October 25, 2025 • 7 mins
Military tensions are escalating in the Caribbean Sea, as the US deploys the world's largest warship to counter drug-traffickers.
The US says it has killed dozens of people in strikes on small vessels from Venezuela which it alleges carry 'narcotics' and 'narco-terrorists.'
But US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says Venezuela's fighting back.
"The President of Venezuela, who's accusing the US of 'fabricating' this new war - but yet, we see the drug trail kind of leads back there as well."
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks EDB warning.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
One misstep from the US could result in a small
war with Venezuela. This is after the US announced it
was sending aircraft carrier to Latin America. It's a major
escalation of military build up in the area. And US
correspondent Dan Mitchison is with me. Now, good morning, Good morning.
How big an escalation is this?
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Well, I mean that's a good question. I think that's
yet to be seen. And you hit the nail on
the head right there. If your listeners are wondering, Yes,
deploying an aircraft carrier of this size, it's the USS
Gerald Ford is a major escalation of military power. And yes,
we've already seen an unusually large build up I think
(00:52):
in the Caribbean and the waters off Venezuela, and we've
conducted I think it's ten strikes now on these suspected
drug running boats. And the President says he's not going
to stop.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
What is this about for Trump and his administration? Is
it about Trump? Or is it more about Maco Rubia
driving this?
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Ah boy? That is another good question. There have been
a number of articles written in the paper, a couple
that I've been peruising through this morning, and one from
the I think it was the La Times said that basically,
this is the Trump administration banking on the idea that
it can get away with the boat bombings. They've had,
(01:30):
you know, forty three people that have died, and they say,
or at least people in the White House field that
anyone who might have any kind of sympathy or doubt
deserves aggression as well. So I think this is Trump
just trying to make his presence felt. I think he's
trying to live up to promises of cutting down on
drugs running into the US that he had made during
(01:50):
his campaign. And ye, and that's kind of where we
are with this whole situation too. An then you've got
the president of course of Venezuela who's accusing the US
of fabricating this new war and saying, well, you're doing
this and it's ill legal. But yet we see the
you know, the drug trail kind of leads back there
as well. To the US.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
We have seen a group of Republican senators pretty much
join the Democrats to just remind Trump that they, you know,
he cannot go to war without the consent. There are
people calling for congressional oversight on this.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Yeah, you're right, you're right. You've got members of the
US Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, who continue to raise
concerns about how legal this is. How legal are these strikes?
Does the president have authority to order them? But one
of the things I think that we've seen, especially this
week with President Trump, well it goes back a lot
more than this week, but I'm thinking of the destruction
(02:46):
of the East Room with the at the White House.
That is something that he had needed prior authorization to do,
and he went ahead and did it. Anyway, it's the
same with this. I think, you know, there are these
concerns that he should have gone about this through the
proper channels, which he didn't. Instead, he's giving the orders directly,
and you know those orders are being followed. But again,
(03:09):
this will go back to the legality of the whole situation.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Right now and at the moment, all the action has
taken place on the water, but there is some concern
with this kind of firepower in the region that it
could move on land. Do you anticipate that.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
I would think that the President wants to keep boots
off the ground at this point. And you know, the
Trump is continuing to accuse Maduro of being the leader
of these drug trafficking organizations, and I think he's seen
some results right now not having boots on the ground there.
They're getting some results from just just firing these attacks
(03:50):
on the water. There are fears, I think in Venezuela
two that the build up is aimed at removing the
president of that country from office. And he's been a
long time opponent. I mean, there's no secret of President
Trump and the US just doesn't recognize him as Venezuela's
legitimate leader right now. After the election they had last year,
they said, you know, this wasn't a free election. This
(04:11):
wasn't a fair election. So I think when the President
gets a b and his bonnet and he takes things
personally as he does with this, I think he will
continue to go after this until there is a resolution
of some sort.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So that's potentially the endgame here, the toppling of President Maduro,
one would think.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
So. I mean, obviously, drugs is has been a big
concern in this country for some time. Usually it's Mexico
that the president goes after and he has to a
certain extent right now, and there have been with the
trade wars going on right now, conversations with Mexico's president
about Okay, we're going to pull back on those trade
wars if you ease up on the drug situation or
(04:55):
you crack down on the drug situation and try to
get the supply lowered here into the US. And I
think it's the same thing with that country, but it's
also a little bit more. I think that they want
they want him out of it as their leader.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Which kind of explains you know, there's all US talk
about Venezuela and the fentanyl and things, but they are
not a major source of fintanyl and even not really
a major source of cocaine. It kind of explains a
reason that's been given that doesn't quite make sense.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Well it does. I mean, the cartels are obviously bad.
Drugs are bad. You know that Marco Rubio has said.
Bottom line, these are drug boats that are coming in
and people want to stop seeing the drug boats blow up,
stop sending drugs to the United States. But as you mentioned,
it's not just that country. I mean, Mexico is a huge,
huge importer of drugs to our south. We've got Canada
(05:48):
to the north, and we know that there's situations going
on with the trade deals, in the trade wars with
that country. You've got Asia, You've got you've got European
Eastern European countries too that have come into this. So
it's it's more than just one. It's just it's like
you know, bees to honey for for lack of a
better analogy, right now, they see that the supply and
(06:10):
the demand is here in the US, and it's an
easy way to make money. And we've got our own
drug issues here too. I mean, it's it's not like
you have to look outside of the borders to find
someone to blame for this. I mean, it's it's a
huge problem here in the US.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
It's Mexico or Colombia or other lat In American countries concerned.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
I don't know if they're concerned right now. I think
you've got the cartels that are probably more concerned than
everybody else, you know, trying to take a big bite
out of their their their trade and the money that
comes with it too. And I think you've got people
on this side of the border. I mean, you know,
we have a gateway down where I live or used
to live in southern California, uh Tijuana that that is
(06:54):
is a border cross and you've got Texas which is
a huge, huge gateway for drugs right here, and then
you've got you move over to Florida and you've got
the drugs coming in off the coast right there, and
that's been a huge issue, especially from the Caribbean for
some time.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Dan, could this be another Panama? What do you think
the fallout could be from all us?
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I'd be lying I think if I told you I
had the answer to that, because I think we see
things with this administration change so rapidly. You know, previous administrations,
you would get a lot of talk, there'd be a
lot of back and forth between Republicans and Democrats, and
then something might get issued. Most of the time it
was an economic sanction. But I think Trump has decided
to skip all that this time, and he says, you know,
(07:39):
we were done talking. It's time to get action and
let's show people that we can do something. And that's
what's got a lot of people concerned right now.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Dan Mitchinson, as always, thank you so much for be
your time.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Really appreciate it my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
For more from the Sunday Session with Frandjessica Rudkin, listen
Lived News Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks EDB warning.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
One misstep from the US could result in a small
war with Venezuela. This is after the US announced it
was sending aircraft carrier to Latin America. It's a major
escalation of military build up in the area. And US
correspondent Dan Mitchison is with me. Now, good morning, Good morning.
How big an escalation is this?
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Well, I mean that's a good question. I think that's
yet to be seen. And you hit the nail on
the head right there. If your listeners are wondering, Yes,
deploying an aircraft carrier of this size, it's the USS
Gerald Ford is a major escalation of military power. And yes,
we've already seen an unusually large build up I think
(00:52):
in the Caribbean and the waters off Venezuela, and we've
conducted I think it's ten strikes now on these suspected
drug running boats. And the President says he's not going
to stop.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
What is this about for Trump and his administration? Is
it about Trump? Or is it more about Maco Rubia
driving this?
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Ah boy? That is another good question. There have been
a number of articles written in the paper, a couple
that I've been peruising through this morning, and one from
the I think it was the La Times said that basically,
this is the Trump administration banking on the idea that
it can get away with the boat bombings. They've had,
(01:30):
you know, forty three people that have died, and they say,
or at least people in the White House field that
anyone who might have any kind of sympathy or doubt
deserves aggression as well. So I think this is Trump
just trying to make his presence felt. I think he's
trying to live up to promises of cutting down on
drugs running into the US that he had made during
(01:50):
his campaign. And ye, and that's kind of where we
are with this whole situation too. An then you've got
the president of course of Venezuela who's accusing the US
of fabricating this new war and saying, well, you're doing
this and it's ill legal. But yet we see the
you know, the drug trail kind of leads back there
as well. To the US.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
We have seen a group of Republican senators pretty much
join the Democrats to just remind Trump that they, you know,
he cannot go to war without the consent. There are
people calling for congressional oversight on this.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Yeah, you're right, you're right. You've got members of the
US Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, who continue to raise
concerns about how legal this is. How legal are these strikes?
Does the president have authority to order them? But one
of the things I think that we've seen, especially this
week with President Trump, well it goes back a lot
more than this week, but I'm thinking of the destruction
(02:46):
of the East Room with the at the White House.
That is something that he had needed prior authorization to do,
and he went ahead and did it. Anyway, it's the
same with this. I think, you know, there are these
concerns that he should have gone about this through the
proper channels, which he didn't. Instead, he's giving the orders directly,
and you know those orders are being followed. But again,
(03:09):
this will go back to the legality of the whole situation.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Right now and at the moment, all the action has
taken place on the water, but there is some concern
with this kind of firepower in the region that it
could move on land. Do you anticipate that.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
I would think that the President wants to keep boots
off the ground at this point. And you know, the
Trump is continuing to accuse Maduro of being the leader
of these drug trafficking organizations, and I think he's seen
some results right now not having boots on the ground there.
They're getting some results from just just firing these attacks
(03:50):
on the water. There are fears, I think in Venezuela
two that the build up is aimed at removing the
president of that country from office. And he's been a
long time opponent. I mean, there's no secret of President
Trump and the US just doesn't recognize him as Venezuela's
legitimate leader right now. After the election they had last year,
they said, you know, this wasn't a free election. This
(04:11):
wasn't a fair election. So I think when the President
gets a b and his bonnet and he takes things
personally as he does with this, I think he will
continue to go after this until there is a resolution
of some sort.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So that's potentially the endgame here, the toppling of President Maduro,
one would think.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
So. I mean, obviously, drugs is has been a big
concern in this country for some time. Usually it's Mexico
that the president goes after and he has to a
certain extent right now, and there have been with the
trade wars going on right now, conversations with Mexico's president
about Okay, we're going to pull back on those trade
wars if you ease up on the drug situation or
(04:55):
you crack down on the drug situation and try to
get the supply lowered here into the US. And I
think it's the same thing with that country, but it's
also a little bit more. I think that they want
they want him out of it as their leader.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Which kind of explains you know, there's all US talk
about Venezuela and the fentanyl and things, but they are
not a major source of fintanyl and even not really
a major source of cocaine. It kind of explains a
reason that's been given that doesn't quite make sense.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Well it does. I mean, the cartels are obviously bad.
Drugs are bad. You know that Marco Rubio has said.
Bottom line, these are drug boats that are coming in
and people want to stop seeing the drug boats blow up,
stop sending drugs to the United States. But as you mentioned,
it's not just that country. I mean, Mexico is a huge,
huge importer of drugs to our south. We've got Canada
(05:48):
to the north, and we know that there's situations going
on with the trade deals, in the trade wars with
that country. You've got Asia, You've got you've got European
Eastern European countries too that have come into this. So
it's it's more than just one. It's just it's like
you know, bees to honey for for lack of a
better analogy, right now, they see that the supply and
(06:10):
the demand is here in the US, and it's an
easy way to make money. And we've got our own
drug issues here too. I mean, it's it's not like
you have to look outside of the borders to find
someone to blame for this. I mean, it's it's a
huge problem here in the US.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
It's Mexico or Colombia or other lat In American countries concerned.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
I don't know if they're concerned right now. I think
you've got the cartels that are probably more concerned than
everybody else, you know, trying to take a big bite
out of their their their trade and the money that
comes with it too. And I think you've got people
on this side of the border. I mean, you know,
we have a gateway down where I live or used
to live in southern California, uh Tijuana that that is
(06:54):
is a border cross and you've got Texas which is
a huge, huge gateway for drugs right here, and then
you've got you move over to Florida and you've got
the drugs coming in off the coast right there, and
that's been a huge issue, especially from the Caribbean for
some time.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Dan, could this be another Panama? What do you think
the fallout could be from all us?
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I'd be lying I think if I told you I
had the answer to that, because I think we see
things with this administration change so rapidly. You know, previous administrations,
you would get a lot of talk, there'd be a
lot of back and forth between Republicans and Democrats, and
then something might get issued. Most of the time it
was an economic sanction. But I think Trump has decided
to skip all that this time, and he says, you know,
(07:39):
we were done talking. It's time to get action and
let's show people that we can do something. And that's
what's got a lot of people concerned right now.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Dan Mitchinson, as always, thank you so much for be
your time.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Really appreciate it my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
For more from the Sunday Session with Frandjessica Rudkin, listen
Lived News Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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