on a different footing

00:30:01.640 but you're right

00:30:02.240 in August

00:30:02.680 when I was in Mexico

00:30:03.680 meeting with senior

00:30:05.320 government officials

00:30:06.120 I said listen

00:30:06.940 you guys are either

00:30:08.800 going to go after

00:30:09.740 the narco traffickers

00:30:10.940 who are in Mexico

00:30:11.800 the cartels

00:30:12.580 that became massively

00:30:13.700 powerful under Biden

00:30:15.040 or if you don't

00:30:16.480 go after them

00:30:17.160 I said I believe

00:30:18.020 Donald Trump will

00:30:18.860 and they were skeptical

00:30:21.020 I gotta tell you

00:30:21.800 my sort of senior

00:30:23.380 foreign policy guy

00:30:24.460 was on the trip with me

00:30:25.420 and he argued with me

00:30:27.240 and what he argued

00:30:28.800 with me at the time

00:30:29.780 is he said

00:30:30.420 I think

00:30:31.280 Trump will go after

00:30:33.520 Venezuela before Mexico

00:30:34.920 and I said

00:30:36.320 I don't know about that

00:30:37.180 I think the Mexican cartels

00:30:38.860 he's very focused on it

00:30:40.240 well it turned out

00:30:41.040 he maintains

00:30:42.560 we made a bet on it

00:30:43.440 I don't recall any wager

00:30:44.560 but he insists

00:30:45.480 that we did

00:30:45.920 I believe that there was

00:30:47.460 a bet now

00:30:47.940 I totally believe it

00:30:48.860 because I know

00:30:49.220 who you're talking about

00:30:50.040 I'm going to side on this one

00:30:51.520 for sure

00:30:52.420 I am skeptical

00:30:54.380 that there was any wager

00:30:55.460 but I will say

00:30:57.240 you're right for Mexico also

00:30:59.220 I have every confidence

00:31:02.260 that it is going to focus

00:31:03.420 the mind of the administration

00:31:04.900 that when the Trump administration

00:31:06.640 says

00:31:07.420 let's go after

00:31:08.600 the narco traffickers

00:31:09.980 they better cooperate

00:31:11.980 or bad things can happen

00:31:13.400 and I think that's

00:31:14.400 a great thing

00:31:15.720 and as I told the president

00:31:17.080 yesterday when I talked to him

00:31:18.200 I said listen

00:31:18.740 the world is safer

00:31:19.860 the world is better off

00:31:20.960 America is safer

00:31:22.100 when we have a strong

00:31:23.460 commander-in-chief

00:31:24.400 as compared to a weak

00:31:25.860 commander-in-chief

00:31:26.460 as compared to Joe Biden

00:31:27.560 and I'll tell you

00:31:28.160 Trump and I both talked about

00:31:29.940 we both immediately

00:31:30.940 went to the same analogy

00:31:32.040 which was Jimmy Carter

00:31:33.960 when he sent in

00:31:35.720 a rescue team

00:31:36.800 to rescue our hostages

00:31:38.140 in Iran in 1979

00:31:39.360 and that rescue team

00:31:43.340 crashed in the desert

00:31:44.980 two helicopters

00:31:45.800 crashed into each other

00:31:47.140 and there was no

00:31:48.260 and there was no opposing fire

00:31:49.120 they hadn't even gotten there

00:31:50.280 they just crashed

00:31:51.100 and it was

00:31:51.900 and actually

00:31:52.820 Trump asked me

00:31:53.940 the following question

00:31:55.000 he said

00:31:55.400 do you think

00:31:56.540 Carter would have lost

00:31:57.820 if those helicopters

00:32:00.160 hadn't crashed

00:32:01.020 and I said

00:32:01.460 I don't know

00:32:01.860 it's a very good question

00:32:03.000 and he said

00:32:04.280 or if there hadn't been

00:32:05.000 a hostage crisis

00:32:05.800 I said

00:32:06.160 that's a really good question

00:32:07.380 I said

00:32:07.660 I think Carter lost

00:32:08.560 for two big reasons

00:32:10.460 one

00:32:11.340 the economy was a disaster

00:32:12.680 and he screwed it up badly

00:32:13.780 and two

00:32:15.020 the incredible weakness

00:32:16.160 of the hostage crisis

00:32:17.420 Americans don't like

00:32:18.480 a weak president

00:32:19.080 I think those two

00:32:20.180 are what elected

00:32:21.500 Ronald Reagan

00:32:22.200 and I told President Trump

00:32:23.940 I said

00:32:24.240 we don't have to go

00:32:24.900 all the way back to Carter

00:32:25.840 we can go to Joe Biden

00:32:27.620 Joe Biden

00:32:28.360 lost

00:32:30.040 and you won

00:32:30.760 number one

00:32:31.280 because he screwed up

00:32:31.940 the economy

00:32:32.500 and number two

00:32:33.980 for the same thing

00:32:34.900 the foreign policy weakness

00:32:36.240 and it's why I said

00:32:37.360 that President Trump

00:32:38.520 showed so much courage

00:32:39.560 by ordering this attack

00:32:41.260 because these things

00:32:43.020 can go wrong

00:32:43.680 now I think

00:32:44.140 part of the reason

00:32:44.920 the military

00:32:45.400 was so effective

00:32:46.280 is he's

00:32:46.780 he's taken

00:32:48.400 the shackles off them

00:32:50.540 and let them

00:32:51.120 focused on war fighting

00:32:52.340 on doing their job

00:32:53.280 on being effective

00:32:54.160 you don't have

00:32:55.100 a bunch of lawyers

00:32:56.060 he's not DEIing it anymore

00:32:57.220 right

00:32:57.540 like we were before

00:32:58.400 you don't have

00:32:58.940 a bunch of dudes

00:32:59.600 acting like chicks

00:33:00.520 that are trying

00:33:00.960 to get in the armed forces

00:33:01.860 that's exactly right

00:33:04.400 and he allows them

00:33:06.020 to focus on excellence

00:33:08.000 and performing their job

00:33:09.600 of keeping this country safe

00:33:11.120 and it was an extraordinary

00:33:14.680 operation in Venezuela

00:33:15.920 it really was

00:33:17.180 so let's go to Venezuela now

00:33:19.820 and wrap with this

00:33:21.040 what is next

00:33:22.440 and let me just

00:33:23.380 I could look at my Twitter feed

00:33:25.480 and I was on CNN last night

00:33:27.300 and it was the topic

00:33:29.060 of conversation

00:33:29.920 and that is

00:33:30.960 there are a lot of people

00:33:32.780 that believe

00:33:33.480 that America first policy

00:33:35.220 that Donald Trump ran on

00:33:37.000 was not invading countries

00:33:38.920 and staying indefinitely

00:33:40.180 like Iraq

00:33:41.380 Afghanistan

00:33:42.180 there is a lot of concern

00:33:44.380 I heard it

00:33:46.120 you probably saw the clip

00:33:47.120 of Lindsey Graham

00:33:47.880 on Air Force One

00:33:49.000 with the president

00:33:49.640 saying you know

00:33:50.280 this is a guy that loves

00:33:51.140 to be in these forever wars

00:33:52.460 and there was people

00:33:53.200 that were really concerned

00:33:54.180 with that image

00:33:55.180 of if that's who's in his ear

00:33:56.860 I don't want to get bogged down

00:33:59.000 in Venezuela

00:33:59.740 I don't want our men and women

00:34:01.700 to be there

00:34:02.260 and loss of life

00:34:04.140 to mount and grow

00:34:05.740 because we decide

00:34:06.900 to take over a country

00:34:07.960 indefinitely

00:34:08.520 there's a lot of people

00:34:09.720 that voted for Trump

00:34:10.460 they believe that's what

00:34:11.880 he was never going to do

00:34:13.160 and now they're like

00:34:13.720 well hold on

00:34:14.200 we're here

00:34:14.720 we're going to take it over

00:34:15.440 there is a lot of concern

00:34:17.180 so let's dive into that

00:34:18.660 and talk about

00:34:19.420 what this looks like

00:34:20.800 next in Venezuela

00:34:21.460 what is responsibility

00:34:23.300 what responsibility

00:34:24.680 do we have

00:34:25.240 to do it the right way

00:34:26.360 but also to not

00:34:27.400 just sit there indefinitely

00:34:28.760 well listen

00:34:29.800 first of all

00:34:30.360 let me be clear

00:34:30.960 we are not at war

00:34:32.760 with Venezuela

00:34:33.400 this is not a forever war

00:34:36.540 it's not even a war

00:34:37.460 this was a military operation

00:34:40.360 to execute an arrest warrant

00:34:42.160 it was the military

00:34:43.040 supporting the FBI

00:34:44.420 and arresting

00:34:45.420 indicted narco terrorists

00:34:47.160 and it took a couple of hours

00:34:49.360 and was over

00:34:49.880 they went in

00:34:50.560 they got them

00:34:51.220 and they left

00:34:51.740 that was the conclusion

00:34:53.440 of the military conflict

00:34:54.600 it's not a war

00:34:55.460 it's not

00:34:56.420 as I said

00:34:57.040 it's not a forever war

00:34:57.880 it was not even a five hour war

00:34:59.540 it was about a two hour war

00:35:00.840 and I wouldn't even call it a war

00:35:02.700 it was

00:35:03.320 when you go and arrest someone

00:35:05.180 it was an

00:35:06.060 it was an arrest

00:35:07.180 with the military

00:35:08.120 supporting and protecting

00:35:09.460 the law enforcement officers

00:35:10.720 carrying out the arrest

00:35:11.680 what happens next

00:35:14.560 so

00:35:15.060 so

00:35:15.840 the day after Maduro

00:35:17.460 was

00:35:17.920 was arrested

00:35:18.760 Delcy Rodriguez

00:35:20.560 who was the vice president

00:35:21.620 was sworn in

00:35:22.600 as the interim president

00:35:23.560 now

00:35:24.460 listen

00:35:24.900 no American

00:35:26.440 should be happy

00:35:27.480 with Delcy Rodriguez

00:35:28.720 as the president

00:35:29.640 of Venezuela

00:35:30.160 for any extended

00:35:31.740 period of time

00:35:32.420 and I'm going to go into

00:35:33.220 a little bit of background

00:35:34.060 in terms of who she is

00:35:35.220 and then talk about

00:35:36.580 what should happen next

00:35:37.480 now Delcy Rodriguez

00:35:38.520 is a communist

00:35:39.220 yes

00:35:40.240 she was

00:35:40.660 she was the vice president

00:35:41.780 she hates America

00:35:42.920 let me give you some of her

00:35:43.780 background

00:35:44.500 she was the vice president

00:35:48.000 before that

00:35:49.620 she was the oil minister

00:35:51.160 and

00:35:52.520 she was

00:35:54.000 she is a lawyer too

00:35:55.020 like the first lady

00:35:55.960 and she's been in

00:35:58.080 in just about

00:35:59.160 every post

00:35:59.940 she was also

00:36:00.620 she was foreign minister

00:36:01.720 she was president

00:36:03.160 of the constituent assembly

00:36:04.340 vice president

00:36:05.680 and oil minister

00:36:06.460 she was sworn in

00:36:07.660 as the interim president

00:36:09.460 you know who swore in

00:36:10.260 who's that

00:36:11.260 her brother

00:36:12.600 Jorge Rodriguez

00:36:13.960 who is the head

00:36:14.680 of the national assembly

00:36:15.680 so to understand

00:36:16.560 this is

00:36:18.220 is a corrupt

00:36:19.780 Marxist

00:36:21.440 communist

00:36:22.160 America

00:36:23.100 hating woman

00:36:23.800 and let me give you

00:36:24.440 her background

00:36:24.900 she was born in Caracas

00:36:25.880 she is the daughter

00:36:28.000 of a Marxist

00:36:29.920 guerrilla leader

00:36:30.680 named Jorge Antonio

00:36:32.140 Rodriguez

00:36:32.640 and she is

00:36:34.600 rather

00:36:35.480 her dad

00:36:36.580 was a co-founder

00:36:37.200 of the Socialist League

00:36:38.120 her dad

00:36:39.420 was arrested

00:36:40.640 in connection

00:36:41.920 with the 1976

00:36:43.220 kidnapping

00:36:44.040 of American businessman

00:36:45.420 William F. Niehaus

00:36:47.380 and died

00:36:49.020 in police custody

00:36:50.000 and

00:36:51.360 one source

00:36:53.100 said the following

00:36:53.920 that ordeal

00:36:55.640 is the foundation

00:36:57.280 is the foundation

00:36:57.300 and origin

00:36:58.400 of Delcy's

00:37:00.240 hatred of the West

00:37:01.300 and of democracy

00:37:03.100 her whole

00:37:04.980 background

00:37:05.740 was Marxist

00:37:07.360 and in fact

00:37:08.380 the source

00:37:08.820 continued

00:37:09.440 the guerrilla Marxist

00:37:11.040 element

00:37:11.440 kidnapped

00:37:12.140 at American

00:37:12.680 executive

00:37:13.180 1976

00:37:13.900 he was held

00:37:14.800 for three years

00:37:16.180 until authorities

00:37:17.760 located the group

00:37:18.820 hiding in the

00:37:19.620 Amazon jungle

00:37:20.940 she is

00:37:24.160 she was

00:37:26.000 sanctioned

00:37:27.540 by the Treasury

00:37:29.480 Department's

00:37:30.120 Office of Foreign

00:37:30.880 Asset Control

00:37:31.800 because of her

00:37:33.560 senior

00:37:33.940 role in the

00:37:35.600 Maduro

00:37:35.860 administration

00:37:36.440 those sanctions

00:37:37.020 are still in place

00:37:37.920 she was

00:37:39.700 also

00:37:40.440 caught

00:37:41.560 transporting

00:37:42.540 gold

00:37:42.980 illegally

00:37:43.360 into Spain

00:37:44.120 she had

00:37:45.440 40 bags

00:37:47.020 4-0

00:37:47.800 bags

00:37:48.400 full of gold

00:37:49.260 in a private jet

00:37:50.920 as the vice president

00:37:51.780 and they put the bags

00:37:53.460 through the x-ray

00:37:54.200 they said

00:37:54.520 wait

00:37:54.720 you got 40 bags

00:37:55.560 full of gold

00:37:56.160 and she was

00:37:58.360 she's like

00:37:58.760 I'm from Venezuela

00:37:59.400 this is normal

00:38:00.100 this is how we operate

00:38:01.000 there

00:38:01.200 I'm the vice president

00:38:02.040 right

00:38:02.400 that's no big deal

00:38:03.480 look

00:38:03.820 she is a

00:38:04.660 communist leader

00:38:05.720 and she is not

00:38:08.180 a friend of the west

00:38:08.960 now I will say this

00:38:10.380 right now

00:38:11.960 it appears

00:38:12.960 she's cooperating

00:38:13.960 with the Trump

00:38:14.400 administration

00:38:14.980 I'm sure it made

00:38:16.840 an impression

00:38:17.400 seeing Delta 4

00:38:18.760 show up

00:38:19.320 and arrest Maduro

00:38:20.000 and the first lady

00:38:20.720 yeah

00:38:21.500 because she could be next

00:38:22.600 she's cooperating

00:38:24.820 right now

00:38:25.500 we'll see if she

00:38:27.060 continues to cooperate

00:38:28.060 by the way

00:38:28.600 there are multiple

00:38:29.200 reports of violence

00:38:30.360 on the ground

00:38:31.040 there have been

00:38:31.440 reports of potential

00:38:32.500 coups from other

00:38:33.440 leaders in the government

00:38:34.160 there is some

00:38:35.200 instability

00:38:35.700 but I'll tell you

00:38:36.460 what needs to happen

00:38:37.260 no one should be

00:38:38.600 happy

00:38:38.960 number one

00:38:40.120 what you said

00:38:41.600 is exactly right

00:38:42.420 we do not want to

00:38:43.260 see an American

00:38:44.640 occupation

00:38:45.140 we don't want to

00:38:46.060 see an extended

00:38:46.720 American presence

00:38:47.640 on the ground

00:38:48.420 and we don't want

00:38:50.100 to see this

00:38:50.860 America hating

00:38:51.680 communists

00:38:52.760 essentially

00:38:54.920 the Maduro

00:38:55.840 regime continuing

00:38:56.960 what should happen

00:38:58.140 is free and fair

00:39:00.120 elections

00:39:00.620 and free and fair

00:39:01.760 elections

00:39:02.300 look the last

00:39:03.420 election

00:39:03.960 we talked about

00:39:05.500 in the last

00:39:05.960 podcast

00:39:06.400 that Maduro

00:39:08.020 was arrested

00:39:08.660 because he's

00:39:09.040 an ARCO

00:39:09.340 trafficker

00:39:09.880 but he was

00:39:10.200 also arrested

00:39:10.840 because he's

00:39:11.320 illegitimate

00:39:11.920 because in the

00:39:12.960 last election

00:39:13.660 he lost

00:39:14.320 decisively

00:39:15.280 to the opposition

00:39:16.080 party

00:39:16.540 and yet he

00:39:17.320 stayed in power

00:39:18.080 just as a

00:39:18.660 thug and dictator

00:39:19.360 and that was

00:39:19.820 part of the

00:39:20.480 legal basis

00:39:21.840 for why we

00:39:22.580 could do this

00:39:23.220 because he was

00:39:23.740 no longer

00:39:24.220 legitimately

00:39:24.780 a head of state

00:39:25.560 and he was

00:39:26.420 not recognized

00:39:27.060 as the head

00:39:27.560 of state

00:39:27.900 by the United

00:39:28.460 States

00:39:28.840 including the

00:39:29.460 Biden

00:39:29.700 administration

00:39:30.180 and much

00:39:31.000 of the rest

00:39:31.400 of the world

00:39:31.900 there should

00:39:34.780 be free

00:39:35.340 and fair

00:39:35.720 elections

00:39:36.140 and I think

00:39:36.560 it would be

00:39:36.940 very very good

00:39:38.080 for Venezuela

00:39:38.640 and very very

00:39:40.440 good for America

00:39:41.320 if they were

00:39:41.920 to elect

00:39:42.480 a leader

00:39:43.060 who is

00:39:45.480 a pro-America

00:39:47.240 pro-free market

00:39:48.400 leader

00:39:49.100 and Venezuela

00:39:50.560 were to return

00:39:51.560 to being a friend

00:39:52.460 particularly

00:39:53.160 look one of the

00:39:54.820 big things

00:39:55.440 they've got

00:39:55.820 the largest

00:39:56.620 proven oil

00:39:57.400 reserves

00:39:57.820 of any country

00:39:58.460 in the world

00:39:58.960 and it really

00:40:00.100 is amazing

00:40:00.740 that if you

00:40:01.460 think about

00:40:01.960 the amount

00:40:02.740 of oil

00:40:03.000 they have

00:40:03.560 and also

00:40:04.080 gold

00:40:04.520 that how

00:40:05.440 quickly

00:40:05.920 they could

00:40:06.340 come out

00:40:06.960 of this

00:40:07.300 if they

00:40:07.700 just didn't

00:40:08.220 have communists

00:40:08.940 running the

00:40:09.380 country

00:40:09.700 like this

00:40:10.300 is this

00:40:11.060 would be

00:40:11.460 one of the

00:40:11.880 easiest

00:40:12.360 I was

00:40:13.160 described

00:40:13.520 today

00:40:13.740 by a

00:40:14.500 banker

00:40:14.880 and he

00:40:15.340 was he

00:40:15.680 was just

00:40:16.180 trying to

00:40:16.620 put it

00:40:16.820 in perspective

00:40:17.240 he's like

00:40:17.580 when other

00:40:18.300 countries fall

00:40:19.040 then they need

00:40:19.680 the World Bank

00:40:20.320 they need

00:40:20.600 people to

00:40:20.880 come in

00:40:21.220 and give

00:40:21.440 them cash

00:40:22.040 and to

00:40:23.000 help just

00:40:23.760 stabilize

00:40:24.240 at the bare

00:40:25.600 minimum of

00:40:26.040 total collapse

00:40:26.740 their economy

00:40:27.260 he said

00:40:28.100 if you

00:40:28.480 asked me

00:40:28.980 right now

00:40:29.540 what country

00:40:30.440 would I

00:40:30.840 want to be

00:40:31.260 able to

00:40:31.480 take over

00:40:32.140 based on

00:40:32.740 their resources

00:40:33.520 to build

00:40:34.140 them back

00:40:34.480 up the

00:40:34.800 fastest

00:40:35.180 he was like

00:40:36.040 Venezuela

00:40:36.420 is like

00:40:36.840 one of the

00:40:37.420 easiest ones

00:40:38.180 in the

00:40:38.480 whole world

00:40:39.120 to do

00:40:39.720 because of

00:40:40.700 how minutes

00:40:41.460 they have

00:40:42.160 to sell

00:40:42.900 they could

00:40:43.700 get their

00:40:44.300 economy up

00:40:45.260 and roaring

00:40:45.800 and the

00:40:46.320 people could

00:40:47.060 have a great

00:40:47.520 life

00:40:47.820 and they

00:40:48.220 used to

00:40:48.640 have that

00:40:49.080 by the way

00:40:49.440 in Venezuela

00:40:49.760 people forget

00:40:50.480 that

00:40:50.880 yeah

00:40:51.620 remember

00:40:52.020 in 1950

00:40:52.920 Venezuela

00:40:54.180 had the

00:40:54.960 fourth highest

00:40:55.840 GDP per

00:40:56.660 capita

00:40:57.000 in the

00:40:57.440 world

00:40:57.720 the United

00:40:58.060 States

00:40:58.360 was first

00:40:59.020 then Switzerland

00:41:00.120 then New

00:41:00.680 Zealand

00:41:00.980 and Venezuela

00:41:01.480 was number

00:41:02.040 four

00:41:02.360 that's what

00:41:03.020 these

00:41:03.280 communists

00:41:03.860 screwed up

00:41:04.500 and listen

00:41:05.740 President Trump

00:41:06.700 has focused

00:41:07.260 a great deal

00:41:07.940 on trying

00:41:08.360 to get

00:41:08.640 US oil

00:41:09.200 companies

00:41:09.600 to go

00:41:10.620 and invest

00:41:11.260 in Venezuela

00:41:11.880 now to

00:41:12.280 produce the

00:41:13.020 oil

00:41:13.240 even though

00:41:13.720 they have

00:41:13.940 proven

00:41:14.220 reserves

00:41:14.760 their

00:41:15.400 infrastructure

00:41:16.040 has

00:41:16.320 collapsed

00:41:16.800 it's

00:41:17.840 the corruption

00:41:18.860 of the

00:41:19.440 communism

00:41:19.860 they're not

00:41:21.040 producing

00:41:21.760 what they

00:41:22.280 could

00:41:22.680 and to

00:41:23.760 be able

00:41:24.140 to produce

00:41:24.820 will take

00:41:25.720 an investment

00:41:26.480 of likely

00:41:27.760 hundreds of

00:41:28.920 billions of

00:41:29.460 dollars

00:41:29.700 it's not

00:41:30.160 a cheap

00:41:30.620 proposition

00:41:31.260 now

00:41:32.020 the oil

00:41:33.180 that will

00:41:33.560 be produced

00:41:34.240 would generate

00:41:34.840 more revenue

00:41:35.480 than that

00:41:36.060 but I'll

00:41:36.920 tell you

00:41:37.240 I actually

00:41:37.860 spent a good

00:41:38.420 chunk of

00:41:38.800 the day

00:41:39.080 talking to

00:41:39.820 people in

00:41:40.420 the energy

00:41:41.320 industry

00:41:41.720 and asking

00:41:42.340 their views

00:41:43.000 on Venezuela

00:41:43.620 and a

00:41:44.920 big question

00:41:46.020 that if

00:41:47.460 you're

00:41:47.840 let's say

00:41:48.400 you're the

00:41:48.780 CEO of

00:41:49.320 Chevron

00:41:49.660 or the

00:41:49.920 CEO of

00:41:50.320 Exxon

00:41:50.660 Mobil

00:41:50.940 and you're

00:41:51.400 trying to

00:41:51.780 decide

00:41:52.160 do I

00:41:52.840 invest

00:41:53.600 tens of

00:41:54.460 billions

00:41:54.720 or hundreds

00:41:55.120 of billions

00:41:55.620 your number

00:41:56.820 one question

00:41:57.540 is what's

00:41:58.000 the government

00:41:58.420 there

00:41:58.740 are they

00:41:59.640 stable

00:42:00.100 is there

00:42:00.460 rule of

00:42:00.900 law

00:42:01.200 are they

00:42:01.840 going to

00:42:02.060 protect

00:42:02.460 me

00:42:02.660 are they

00:42:02.940 going to

00:42:03.280 seize

00:42:03.580 am I

00:42:03.880 going to

00:42:04.060 invest

00:42:04.320 a hundred

00:42:04.580 billion

00:42:04.880 dollars

00:42:05.220 and they

00:42:05.440 come seize

00:42:05.920 the assets

00:42:06.400 like they

00:42:06.800 did before

00:42:07.320 if you

00:42:08.100 don't trust

00:42:08.960 the government

00:42:09.520 there

00:42:09.960 to protect

00:42:11.140 your property

00:42:11.700 rights

00:42:12.060 you're not

00:42:12.960 going to

00:42:13.200 invest

00:42:13.560 and it's

00:42:13.980 why

00:42:14.480 having

00:42:15.700 free and

00:42:16.200 fair

00:42:16.380 elections

00:42:16.920 and a

00:42:17.260 stable

00:42:17.580 government

00:42:18.020 that is

00:42:18.340 friends of

00:42:18.780 the United

00:42:19.140 States

00:42:19.600 that is

00:42:20.360 not

00:42:20.780 communist

00:42:21.320 is critical

00:42:23.120 to the

00:42:23.720 success

00:42:24.540 not just

00:42:26.560 of Venezuela

00:42:27.140 but to the

00:42:27.860 success of

00:42:29.020 America's

00:42:29.900 relationship

00:42:30.420 with Venezuela

00:42:31.080 and so I

00:42:32.300 will say

00:42:32.920 you know

00:42:34.620 there's some

00:42:35.320 folks you're

00:42:35.820 seeing people

00:42:36.320 who are saying

00:42:36.720 well I don't

00:42:37.100 know this

00:42:37.540 this was not

00:42:38.440 regime change

00:42:39.620 because we

00:42:40.160 just arrested

00:42:40.820 Maduro but

00:42:41.380 the exact same

00:42:42.160 regime is in

00:42:42.860 place and let

00:42:43.440 me be clear

00:42:43.960 this I

00:42:45.700 very much

00:42:46.280 hope will

00:42:46.800 be regime

00:42:47.460 change at

00:42:48.400 the ballot

00:42:48.820 box which

00:42:49.740 is a very

00:42:50.200 different thing

00:42:51.000 that it will

00:42:51.680 be the voters

00:42:52.480 that there

00:42:53.300 will be a

00:42:53.740 free and fair

00:42:54.220 elections and

00:42:54.880 the voters

00:42:55.320 will choose

00:42:55.980 we don't

00:42:56.900 want these

00:42:57.440 corrupt

00:42:57.980 Marxist

00:42:59.160 narco

00:42:59.580 traffickers

00:43:00.220 we want a

00:43:01.540 leader that

00:43:02.060 we choose

00:43:02.780 to represent

00:43:03.380 us and

00:43:04.540 to bring us

00:43:05.320 back to

00:43:05.760 prosperity and

00:43:06.500 if you want

00:43:06.900 prosperity in

00:43:07.760 Venezuela

00:43:08.080 you want

00:43:09.380 free enterprise

00:43:10.020 you want

00:43:11.020 incentives

00:43:12.500 for investment

00:43:13.660 to develop

00:43:14.360 the massive

00:43:14.920 natural resources

00:43:15.880 and you want

00:43:16.400 to trade

00:43:16.800 with the

00:43:17.100 United States

00:43:17.720 of America

00:43:18.180 and so that's

00:43:18.860 the outcome

00:43:19.500 all of us

00:43:20.760 should be

00:43:21.100 rooting for

00:43:21.640 and I believe

00:43:22.320 that's the

00:43:22.780 outcome

00:43:23.100 President Trump

00:43:23.860 is working

00:43:25.020 very hard

00:43:25.620 to produce

00:43:26.120 yeah it's

00:43:27.160 going to be

00:43:27.940 very interesting

00:43:28.440 to see

00:43:28.740 we're going

00:43:29.060 to keep

00:43:29.400 covering it

00:43:29.940 I can promise

00:43:30.620 you that

00:43:31.160 don't forget

00:43:32.060 we do this

00:43:32.440 show Monday

00:43:32.800 Wednesday

00:43:33.020 Friday

00:43:33.400 and if you

00:43:33.920 missed part

00:43:34.420 one of our

00:43:35.620 deep dive

00:43:36.080 into Venezuela

00:43:36.600 and what has

00:43:37.280 happened

00:43:37.580 make sure

00:43:38.540 you go back

00:43:39.060 and grab

00:43:39.460 Monday's

00:43:40.200 podcast

00:43:40.840 wherever you

00:43:41.760 get your

00:43:41.980 podcasts

00:43:42.400 and also

00:43:43.060 you can

00:43:43.380 watch our

00:43:43.760 episodes on

00:43:44.320 YouTube

00:43:44.620 subscribe to

00:43:45.360 the channel

00:43:45.540 there it's

00:43:45.860 free

00:43:46.140 also on

00:43:47.340 Facebook

00:43:47.700 you can do

00:43:48.120 that as well

00:43:48.620 follow the

00:43:49.080 center and I

00:43:49.500 on X

00:43:50.080 and we will

00:43:50.620 keep you up to

00:43:51.100 date on

00:43:51.360 everything going

00:43:51.880 on in the

00:43:52.100 world

00:43:52.320 and the

00:43:52.860 center and I

00:43:53.140 will see you

00:43:53.480 back here

00:43:53.960 Friday morning

00:43:54.680 this is an

00:43:56.460 iHeart podcast

00:43:57.400 guaranteed human

00:43:59.520 ch

00:44:11.160 you

00:44:11.500 you

00:44:11.920 you

00:44:12.600 you

00:44:14.400 you

00:44:15.020 you

Verdict with Ted Cruz - January 07, 2026

Venezuela Victory part 2-Historically Transforming Latin America & What Happens Next

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