-
Event Summary (WATCH: PRESIDENT TRUMP PRESS CON HERE)
- The U.S. military executed a highly complex and precise operation in Caracas, Venezuela, to apprehend Maduro.
- The mission involved over 150 aircraft, advanced coordination across multiple military branches, and cyber and space operations.
- The operation was completed without any American casualties, which is emphasized as a major success.
-
Geopolitical Context
- Venezuela’s significance stems from its vast oil reserves (largest in the world) and strategic location near the U.S.
- Maduro’s regime is portrayed as illegitimate, corrupt, and deeply involved in drug trafficking and alliances with U.S. adversaries (Russia, China, Iran, Hezbollah).
- The discussion highlights Venezuela’s decline from being one of the wealthiest nations in the 1950s to a failed state under socialist rule.
-
Legal Justifications
- President Trump acted within his constitutional authority under Article II as Commander-in-Chief.
- References are made to historical precedents, notably the 1990 capture of Manuel Noriega in Panama.
- The legal basis includes:
- FBI’s extraterritorial arrest authority.
- Precedents like the Ker-Frisbie doctrine and United States v. Alvarez-Machain.
- DOJ opinions (including one by Bill Barr) affirming presidential power to authorize such actions.
- Anticipated legal challenges include head-of-state immunity and UN Charter arguments.
-
Future Implications (WATCH HERE: Is Cuba Ready to Fall?)
- There will be geopolitical ripple effects in Latin America, especially Cuba and Colombia.
- Avoiding prolonged U.S. military occupation in Venezuela is key
- Discussion of possible democratic elections and leadership changes in Venezuela.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome in his verdict with Center, Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson
with you and Senator this is a show we get
to start. That was something that we thought could happen,
but the way it happened was truly incredible. Maduro is
now in New York City, not far from where you
are in Washington, DC right now. I promise you he
didn't think that was gonna happen. And no loss of
American life in going in and getting him. God bless
(00:24):
our men and women in uniform. They are just incredible
heroes right now.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well, listen, we are living in extraordinary times, and what
transpired this weekend was extraordinary. It was an incredible act
of military might, of military precision. It was an incredible
intelligence victory. The US military went in on Saturday into Venezuela,
captured Nicholas Maduro, captured his wife, removed them from Venezuela,
(00:51):
brought them to New York for criminal prosecution, as you noted,
without the loss of even a single American life. That
is a big, big deal. It is incredibly complicated to
go into a Venezuelan military base. You know, there'd been
a lot of talk about about all of the anti aircraft,
air defenses that Venezuela had much many of them from Russia.
(01:14):
At the end of the day, the operation was flawless,
and I will give an enormous amount of credit to
President Trump. President Trump acted decisively in ordering this attack.
There was real risk it could have gone badly, and
if it had gone badly, that would not have obviously
would not have been good. There could have been real
loss of life that didn't happen. There were a thousand
ways this could have gone wrong, but it was flawlessly executed.
(01:38):
And right now, the people of Venezuela are better off,
the people of America are better off, and the world
is better off. And so what we're going to do
on this podcast. There are podcasts that you and I
do that I think are particularly important, and I would
put this one in that category. We're going to analyze
why Venezuela matters so much, why President Trump ordered the
(01:58):
military order the FBI to go arrest Maduro, why that matters,
and and why both Venezuela and America are better off
because of it. And then we're also going to break
down not just the geopolitical implications of it, but the
legal implications. You're hearing a lot of folks on TV,
every Democrat and most of the media are beating their
(02:19):
chest saying this is illegal.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
There's no basis.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Trump is the dictator here, and and so we're gonna
break down in some real detail the legal basis. I
believe the President had the authority to order this arrest.
I think it was carried out. Pursue it to the constitution,
pursue it to US law. But I'm gonna break down
and explain why, and then we're gonna talk also some
about what next, what happens in Venezuela next. And I
(02:44):
gotta say question three, I think is the most complicated question.
It is a question that is rife with risk, but
but also has a real potential not just to transform Venezuela,
but to transform the entire Western hemisphere. And so this
is a moment to be celebrating a great military success,
(03:05):
to be optimistic for the future, but also to be
cautious because there are a lot of ways that this
could go sideways. And so I think it matters a
great deal how the administration proceeds in the next three years.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Yeah, it's going to be really interesting to see. And
we're going to break all that down for you.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
I want to take a moment, though, and talk to
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(03:43):
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(04:04):
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(04:27):
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com all right, So, Senator I want to start with
just laying the groundwork here. There has been a lot
of media attention acting like this was somehow just the
present going warp speed and just deciding on a whim.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
To do this.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
This was a marathon. It was laid out with indictments.
The idea that this was some sort of of quick
knee jerk reaction by the president of the United States
of America is total insanity. There was incredible military planning
that went into this, including building the same structure that
(05:11):
they knew they were gonna have to go into. There
was CIA on the ground, we were told, and lots
of intelligence that was gathered in Venezuela as well. And
yet the media tried to say, well, this is just
some you know, Dictator Tyrant and Donald Trump going in
there and just taking out somebody.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
No, it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
There was a marathon, including conversations directly with Maduro and
telling him you've got multiple off ramps which you chose
not to take.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Well, let let let's start with what happened, and then
we're going to talk about why it happened and what
the geopolitical incentives, what the reasons were for going in
and capturing Maduro. Then we're gonna talk about the legal basis,
and finally we're gonna talk about what happens next. But
let's just start with what happened on Saturday, And the
best explanation of it that I've seen it is from
(05:58):
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on nickname Raisin Kane,
and he laid out exactly what happened. And this clip
is a little long, it's about six seven minutes, but
it's worth listening to because he lays out with precision
what exactly occurred. So listen to the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs, General Kane.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
This operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreete precise,
and conducted during the darkest hours of January tewod and
was in the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal.
We watched, we waited, we prepared, we remained patient and professional.
(06:37):
This mission was meticulously planned, drawing lessons from decades of
missions over the last many years. Decades are many missions
over these last many years.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
This was an.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Audacious operation that only the United States could do. It
required the utmost of precision and integration within our Joint Force,
and the word integration does not explain the sheer complexity
of such a mission, an extraction so precise it involved
(07:10):
more than one hundred and fifty aircraft launching across the
Western Hemisphere in close coordination, all coming together in time
and place to layer effects for a single purpose to
get an interdiction force into downtown Caraccas while maintaining the
element of tactical surprise. Failure of one component of this
(07:34):
well oiled machine would have endangered the entire mission, and
failure is never an option for America's Joint Force. Those
in the air over Caraccas last night were willing to
give their lives for those on the ground and in
the helicopters. Let me talk a little bit about the preparation.
After months of work by our intelligence teammates to find
(07:57):
Maduro and understand how we moved, where he lived, where
he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were
his pets? In early December, our force was set pending
a series of aligned events. Key was choosing the right
day to minimize the potential for civilian harm and maximize
(08:21):
the element of surprise and minimize the harm to the
indicted personnel, so as the President said, they could be
brought to justice. And as the President said earlier today,
weather in Venezuela is always a factor this time of
the year, and over the weeks through Christmas and New
Year's the men and women of the United States Military
(08:43):
sat ready, patiently waiting for the right triggers to be
met and the President to order us into action. Last night,
the weather broke just enough, clearing a path that only
the most skilled aviators in the world could maneuver through ocean,
mountain low cloud ceilings. But when tasked with a mission,
(09:06):
this organization does not quit. At ten forty six pm
Eastern time last night, the President ordered the United States
Military to move forward with this mission. He said to us,
and we appreciated, mister President, good luck and godspeed, and
those words were transmitted to the entire joint Force. Over
(09:26):
the course of the night, aircraft began launching from twenty
different bases on land and sea across the Western Hemisphere.
In total, more than one hundred and fifty aircraft, bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance,
surveillance rotary wing were in the air last night. Thousands
and thousands of hours of experience were airborne. Our youngest
(09:49):
crew member was twenty and our oldest crew member was
forty nine, and there's simply no match for American military might.
As the night began, the helicopters took off with the
Extraction Force, which included law enforcement officers, and began their
flight into Venezuela at one hundred feet above the water.
As they approached Venezuelan shores, the United States began layering
(10:12):
different effects provided by Spacecom, Cybercom and other members of
the Inner Agency to create a pathway overhead. Those forces
were protected from aircraft were protected by aircraft from the
United States Marines, the United States Navy, the United States
Air Force, and the Air National Guard. The force included
F twenty two's F thirty fives, F eighteen's, EA eighteens,
(10:38):
E twos, B one bombers, and other support aircraft, as
well as numerous remotely piloted drones. As the force began
to approach Caracas, the Joint Air Component began dismantling and
disabling the air defense systems in Venezuela, employing weapons to
ensure the safe passage of the helicopter into the target area.
(11:01):
The goal of our Air Component is, was and always
will be to protect the helicopters and the ground force
and get them to the target and get them home.
As the force crossed the last point of high terrain
where they'd been hiding in the clutter, we assessed that
we had maintained totally the element of surprise. As the
(11:25):
helicopter force ingressed towards the objective at low level. We
arrived at Maduro's compound at one one am Eastern Standard
time or two to one am Caracas local time, and
the apprehension force descended into Maduro's compound and moved with speed, precision,
(11:45):
and discipline towards their objective and isolated the area to
ensure the safety and security of the ground force while
apprehending the indicted persons. On arrival into the target area,
the helicopters came under fire, and they replied with that
fire with overwhelming force and self defense. One of our
aircraft was hit but remained fliable, and as the President
(12:08):
said earlier today, all of our aircraft came home and
that aircraft remained fliable during the rest of the mission.
As the operation unfolded at the compound, our air and
ground intelligence teams provided real time updates to the ground force,
ensuring those forces could safely navigate the complex environment without
unnecessary risk. The force remained protected by overhead tactical aviation.
(12:33):
Maduro and his wife, both indicted, gave up and were
taken into custody by the Department of Justice, assisted by
our incredible US military with professionalism and precision, which with
no loss of US life. After securing the indicted persons,
the force began to prep for departure. Helicopters were called
(12:56):
in to exfiltrate the extraction force, while fighter aircraft and
remotely piloted aircraft provided overhead coverage and suppressive fire. There
were multiple self defense engagements as the force began to
withdraw out of Venezuela. The force successfully exfiltrated and returned
(13:16):
to their afloat launch bases, and the force was over
the water at three twenty nine am Eastern Standard time
with indicted persons on board, and both Maduro and his
wife were embarked aboard the uss Uajima.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
You listen to that story center, and it's one that
for me is just like God bless America, like our
men and women, they are such heroes and I'm so
proud of them. I know when you were listening to
that and watching like everyone else, was just that pure
sense of pride in your country to see our military
get that. I also think the recognition they deserve for
(13:55):
doing this is another part of it.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
And Trump's letting them do their job.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
It goes back to what the FBI director says, We're
letting good cops be good cops.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
We're being letting law enforcement law enforced.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
They're letting the military men and women do what they
do well without all the PBS, all the political correctness,
like let them do their job.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Well and focusing on the bad guys. And you look
at the precision. This was an incredibly complicated military operation
and law enforcement arrest operation. And to go in Caracas
is a city of about five million people in the
metropolitan area. To go into a major city, to go
into a military base where you have soldiers, you've got
(14:34):
anti aircraft equipment, to go in successfully not have a helicopter,
not have a plane shot down. That that was execution
on the part of Delta Force. That was execution in
terms of satellites and spy operations, the CIA on the ground,
the ability to neutralize Venezuela's ability to inflict harm and
(14:56):
strike back and to execute this flawlessly was remarkable. And
here's how President Trump put it. He put President Trump
put it put it very pithy. But listen to what
the President said about what happened on Saturday.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Late last night and early today.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
At my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an
extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela. Overwhelming American
military power, air land and sea was used to launch
a spectacular assault, and it was an assault like people
(15:34):
have not seen since World War Two. It was a
force against a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart
of Caracas to bring outlaw dictator Nicholas Maduro to justice.
This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful
displays of American military might and competence in American history.
(15:58):
And if you think about it, we've done some other
good ones, like the attack on Solomoni, the attack on
Albeg Daddy, and the obliteration and decimation of the Iran
nuclear sites.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
You listen to that last from the President, like what
he's been able to do with foreign policy has been
pretty incredible. Also in doing it in a way that
protects American lives as well.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, yeah, Look, look, and this is the opposite of
military adventurism of putting American troops on the ground for
an extended period of time. This is going after a clear,
discreete objective and enemy of America and carrying out with precision.
I don't think there's another military on the face of
the planet that could carry out what the US military
(16:44):
did this weekend. And I got to say, every enemy
of America has got to be looking at this. China
is looking at this, going wow. Russia is looking at this,
going wow. Iran, well, Iran doesn't have to look at this,
because Iran saw when the president last year ordered B
two's to fly around the globe and drop the equivalent
(17:05):
of half a nuclear weapon bunker busters on the Iranian
nuclear facilities. Take them out again, no American loss of life,
the precision, they hit precisely their target, They destroyed their target.
In this instance, the same is true. And let's talk
about why so Venezuela.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
I think it's really important that people understand the why here.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
So Nicholas Maduro and his wife were both arrested and
they were transported to New York City Maduro is the
dictator of Venezuela. He is number one, illegitimate in power.
He had been the number two when Hugo Chavez, a communist,
when he died in office. So, Hugo chavs you look
at Venezuela's history in nineteen fifty, where do you think
(17:49):
Venezuela ranked in terms of GDP per capita?
Speaker 4 (17:52):
I gotta assume it was not that high.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
It was number four in the world.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Really in nineteen fifty the top four countries for GDP
per capita where the United States, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Venezuela.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Venezuela because of gold. That's because of gold and oil, right.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Gold and oil, enormous natural resources. It was an incredibly
booming economy. But then what happened is Huo Chavez, a communist,
came into power and just utterly destroyed the economy. There,
poverty skyrocketed. Chavez nationalized companies, nationalized oil resources, and and
(18:34):
and where do you think Venezuela ranks in terms of
the size of their oil reserves?
Speaker 1 (18:41):
So I actually know too much about this. They are
the largest oil reserves in the world.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
If I'm not mistaken, you're exactly right, they're bigger than
Saudi Arabia, the bigger than the United States. Have got
massive oil reserves. They were incredibly prosperous, but it turns
out when communist comes power.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
No matter what resources you've got, they again screw it up,
isn't I mean? I mean, if you think about how
small the country is compared to having the largest ore
reserves in the world, you'd think, how could you ever
have a government that's failing and a population living in poverty?
And yet this is proof that communism, even with the
number one old reserve in the world, still doesn't work.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, Chavez and then Maduro after him, destroyed the economy,
poverty skyrocket, and you've had over eight million Venezuelans flee
the country, go to neighboring countries, go to the United
States because they've just driven the economy into the ground.
There also have been dictators and drug dealers, and if
you look at Maduro, Maduro came into power initially when
(19:41):
Chavez died of cancer. He was then elected to be
the leader of Venezuela. But then in twenty nineteen there
was another election that that America International observers everyone agrees
Maduro lost he was beaten in the election. The Venezuelan
people said, no, we don't want Maduro, and he said,
I don't care. I've got the army. I'm staying in power.
(20:03):
Which part of dictator do you not understand? And for
the last six years he has been in power as
a dictator. He has also opened Venezuela up, so he
works in close harmony with Cuba, the communist government there.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
He works very Cuba, by the way, with their oil.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
A lot of people don't understand that like Cuba desperately
relies on Venezuela.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Yes, I'm absolutely right, and we're going to talk about
the consequences of what this means in Latin America, but
especially Cuba, because I think it's highly consequential for Cuba.
He also Maduro has been very very close to Putin
and Russia. He relies on Putin and Russia. He's been
very close to China and opened up opened up Venezuela
to China. He also has had a very close relationship
(20:47):
with Iran. You look at every enemy of America, and
Maduro has said, if you're an enemy of America, my
communist regime is in business with you. You've got Iranian
operatives in Venezuela. You've got HESBA in Venezuela. And on
top of that, Maduro has been a major drug dealer
(21:07):
working his government, working hand in hand with the FARC
in Colombia, to bring massive amounts of drugs, particularly cocaine,
into the United States. All of that is who Maduro is.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
But by the way, you mentioned China moment ago, just
to put in respective that China was there within hours
and their delegation was apparently still in the country when
we took him out and brought him back to America.
I mean, imagine you meet with Maduro and then you
wake up a few hours later and they're like, Maduro's
been captured by America. Can you imagine China what they're
(21:40):
thinking right now?
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (21:41):
No, I mean that was they were literally meeting with
him the day before the delegation was the Chinese delegation
was still in Venezuela, and boom, Maduro and his wife
are gone.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Actually, one of the best explanations of why Venezuela is
so significant is ironically from the show Jack Ryan, you know, Tom.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Clancy's book series.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Yeah, okay, and this is a clip that's gone viral
online because it's just a couple of minutes, and it
was back in twenty nineteen with with the fictional character
Jack Ryan explaining to classroom the importance of Venezuela.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Give a lesson. Watch the short clip.
Speaker 7 (22:19):
What would you assume is the most major threat on
the world stage? Anybody just call it out.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
You don't have to raise your hands.
Speaker 7 (22:24):
Definitely Russia.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Definitely Russia. That's confident.
Speaker 7 (22:27):
I like her.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Who says Russia?
Speaker 7 (22:29):
Anybody agree with her?
Speaker 6 (22:30):
And?
Speaker 7 (22:30):
Okay, right?
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Who else?
Speaker 4 (22:31):
China?
Speaker 7 (22:33):
Stop yelling at me?
Speaker 3 (22:33):
But China.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
It's a good answer to anybody. Who else?
Speaker 5 (22:36):
China?
Speaker 4 (22:37):
North Korea?
Speaker 7 (22:38):
North Korea? Any North Korea takers? And Venezuela anybody?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Nope?
Speaker 7 (22:46):
Oh yep, one guy in the back a little worried
about Venezuela.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Everybody's cool with Venezuela.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
No threat.
Speaker 7 (22:51):
Okay, let me ask you this, which one of these
places can claim to have the largest oil deposit on
the planet, more than Saudi more than Iran? Wow? Okay,
what about things like gold? More than all the minds
in Africa combined. The fact is that Venezuela is arguably
the single greatest resource of oil and minerals on the planet.
(23:13):
So why is this country in the midst of one
of the greatest humanitarian crises in modern history. Let's meet
President Nicholas Reyes. After rising to power on a wave
of nationalist pride, in a mere six years, this guy
has crippled the national economy by half. He has raised
the poverty rate by almost four hundred percent. Luckily for
(23:35):
the rest of us, he's up for reelection. So who's
running against him? This is Gloria Banalde. Now, Gloria is
a history professor turned activist. She's running against him on
a social justice platform and on the strength of, in
my humble opinion, just not being an asshole. Analyst predictions
(23:57):
as of today have the chances of Venezuela's total I'm
to collapse at eighty seven percent. On the news, they'll
call it a crisis, but on the world stage they'll
call it a failed state.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
If you've never heard that term.
Speaker 7 (24:11):
Other examples of a failed state in recent history are Yemen, Iraq,
and Syria. And if that's not bad enough news for you, well,
Venezuela is also the only one of these places within
thirty minute range from the US of next gen nuclear missiles.
You will not hear about any of this on the
news because the biggest players on the world stage do.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
Not want you to to them.
Speaker 7 (24:37):
Unstable governments are nothing more than the greatest of opportunities.
So Russia, China to never be the most major threat
until countries like Venezuela leave the door open to our
very own backyard.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
To our very own backyard.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
And that goes back to not only, like you said,
the resources there, but why China and Runussia and Iran
and others need them so much center, But also you
got to explain the drug trafficking aspect of this. I
don't think people realize when they hear that this is
what they have a lot of people, I'm sure like, well,
well then why didn't he just sell a bunch of oil.
Why didn't you just pump a bunch of oil. Why
(25:16):
would he get into the drug narco trafficking and just
sell all this oil and be rich?
Speaker 4 (25:21):
Right?
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Simplify that, Explain that for people as they understand what
was behind that decision to get into the narco trade.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
So then let me clarify something about that. Jack Ryan clip,
he talks about Nicholas Reyes. Nicholas Rayes is a fictional character.
That's Tom Tom Clancy, that's Nicholas Maduro. It just they
made up rays I guess, you know. I don't know
why Clancy didn't use the real guy, but it's fiction,
so so he made up Rayes.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
But what he's describing as Maduro is.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
Yeah, exactly the same. The principle is the same.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Yeah, And that Look, it is why Russia, it is
why China, It's why Iran, It's why HESBLA cares so
much about Venezuela veastries and also proximity of the United States.
It's about two thousand miles away. It's four to five
hours from Miami to Venezuela. A missile from Venezuela to
the United States. It is very close for our enemies
(26:14):
to attack us from Venezuela. It is in our hemisphere.
And you go back to the Monroe Doctrine. Early at
the founding of our country, the Monroe doctrine said we're
going to protect the western hemisphere, our hemisphere. And that's
something that President Trump has really leaned in, and in
fact it's been dubbed now the Donro Doctrine for President
(26:35):
Trump really enforcing it and going and carrying out carrying
out this incredible military operation to arrest Maduro. Now you
asked why aren't they rich. They aren't rich because communism
doesn't work. Communism is a failed economic system. They were
rich when capitalism was it was an operation. When capitalism
(26:58):
was operating, they were produced the oil. The problem is
when when when they nationalized.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
An oil production, Well said, can we just explain. There
was a point when when people around the world wanted
to go to Venezuela because it was such a nice country.
It was a safe country. It's beautiful, has beaches. Like
I actually talked to Goby. We were older that said,
we used to go to Venezuela as a vacation spot.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
It was before this all happened.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
They're much older now, but they were talking about how
beautiful it was and it was.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
A thriving country.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
The only thing that killed it is what you're describing
right now.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
By the way, the communists we have in the United States,
most notably comrade Mondami in New York, ought to take
a lesson from what a train wreck, what a disaster
communism is. We've seen that in Venezuela, We've seen that
in Cuba, We've seen that in North Korea, we've seen
that in the in the Soviet Union, communism doesn't work,
and it's it's disastrously bad. And and when the government
(27:55):
nationalized oil production, it turns out that that that that
that an authorityitarian government is really bad at producing oil.
It's incredibly corrupt. It didn't invest in technology, The technology
all all crumbled, and and and it's in even though
it's got massive reserves, its production is a fraction of
what it used to be. Uh And and that's a
(28:16):
significant reason. You know, one of the the trades that
that that that Maduro did and and Chavez before him,
is a trade with Cuba where where Venezuela provides oil
to Cuba and Cuba provides manpower, provides thugs, provides soldiers
and enforcers that they used to oppress the Venezuelan people,
(28:36):
and that trade.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
In fact, some of those Cubans apparently were supposed to
be protecting Maduro when we took him.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Uh and and I suspect h some of those bodyguards
are no longer with us. We don't have the clear
tally on that, but but but I'm confident that that
although there was no loss of life on the American
side that those who were defending this corrupt narco terrorist Uh.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
I think there was was.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
We'll find out how significant the loss of life was,
but I'm confident some of those Cubans are no longer
with us. That's why President Trump went in there, because
you had number one, Venezuela flooding America with drugs. Number
two Venezuela opening up our hemisphere to enemies of America China, Russia, Iran, Hezbola,
(29:23):
all posing acute national security threats to the United States.
And so that's why we went in there. And also,
Venezuela is an incredibly harmful force throughout Latin America, trying
to spread communism, trying to spread anti Americanism throughout Latin America.
But all right, here's the sixty four thousand dollars question.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Is it illegal?
Speaker 2 (29:46):
If you turn on the TV, just about every academic,
just about everyone in the media, just about every Democrat says, oh,
this is horrible, this is illegal. There's no basis. So
let's break down. The short answer is, no, it was
not illegal. This was fully justified. Now why the administration
has several justifications. The administration has argued that the President
(30:09):
ordered this attack and ordered this apprehension under his inherent
authority under Article II of the Constitution.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Now what does that mean.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Well, the Constitution divides war making the power of war
making between Congress and the President, and they both have
different aspects of authority over war making. Article one, which
creates Congress and says all legislative authority is vested in
the United States. Congress gives Congress the authority declare war.
(30:40):
So if there are extended, protracted use of military force,
particularly with forces on the ground, forces in harms way,
that then Congress should be involved. And I think Congress
for a long time has not been vigilant enough asserting
its Article one authority to be in charge of declaring war,
(31:00):
in charge of authorizing military force. That's part of the
authority on the Constitution. But the other authority on the
Constitution is Article two, which is establishes the office of
the Presidency in the executive branch, makes the president the
commander in chief. And there's an inherent authority there. There's
a long line line of authority that says that the
president has an authority to number one, respond to an
(31:23):
imminent threat, number two to protect us to protect Americans.
So what I think, and we'll see as this goes
forward in litigation what the precise justification is, but the
principal justification is going to be the following. Maduro was indicted.
He was indicted in New York City. The indictment. By
(31:45):
the way, you can read the indictment. I've got the
indictment right here in my hand. It is twenty five pages.
The opening of the indictment says, for over twenty five years,
leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust
and corrupted once legitimate in spits to import tons of
cocaine into the United States. Nicholas Maduro Moros, the defendant,
(32:06):
is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered
with his co conspirators to use as illegally obtained authority
and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons
of cocaine to the United States. And so this was
an arrest effort, and so the FBI came and they
(32:27):
arrested him. They brought him to the United States, to
New York to be prosecuted in federal court.
Speaker 4 (32:32):
A lot of you asked this question, why New York.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
We always see a lot of New York and people
going to New York afterwards when they get charged. Why
is New York a place where we see a lot
of these high profile individuals be charged. Is that just
the way that the courts set up? I know the answer.
I want you to explain to everybody, because they're like,
why do we keep seeing I mean, it can be
anybody from p Didy to The list goes on and
on of people Epstein that it's always New York.
Speaker 4 (32:57):
Why is that?
Speaker 2 (32:58):
So they're all across the country. There are US attorney
offices all across the country. Those US attorneys are appointed
by the President, they're confirmed by the Senate. The Southern
District of New York, which covers Manhattan, has a great
deal of expertise dealing with terrorism in particular. Obviously that's
where nine to eleven was. There been terrorism cases with
respect to Maduro. You could have brought that case in
(33:21):
multiple jurisdictions, multiple US attorneys, because the impacts of Maduro's
flooding cocaine into this country have harmed every state in
the Union. But it is unsurprising that it would be
the Southern District of New York leading this because they
have such long expertise in dealing with terrorism cases in particular,
(33:42):
and so that was where the U. S. Attorney went
to the grand jury and got the indictment and and
the justification. The main justification for the military going in
was to protect the FBI agents going to arrest Maduro,
because if they just sent the FBI agents, presume Madureau's
soldiers or bodyguards would would have shot and killed them.
(34:04):
And and so the military was there to keep that
law enforcement safe. That's the principal justification. There are a
couple of other justifications. There's another justification, which which is
that that that Maduro was was leading a designated foreign
terrorist organization, and so they're existing legal authorities to go
after foreign terrorist organizations. That's something we're going to see
(34:28):
litigation on this, and that surely is going to be
a justification UH as well. And and then there's also
an inherent authority under Article two UH to protect Americans
from imminent threats. And and so I suspect we will
see some combination, if not all, three of those justifications
put forward as the basis for the President ordering ordering
(34:51):
this operation.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
Let's also be clear when there have been people on
TV that just been lying saying this is unprecedented and
Trump is off the reservation.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
That is not true.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
We have gone after people that have done very similar
things just like this before, and Democrats were in favor
of it when that happened.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Yeah, no, no, Look, there's massive hypocrisy from Democrats. But
I will say that there's a long precedent that you
can go back. But the closest president is in nineteen
ninety Manuel Noriega. Manuel Noriega, what was leading Panama? He
was corrupt, he had been indicted also as a drug dealer.
He was the de facto ruler of Panama. And George
(35:33):
Herbert Walker Bush Bush forty one, there was again an
indictment and President Bush the first sent in the military
to arrest and remove Noriega, just like they did with
Maduro Norriega. Actually, do you know the date that Noriega
was apprehended?
Speaker 4 (35:53):
I don't. What is it?
Speaker 2 (35:54):
January third, exact same date, January third of nineteen ninety
is when the US government apprehended Doriega. You know, I
actually on January third, a good friend of mine, Victoria Coach,
who's the head of foreign policy at the Heritage Foundation.
She used to be by national security advisor for four years.
(36:14):
She was President Trump's Deputy National Security Advisor in the
first term. Her daughter was getting married on January third,
So I was joking with Victoria. I'm like, wow, you
really know how to celebrate your daughter's wedding by by
by apprehending a Latin Latin American dictator and terrorist on
the date of her wedding. Victoria was laughing at that,
(36:35):
And she and I have worked for more than a
decade fighting against Chavez and Maduro and the national security
and and and drug dealing threat and terrorism threat that
they posed to the United States. Do you know what
January third is?
Speaker 3 (36:49):
Just as a.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Short personal aside, what is that? It's also the date
that I met Heidi. No way, I met Heidi on
January third of two thousand. So President Trump decided apprehend
Maduro on the twenty sixth anniversary of when I met
my wife, which was kind of an interesting an interesting coincidence.
The Noriega example is I think quite compelling and what happened.
(37:14):
Noriega was arrested, they brought him to the United States,
they prosecuted him, he was convicted, he was sentenced to
forty years and he died in prison. He ultimately died,
but there was litigation over does the president have the
authority to send in the military to arrest a corrupt
(37:36):
Latin American dictator who is a drug dealer, And the
conclusion of that litigation was yes. That is for every
pompous buffoon on TV saying there's no authority to do this,
that is a big, big problem.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
I want to go back. Can we go back to
Chuck Schumer and just that. I think it was twenty
twenty when he had something very interesting to say.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
Can we play that for everybody real quick?
Speaker 3 (38:02):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (38:03):
All right, take a listen. This is Chuck Schumer back
in twenty twenty. Listen carefully to the words that he
has to say. You're gonna get a kick out of this.
Speaker 8 (38:10):
He brags about all these things he wants to do
or is doing, but his actions belie his words. Maybe
the best metaphor was his claim to bring democracy to Venezuela.
There was a big policy there.
Speaker 4 (38:25):
It flopped.
Speaker 8 (38:26):
If the policy was working, Juan Guido wouldn't be in
the balcony here, he'd be in Venezuela. He'd be sitting
in the president's palace, or at least waging a.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Fight to win.
Speaker 8 (38:36):
He's here, and the president brags about his Venezuela policy.
Give us a break. He hasn't brought an end to
the Maduro regime. The Meduro regime is more powerful today
and more entrenched today than it was when the president began.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
So here's my part about this that makes me laugh. Democrats,
and there's a tweet that's very much like that, the
same thing from Joe Biden. Yeah, they were angry that
Trump had taken out Maduro. Now Trump takes out Maduro,
and now they're angry at Trump for taking out Maduro.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
You cannot make it up.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
Yeah, and listen carefully to what Schumer just said. There,
give us a break. He hasn't ended the Maduro regime.
So he was on the floor of the Senate. This
is a speech where he was blasting Trump in twenty
twenty for not having taken Maduro out. And now in
the wake of President Trump having another enormously successful military operation,
(39:30):
the last just a few hours in actual execution, and
then it was over, and then Maduro was gone and
he was on his way to the United States. Schumer
and Kamala Harris and just about every Democrat you find
are are freaking out and they're just being hypocrites. They
just hate Trump and and just like they're defending every
illegal immigrant, they're defending all of the gang bangers who
(39:53):
are here. In this case, the Democrats are becoming the
chief defender of of Nicholas Maduro.
Speaker 3 (40:01):
But as I mentioned on.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
The legal front, if you look back to Noriega front
and center in terms of the litigation that will happen
over this is that in nineteen eighty nine, Bill Barr
was the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel. Now,
Bill Barr, you have a call, ended up becoming George
(40:24):
Herbert Walker Bush's attorney general, and then he was also
a g for President Trump in the first term. Bill
Barr at the time was leading what's called OLC, and
OLC is charged under federal law with writing authoritative opinions
on what is what is the constitution, what is legal?
What are the constraints on the executive branch? And by
(40:45):
the way, there is a long history of incredibly important
jurist and scholars being the heads of OLC, including Antonin Scalia.
He was the head of OLC, including William Renquist, for
whom I clerked if Justice of the Supreme Court. He
was the head of OLC under Nixon, including Chuck Cooper,
(41:05):
my first boss when I practiced law. Uh So OLC
that they are typically they are often US Supreme Court
clerks themselves. They are constitutional experts. And Barr issued a
detailed opinion making clear that the US government had the
authority to go and apprehend uh uh Noriega and and
(41:26):
and Barr said several things, So it's a detailed opinion.
Speaker 3 (41:28):
By the way, you can read the entire opinion. The
opinion is public. Uh.
Speaker 2 (41:32):
But but Barr concluded that Number one, the FBI statutory
arrest authority quote authorisest extra territorial investigations and arrests. So
that's in the statute existing US law. The FBI can
go abroad and arrest someone. And and Barr concluded the
president can lawfully order that extratorial extra territorial arrest and
(41:58):
and interestingly, bar so one of the main arguments that
democrats in the media, although that's redundant because they're one
in the same democrats in the media, and by the way,
law professors fall into that same camp. They're all clutching
their pearls. And their main argument deals with the United
Nations Charter and an Article two four of the un
Charter prohibits the quote use of force against the territorial
(42:22):
integrity of any state. And so their main argument is
this violates the un Charter. Well, what Barr concluded, and
this is a quote and by the way, it's not
just Barr's opinion. This is a binding decision from OLC
that binds the executive and lesson until it's overturned. So
it is like a judicial opinion, but within the executive branch.
Barr said that Article two four of the UN Charter
(42:46):
does not quote prohibit the executive, as a matter of
domestic law, from authorizing forcible abductions. Put another way, quote,
as a matter of domestic law, the executive has the
to authorize actions inconsistent with Article two four of the
un Charter. What does that mean? The the un Charter
(43:07):
is not independently binding on the United States government. The
Constitution is binding on the government. You know, back before
I was in the Senate, what I did for a
living is argued us Supreme Court cases and and the
most consequential case that I argued before the Supreme Court
was a case called Mediing versus Texas.
Speaker 3 (43:26):
I ended up winning six y three.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
It was an incredibly consequential case, but it dealt with
the authority of the International Court of Justice, the World Court,
the judicial arm of the UN, to bind the US
justice system. And and and I argued representing the State
of Texas successfully, the UN doesn't have the authority to
do that. The World Court doesn't have the authority to
do it. It is the US Constitution, and it is
(43:48):
US laws. And if Congress wants to pass a law,
that can be binding. But Congress had not in that
in Median passed a law relevant to the issue there. Likewise,
here the DOJ opinion was, even if the UN Charter
says something different, as a matter of US constitutional law,
the President can order this. And critically, the Bar opinion
(44:11):
also concluded that a US arrest abroad quote in violation
of foreign law does not violate the Fourth Amendments. And
to be clear, the Bar opinion was litigated in the
nor Dieega case and and Noriega state in jail, so
he lost all of those claims. That is really powerful
(44:32):
legal precedent, and it is very closely on point.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
You talk about the legal side this, I want to
ask just real quickly, are there other legal aspects and
challenges in this case It could come up as well.
Speaker 2 (44:45):
Well, yes, and look, there are distinctions that I would
expect Maduro to argue between this case and the Noriega case.
In in the Norriega case, the General Assembly in Panama
had actually declared war on the United States.
Speaker 3 (45:01):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Secondly, they had shot and killed a US marine. And
so those are both both facts that that leaned in
favor of Noriega the president being able to respond and
respond militarily. In this instance, the government of of of
Venezuela has not formally declared war on the United States.
And they have not uh, they have not killed a
(45:24):
marine or a service member. Although uh, Maduro's drug trafficking
has killed countless Americans thousands, and and and and you know,
hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, a massive number of
Americans Maduro is responsible for killing through drug trafficking. I
will say also that there is a second issue that
(45:44):
will be litigated, which is what's called head of state immunity.
So Maduro will go and argue that that the actions
he carried out were as the leader of Venezuela and
as a general principle US government, US courts don't imp
hose criminal liability for the actions a head of state does,
(46:05):
and Noriega was the de facto leader of Panama, but
he was not elected by the people. In this case,
the guy was recognized as a head of state, and
so it's different from Noriega.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
That will be litigated.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
I think the response to that is fine, that may
have been he may have enjoyed that immunity back in
twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen, but twenty nineteen when he ignored
the results of the election and seized power illegitimately, everyone
agrees he was illegitimate. The United States, by the way,
the Biden administration agreed that. The first Trump administration agreed
(46:43):
that most of the rest of the world is acknowledged
that Maduro stayed in power illegitimately. One exception from head
of state immunity is if the government invites you in.
In this case, I think you would say there's not
an operational government that is legitimate, that he was, he
(47:03):
was an illegitimate dictator, but that will be a subject
of litigation. It would not surprise me to see that
question go all the way to the US Supreme Court.
Speaker 1 (47:11):
All right, and finally, I know I'm gonna laugh because
I know you're gonna have an answer to this. Are
there any other legal presents that are going to come
up in here as well as we wrap up the
legal side of this.
Speaker 2 (47:20):
There are, And there's a line of cases that's known
as the Kerf Frisbee doctrine, which says that that unlawful
abductions of criminals on foreign soil does not stop the
criminal prosecution of those individuals in US courts. And the
lead case in this line of cases is a case
(47:42):
called the United States versus alvarezma Chain. It was a
nineteen ninety two ruling, and the Supreme Court six' three
concluded that A mexican national who was forcibly abducted In
mexico from his home brought to The United states that
he could be criminally. Prosecuted it didn't matter if his
(48:03):
being seized abroad was, illegally and so that line of.
Cases If maduro were just a run of the mill drug,
dealer it would be a very easy question that regardless
of the circumstances of his. Capture if he VIOLATED us criminal,
laws he could be prosecuted, here and so that line
of CASES i think will be. Relevant and, again all
(48:24):
the folks ON tv claiming this is illegal are ignoring
both The constitution And Supreme court, precedent not to mention
the BINDING doj opinion from nineteen eighty.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
Nine, Center we've run along on this legal, issue which
is so, important AND i hope that everyone listening right
now enjoyed, it BECAUSE i feel Like i've learned a.
Lot i'm hoping that everyone listening has learned a lot
on the legal side of.
Speaker 4 (48:47):
This but there's still a lot that we've.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
Not gotten a covery At, Center so we're gonna do
that On wednesday. Show let's just talk a little bit
of preview on. That there's a lot of people asking
why was the wife? Arrested what's next Is, venezuela What
america's role should be? There also what's next for other
countries that have been, warned whether That's, Mexico. Columbia the
list goes kind of on and on in this part
of the world with narco, terrorism uh and also the
warnings To iran that have come from This White. House
(49:11):
all these are. Connected so let's kind of lay out
what you're gonna get On.
Speaker 4 (49:14):
Wednesday, Yeah, look.
Speaker 2 (49:17):
In terms of the, wife the answer to that is
is pretty. Simple she also has been. Indicted she's been
indicted as a collaborator who's been actively participating in the
in the criminal effort to be a drug, dealer and
she's been actively part of. It Uh, and so she's
separately indicted as another criminal. Defendant uh and and that's
why she was arrested as. Well what we're going to
talk about On wednesday is is there are very significant
(49:39):
geopolitical issues in terms of the rest Of Latin america
and in Particular. Cuba cuba is enormously dependent On. Venezuela
venezuela is enormously dependent On, cuba and and taking Out
maduro puts the communist regime In cuba in in in real.
Jeopardy and and and AND i think we could end
up SEEING i think there's a real possibility that we
(50:01):
see the communist government In cuba. Fall you also look
at In Colombia petro as an Anti american. Leftist there
was a very close ally Of, maduro's very close ally
of the communist government In. CUBA i think The colombian
leadership has got to be worried about this as. Well
so we're gonna break down those geopolitical issues On wednesday's,
(50:21):
Podcast but we're also going to talk about going, forward
which is What President trump did here was very. Important
he sent in a very targeted effort to go and
Arrest maduro for this. Indictment he succeeded incredibly. Well the
question is where do we go from? Here and early
on the administration has suggested That maduro's vice president is
(50:44):
likely to remain in charge Of. Venezuela that is raising significant.
Concerns we're going to talk about that because Because maduro's
vice president is also a Leftist america hating, communist and
and so that that that that raises significant. Problems one
of the justifications for going in is is That maduro was,
(51:07):
illegitimate and SO i think it's important and we're going
to talk about this On, wednesday that that that that
there be a democratic election In venezuela relatively, quickly so
that you have a, legitimate democratically elected. Leader AND i
also think it is very important That america not get
mired down in a long extended. OCCUPATION i don't think
(51:29):
that's gonna. HAPPEN i don't Think President trump wants that to.
Happen but there are real risks and and we we've
seen that uh in in the wake Of, afghanistan in
the wake Of iraq to having a long EXTENDED us
military presence on the. Ground and so we're going to
talk about the risks there and and and also about
(51:50):
Uh Maria Karina, machado the leader of the, opposition what her,
Role Juan, guido what's gonna happen. Next all of that's
going to be In wednesday's.
Speaker 4 (51:59):
Podcast it's going to be a really interesting. One don't.
Speaker 1 (52:01):
Forget download this Show, Monday Wednesday friday wherever you get
your podcasts at that subscriber on a download. Button and
this pod we do most days now on video as,
well so you can watch On facebook or on. YouTube
grab that there as well in the. CENTER i will
see you back here On wednesday morning for another really fun.
Speaker 4 (52:17):
Show
Welcome in his verdict with Center, Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson
with you and Senator this is a show we get
to start. That was something that we thought could happen,
but the way it happened was truly incredible. Maduro is
now in New York City, not far from where you
are in Washington, DC right now. I promise you he
didn't think that was gonna happen. And no loss of
American life in going in and getting him. God bless
(00:24):
our men and women in uniform. They are just incredible
heroes right now.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well, listen, we are living in extraordinary times, and what
transpired this weekend was extraordinary. It was an incredible act
of military might, of military precision. It was an incredible
intelligence victory. The US military went in on Saturday into Venezuela,
captured Nicholas Maduro, captured his wife, removed them from Venezuela,
(00:51):
brought them to New York for criminal prosecution, as you noted,
without the loss of even a single American life. That
is a big, big deal. It is incredibly complicated to
go into a Venezuelan military base. You know, there'd been
a lot of talk about about all of the anti aircraft,
air defenses that Venezuela had much many of them from Russia.
(01:14):
At the end of the day, the operation was flawless,
and I will give an enormous amount of credit to
President Trump. President Trump acted decisively in ordering this attack.
There was real risk it could have gone badly, and
if it had gone badly, that would not have obviously
would not have been good. There could have been real
loss of life that didn't happen. There were a thousand
ways this could have gone wrong, but it was flawlessly executed.
(01:38):
And right now, the people of Venezuela are better off,
the people of America are better off, and the world
is better off. And so what we're going to do
on this podcast. There are podcasts that you and I
do that I think are particularly important, and I would
put this one in that category. We're going to analyze
why Venezuela matters so much, why President Trump ordered the
(01:58):
military order the FBI to go arrest Maduro, why that matters,
and and why both Venezuela and America are better off
because of it. And then we're also going to break
down not just the geopolitical implications of it, but the
legal implications. You're hearing a lot of folks on TV,
every Democrat and most of the media are beating their
(02:19):
chest saying this is illegal.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
There's no basis.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Trump is the dictator here, and and so we're gonna
break down in some real detail the legal basis. I
believe the President had the authority to order this arrest.
I think it was carried out. Pursue it to the constitution,
pursue it to US law. But I'm gonna break down
and explain why, and then we're gonna talk also some
about what next, what happens in Venezuela next. And I
(02:44):
gotta say question three, I think is the most complicated question.
It is a question that is rife with risk, but
but also has a real potential not just to transform Venezuela,
but to transform the entire Western hemisphere. And so this
is a moment to be celebrating a great military success,
(03:05):
to be optimistic for the future, but also to be
cautious because there are a lot of ways that this
could go sideways. And so I think it matters a
great deal how the administration proceeds in the next three years.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Yeah, it's going to be really interesting to see. And
we're going to break all that down for you.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
I want to take a moment, though, and talk to
you about our friends at Compassion International. Right now, somewhere
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(03:43):
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showing up, impact the world, one child at a time,
and learn how at Compassion dot com. That's Compassion dot
com all right, So, Senator I want to start with
just laying the groundwork here. There has been a lot
of media attention acting like this was somehow just the
present going warp speed and just deciding on a whim.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
To do this.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
This was a marathon. It was laid out with indictments.
The idea that this was some sort of of quick
knee jerk reaction by the president of the United States
of America is total insanity. There was incredible military planning
that went into this, including building the same structure that
(05:11):
they knew they were gonna have to go into. There
was CIA on the ground, we were told, and lots
of intelligence that was gathered in Venezuela as well. And
yet the media tried to say, well, this is just
some you know, Dictator Tyrant and Donald Trump going in
there and just taking out somebody.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
No, it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
There was a marathon, including conversations directly with Maduro and
telling him you've got multiple off ramps which you chose
not to take.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Well, let let let's start with what happened, and then
we're going to talk about why it happened and what
the geopolitical incentives, what the reasons were for going in
and capturing Maduro. Then we're gonna talk about the legal basis,
and finally we're gonna talk about what happens next. But
let's just start with what happened on Saturday, And the
best explanation of it that I've seen it is from
(05:58):
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on nickname Raisin Kane,
and he laid out exactly what happened. And this clip
is a little long, it's about six seven minutes, but
it's worth listening to because he lays out with precision
what exactly occurred. So listen to the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs, General Kane.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
This operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, was discreete precise,
and conducted during the darkest hours of January tewod and
was in the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal.
We watched, we waited, we prepared, we remained patient and professional.
(06:37):
This mission was meticulously planned, drawing lessons from decades of
missions over the last many years. Decades are many missions
over these last many years.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
This was an.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
Audacious operation that only the United States could do. It
required the utmost of precision and integration within our Joint Force,
and the word integration does not explain the sheer complexity
of such a mission, an extraction so precise it involved
(07:10):
more than one hundred and fifty aircraft launching across the
Western Hemisphere in close coordination, all coming together in time
and place to layer effects for a single purpose to
get an interdiction force into downtown Caraccas while maintaining the
element of tactical surprise. Failure of one component of this
(07:34):
well oiled machine would have endangered the entire mission, and
failure is never an option for America's Joint Force. Those
in the air over Caraccas last night were willing to
give their lives for those on the ground and in
the helicopters. Let me talk a little bit about the preparation.
After months of work by our intelligence teammates to find
(07:57):
Maduro and understand how we moved, where he lived, where
he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were
his pets? In early December, our force was set pending
a series of aligned events. Key was choosing the right
day to minimize the potential for civilian harm and maximize
(08:21):
the element of surprise and minimize the harm to the
indicted personnel, so as the President said, they could be
brought to justice. And as the President said earlier today,
weather in Venezuela is always a factor this time of
the year, and over the weeks through Christmas and New
Year's the men and women of the United States Military
(08:43):
sat ready, patiently waiting for the right triggers to be
met and the President to order us into action. Last night,
the weather broke just enough, clearing a path that only
the most skilled aviators in the world could maneuver through ocean,
mountain low cloud ceilings. But when tasked with a mission,
(09:06):
this organization does not quit. At ten forty six pm
Eastern time last night, the President ordered the United States
Military to move forward with this mission. He said to us,
and we appreciated, mister President, good luck and godspeed, and
those words were transmitted to the entire joint Force. Over
(09:26):
the course of the night, aircraft began launching from twenty
different bases on land and sea across the Western Hemisphere.
In total, more than one hundred and fifty aircraft, bombers, fighters, intelligence, reconnaissance,
surveillance rotary wing were in the air last night. Thousands
and thousands of hours of experience were airborne. Our youngest
(09:49):
crew member was twenty and our oldest crew member was
forty nine, and there's simply no match for American military might.
As the night began, the helicopters took off with the
Extraction Force, which included law enforcement officers, and began their
flight into Venezuela at one hundred feet above the water.
As they approached Venezuelan shores, the United States began layering
(10:12):
different effects provided by Spacecom, Cybercom and other members of
the Inner Agency to create a pathway overhead. Those forces
were protected from aircraft were protected by aircraft from the
United States Marines, the United States Navy, the United States
Air Force, and the Air National Guard. The force included
F twenty two's F thirty fives, F eighteen's, EA eighteens,
(10:38):
E twos, B one bombers, and other support aircraft, as
well as numerous remotely piloted drones. As the force began
to approach Caracas, the Joint Air Component began dismantling and
disabling the air defense systems in Venezuela, employing weapons to
ensure the safe passage of the helicopter into the target area.
(11:01):
The goal of our Air Component is, was and always
will be to protect the helicopters and the ground force
and get them to the target and get them home.
As the force crossed the last point of high terrain
where they'd been hiding in the clutter, we assessed that
we had maintained totally the element of surprise. As the
(11:25):
helicopter force ingressed towards the objective at low level. We
arrived at Maduro's compound at one one am Eastern Standard
time or two to one am Caracas local time, and
the apprehension force descended into Maduro's compound and moved with speed, precision,
(11:45):
and discipline towards their objective and isolated the area to
ensure the safety and security of the ground force while
apprehending the indicted persons. On arrival into the target area,
the helicopters came under fire, and they replied with that
fire with overwhelming force and self defense. One of our
aircraft was hit but remained fliable, and as the President
(12:08):
said earlier today, all of our aircraft came home and
that aircraft remained fliable during the rest of the mission.
As the operation unfolded at the compound, our air and
ground intelligence teams provided real time updates to the ground force,
ensuring those forces could safely navigate the complex environment without
unnecessary risk. The force remained protected by overhead tactical aviation.
(12:33):
Maduro and his wife, both indicted, gave up and were
taken into custody by the Department of Justice, assisted by
our incredible US military with professionalism and precision, which with
no loss of US life. After securing the indicted persons,
the force began to prep for departure. Helicopters were called
(12:56):
in to exfiltrate the extraction force, while fighter aircraft and
remotely piloted aircraft provided overhead coverage and suppressive fire. There
were multiple self defense engagements as the force began to
withdraw out of Venezuela. The force successfully exfiltrated and returned
(13:16):
to their afloat launch bases, and the force was over
the water at three twenty nine am Eastern Standard time
with indicted persons on board, and both Maduro and his
wife were embarked aboard the uss Uajima.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
You listen to that story center, and it's one that
for me is just like God bless America, like our
men and women, they are such heroes and I'm so
proud of them. I know when you were listening to
that and watching like everyone else, was just that pure
sense of pride in your country to see our military
get that. I also think the recognition they deserve for
(13:55):
doing this is another part of it.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
And Trump's letting them do their job.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
It goes back to what the FBI director says, We're
letting good cops be good cops.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
We're being letting law enforcement law enforced.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
They're letting the military men and women do what they
do well without all the PBS, all the political correctness,
like let them do their job.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Well and focusing on the bad guys. And you look
at the precision. This was an incredibly complicated military operation
and law enforcement arrest operation. And to go in Caracas
is a city of about five million people in the
metropolitan area. To go into a major city, to go
into a military base where you have soldiers, you've got
(14:34):
anti aircraft equipment, to go in successfully not have a helicopter,
not have a plane shot down. That that was execution
on the part of Delta Force. That was execution in
terms of satellites and spy operations, the CIA on the ground,
the ability to neutralize Venezuela's ability to inflict harm and
(14:56):
strike back and to execute this flawlessly was remarkable. And
here's how President Trump put it. He put President Trump
put it put it very pithy. But listen to what
the President said about what happened on Saturday.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Late last night and early today.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
At my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an
extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela. Overwhelming American
military power, air land and sea was used to launch
a spectacular assault, and it was an assault like people
(15:34):
have not seen since World War Two. It was a
force against a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart
of Caracas to bring outlaw dictator Nicholas Maduro to justice.
This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful
displays of American military might and competence in American history.
(15:58):
And if you think about it, we've done some other
good ones, like the attack on Solomoni, the attack on
Albeg Daddy, and the obliteration and decimation of the Iran
nuclear sites.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
You listen to that last from the President, like what
he's been able to do with foreign policy has been
pretty incredible. Also in doing it in a way that
protects American lives as well.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, yeah, Look, look, and this is the opposite of
military adventurism of putting American troops on the ground for
an extended period of time. This is going after a clear,
discreete objective and enemy of America and carrying out with precision.
I don't think there's another military on the face of
the planet that could carry out what the US military
(16:44):
did this weekend. And I got to say, every enemy
of America has got to be looking at this. China
is looking at this, going wow. Russia is looking at this,
going wow. Iran, well, Iran doesn't have to look at this,
because Iran saw when the president last year ordered B
two's to fly around the globe and drop the equivalent
(17:05):
of half a nuclear weapon bunker busters on the Iranian
nuclear facilities. Take them out again, no American loss of life,
the precision, they hit precisely their target, They destroyed their target.
In this instance, the same is true. And let's talk
about why so Venezuela.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
I think it's really important that people understand the why here.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
So Nicholas Maduro and his wife were both arrested and
they were transported to New York City Maduro is the
dictator of Venezuela. He is number one, illegitimate in power.
He had been the number two when Hugo Chavez, a communist,
when he died in office. So, Hugo chavs you look
at Venezuela's history in nineteen fifty, where do you think
(17:49):
Venezuela ranked in terms of GDP per capita?
Speaker 4 (17:52):
I gotta assume it was not that high.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
It was number four in the world.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Really in nineteen fifty the top four countries for GDP
per capita where the United States, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Venezuela.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Venezuela because of gold. That's because of gold and oil, right.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Gold and oil, enormous natural resources. It was an incredibly
booming economy. But then what happened is Huo Chavez, a communist,
came into power and just utterly destroyed the economy. There,
poverty skyrocketed. Chavez nationalized companies, nationalized oil resources, and and
(18:34):
and where do you think Venezuela ranks in terms of
the size of their oil reserves?
Speaker 1 (18:41):
So I actually know too much about this. They are
the largest oil reserves in the world.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
If I'm not mistaken, you're exactly right, they're bigger than
Saudi Arabia, the bigger than the United States. Have got
massive oil reserves. They were incredibly prosperous, but it turns
out when communist comes power.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
No matter what resources you've got, they again screw it up,
isn't I mean? I mean, if you think about how
small the country is compared to having the largest ore
reserves in the world, you'd think, how could you ever
have a government that's failing and a population living in poverty?
And yet this is proof that communism, even with the
number one old reserve in the world, still doesn't work.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, Chavez and then Maduro after him, destroyed the economy,
poverty skyrocket, and you've had over eight million Venezuelans flee
the country, go to neighboring countries, go to the United
States because they've just driven the economy into the ground.
There also have been dictators and drug dealers, and if
you look at Maduro, Maduro came into power initially when
(19:41):
Chavez died of cancer. He was then elected to be
the leader of Venezuela. But then in twenty nineteen there
was another election that that America International observers everyone agrees
Maduro lost he was beaten in the election. The Venezuelan
people said, no, we don't want Maduro, and he said,
I don't care. I've got the army. I'm staying in power.
(20:03):
Which part of dictator do you not understand? And for
the last six years he has been in power as
a dictator. He has also opened Venezuela up, so he
works in close harmony with Cuba, the communist government there.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
He works very Cuba, by the way, with their oil.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
A lot of people don't understand that like Cuba desperately
relies on Venezuela.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Yes, I'm absolutely right, and we're going to talk about
the consequences of what this means in Latin America, but
especially Cuba, because I think it's highly consequential for Cuba.
He also Maduro has been very very close to Putin
and Russia. He relies on Putin and Russia. He's been
very close to China and opened up opened up Venezuela
to China. He also has had a very close relationship
(20:47):
with Iran. You look at every enemy of America, and
Maduro has said, if you're an enemy of America, my
communist regime is in business with you. You've got Iranian
operatives in Venezuela. You've got HESBA in Venezuela. And on
top of that, Maduro has been a major drug dealer
(21:07):
working his government, working hand in hand with the FARC
in Colombia, to bring massive amounts of drugs, particularly cocaine,
into the United States. All of that is who Maduro is.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
But by the way, you mentioned China moment ago, just
to put in respective that China was there within hours
and their delegation was apparently still in the country when
we took him out and brought him back to America.
I mean, imagine you meet with Maduro and then you
wake up a few hours later and they're like, Maduro's
been captured by America. Can you imagine China what they're
(21:40):
thinking right now?
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (21:41):
No, I mean that was they were literally meeting with
him the day before the delegation was the Chinese delegation
was still in Venezuela, and boom, Maduro and his wife
are gone.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Actually, one of the best explanations of why Venezuela is
so significant is ironically from the show Jack Ryan, you know, Tom.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Clancy's book series.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Yeah, okay, and this is a clip that's gone viral
online because it's just a couple of minutes, and it
was back in twenty nineteen with with the fictional character
Jack Ryan explaining to classroom the importance of Venezuela.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Give a lesson. Watch the short clip.
Speaker 7 (22:19):
What would you assume is the most major threat on
the world stage? Anybody just call it out.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
You don't have to raise your hands.
Speaker 7 (22:24):
Definitely Russia.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Definitely Russia. That's confident.
Speaker 7 (22:27):
I like her.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Who says Russia?
Speaker 7 (22:29):
Anybody agree with her?
Speaker 6 (22:30):
And?
Speaker 7 (22:30):
Okay, right?
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Who else?
Speaker 4 (22:31):
China?
Speaker 7 (22:33):
Stop yelling at me?
Speaker 3 (22:33):
But China.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
It's a good answer to anybody. Who else?
Speaker 5 (22:36):
China?
Speaker 4 (22:37):
North Korea?
Speaker 7 (22:38):
North Korea? Any North Korea takers? And Venezuela anybody?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Nope?
Speaker 7 (22:46):
Oh yep, one guy in the back a little worried
about Venezuela.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Everybody's cool with Venezuela.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
No threat.
Speaker 7 (22:51):
Okay, let me ask you this, which one of these
places can claim to have the largest oil deposit on
the planet, more than Saudi more than Iran? Wow? Okay,
what about things like gold? More than all the minds
in Africa combined. The fact is that Venezuela is arguably
the single greatest resource of oil and minerals on the planet.
(23:13):
So why is this country in the midst of one
of the greatest humanitarian crises in modern history. Let's meet
President Nicholas Reyes. After rising to power on a wave
of nationalist pride, in a mere six years, this guy
has crippled the national economy by half. He has raised
the poverty rate by almost four hundred percent. Luckily for
(23:35):
the rest of us, he's up for reelection. So who's
running against him? This is Gloria Banalde. Now, Gloria is
a history professor turned activist. She's running against him on
a social justice platform and on the strength of, in
my humble opinion, just not being an asshole. Analyst predictions
(23:57):
as of today have the chances of Venezuela's total I'm
to collapse at eighty seven percent. On the news, they'll
call it a crisis, but on the world stage they'll
call it a failed state.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
If you've never heard that term.
Speaker 7 (24:11):
Other examples of a failed state in recent history are Yemen, Iraq,
and Syria. And if that's not bad enough news for you, well,
Venezuela is also the only one of these places within
thirty minute range from the US of next gen nuclear missiles.
You will not hear about any of this on the
news because the biggest players on the world stage do.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
Not want you to to them.
Speaker 7 (24:37):
Unstable governments are nothing more than the greatest of opportunities.
So Russia, China to never be the most major threat
until countries like Venezuela leave the door open to our
very own backyard.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
To our very own backyard.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
And that goes back to not only, like you said,
the resources there, but why China and Runussia and Iran
and others need them so much center, But also you
got to explain the drug trafficking aspect of this. I
don't think people realize when they hear that this is
what they have a lot of people, I'm sure like, well,
well then why didn't he just sell a bunch of oil.
Why didn't you just pump a bunch of oil. Why
(25:16):
would he get into the drug narco trafficking and just
sell all this oil and be rich?
Speaker 4 (25:21):
Right?
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Simplify that, Explain that for people as they understand what
was behind that decision to get into the narco trade.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
So then let me clarify something about that. Jack Ryan clip,
he talks about Nicholas Reyes. Nicholas Rayes is a fictional character.
That's Tom Tom Clancy, that's Nicholas Maduro. It just they
made up rays I guess, you know. I don't know
why Clancy didn't use the real guy, but it's fiction,
so so he made up Rayes.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
But what he's describing as Maduro is.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
Yeah, exactly the same. The principle is the same.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Yeah, And that Look, it is why Russia, it is
why China, It's why Iran, It's why HESBLA cares so
much about Venezuela veastries and also proximity of the United States.
It's about two thousand miles away. It's four to five
hours from Miami to Venezuela. A missile from Venezuela to
the United States. It is very close for our enemies
(26:14):
to attack us from Venezuela. It is in our hemisphere.
And you go back to the Monroe Doctrine. Early at
the founding of our country, the Monroe doctrine said we're
going to protect the western hemisphere, our hemisphere. And that's
something that President Trump has really leaned in, and in
fact it's been dubbed now the Donro Doctrine for President
(26:35):
Trump really enforcing it and going and carrying out carrying
out this incredible military operation to arrest Maduro. Now you
asked why aren't they rich. They aren't rich because communism
doesn't work. Communism is a failed economic system. They were
rich when capitalism was it was an operation. When capitalism
(26:58):
was operating, they were produced the oil. The problem is
when when when they nationalized.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
An oil production, Well said, can we just explain. There
was a point when when people around the world wanted
to go to Venezuela because it was such a nice country.
It was a safe country. It's beautiful, has beaches. Like
I actually talked to Goby. We were older that said,
we used to go to Venezuela as a vacation spot.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
It was before this all happened.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
They're much older now, but they were talking about how
beautiful it was and it was.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
A thriving country.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
The only thing that killed it is what you're describing
right now.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
By the way, the communists we have in the United States,
most notably comrade Mondami in New York, ought to take
a lesson from what a train wreck, what a disaster
communism is. We've seen that in Venezuela, We've seen that
in Cuba, We've seen that in North Korea, we've seen
that in the in the Soviet Union, communism doesn't work,
and it's it's disastrously bad. And and when the government
(27:55):
nationalized oil production, it turns out that that that that
that an authorityitarian government is really bad at producing oil.
It's incredibly corrupt. It didn't invest in technology, The technology
all all crumbled, and and and it's in even though
it's got massive reserves, its production is a fraction of
what it used to be. Uh And and that's a
(28:16):
significant reason. You know, one of the the trades that
that that that Maduro did and and Chavez before him,
is a trade with Cuba where where Venezuela provides oil
to Cuba and Cuba provides manpower, provides thugs, provides soldiers
and enforcers that they used to oppress the Venezuelan people,
(28:36):
and that trade.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
In fact, some of those Cubans apparently were supposed to
be protecting Maduro when we took him.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Uh and and I suspect h some of those bodyguards
are no longer with us. We don't have the clear
tally on that, but but but I'm confident that that
although there was no loss of life on the American
side that those who were defending this corrupt narco terrorist Uh.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
I think there was was.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
We'll find out how significant the loss of life was,
but I'm confident some of those Cubans are no longer
with us. That's why President Trump went in there, because
you had number one, Venezuela flooding America with drugs. Number
two Venezuela opening up our hemisphere to enemies of America China, Russia, Iran, Hezbola,
(29:23):
all posing acute national security threats to the United States.
And so that's why we went in there. And also,
Venezuela is an incredibly harmful force throughout Latin America, trying
to spread communism, trying to spread anti Americanism throughout Latin America.
But all right, here's the sixty four thousand dollars question.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Is it illegal?
Speaker 2 (29:46):
If you turn on the TV, just about every academic,
just about everyone in the media, just about every Democrat says, oh,
this is horrible, this is illegal. There's no basis. So
let's break down. The short answer is, no, it was
not illegal. This was fully justified. Now why the administration
has several justifications. The administration has argued that the President
(30:09):
ordered this attack and ordered this apprehension under his inherent
authority under Article II of the Constitution.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Now what does that mean.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Well, the Constitution divides war making the power of war
making between Congress and the President, and they both have
different aspects of authority over war making. Article one, which
creates Congress and says all legislative authority is vested in
the United States. Congress gives Congress the authority declare war.
(30:40):
So if there are extended, protracted use of military force,
particularly with forces on the ground, forces in harms way,
that then Congress should be involved. And I think Congress
for a long time has not been vigilant enough asserting
its Article one authority to be in charge of declaring war,
(31:00):
in charge of authorizing military force. That's part of the
authority on the Constitution. But the other authority on the
Constitution is Article two, which is establishes the office of
the Presidency in the executive branch, makes the president the
commander in chief. And there's an inherent authority there. There's
a long line line of authority that says that the
president has an authority to number one, respond to an
(31:23):
imminent threat, number two to protect us to protect Americans.
So what I think, and we'll see as this goes
forward in litigation what the precise justification is, but the
principal justification is going to be the following. Maduro was indicted.
He was indicted in New York City. The indictment. By
(31:45):
the way, you can read the indictment. I've got the
indictment right here in my hand. It is twenty five pages.
The opening of the indictment says, for over twenty five years,
leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust
and corrupted once legitimate in spits to import tons of
cocaine into the United States. Nicholas Maduro Moros, the defendant,
(32:06):
is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered
with his co conspirators to use as illegally obtained authority
and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons
of cocaine to the United States. And so this was
an arrest effort, and so the FBI came and they
(32:27):
arrested him. They brought him to the United States, to
New York to be prosecuted in federal court.
Speaker 4 (32:32):
A lot of you asked this question, why New York.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
We always see a lot of New York and people
going to New York afterwards when they get charged. Why
is New York a place where we see a lot
of these high profile individuals be charged. Is that just
the way that the courts set up? I know the answer.
I want you to explain to everybody, because they're like,
why do we keep seeing I mean, it can be
anybody from p Didy to The list goes on and
on of people Epstein that it's always New York.
Speaker 4 (32:57):
Why is that?
Speaker 2 (32:58):
So they're all across the country. There are US attorney
offices all across the country. Those US attorneys are appointed
by the President, they're confirmed by the Senate. The Southern
District of New York, which covers Manhattan, has a great
deal of expertise dealing with terrorism in particular. Obviously that's
where nine to eleven was. There been terrorism cases with
respect to Maduro. You could have brought that case in
(33:21):
multiple jurisdictions, multiple US attorneys, because the impacts of Maduro's
flooding cocaine into this country have harmed every state in
the Union. But it is unsurprising that it would be
the Southern District of New York leading this because they
have such long expertise in dealing with terrorism cases in particular,
(33:42):
and so that was where the U. S. Attorney went
to the grand jury and got the indictment and and
the justification. The main justification for the military going in
was to protect the FBI agents going to arrest Maduro,
because if they just sent the FBI agents, presume Madureau's
soldiers or bodyguards would would have shot and killed them.
(34:04):
And and so the military was there to keep that
law enforcement safe. That's the principal justification. There are a
couple of other justifications. There's another justification, which which is
that that that Maduro was was leading a designated foreign
terrorist organization, and so they're existing legal authorities to go
after foreign terrorist organizations. That's something we're going to see
(34:28):
litigation on this, and that surely is going to be
a justification UH as well. And and then there's also
an inherent authority under Article two UH to protect Americans
from imminent threats. And and so I suspect we will
see some combination, if not all, three of those justifications
put forward as the basis for the President ordering ordering
(34:51):
this operation.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
Let's also be clear when there have been people on
TV that just been lying saying this is unprecedented and
Trump is off the reservation.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
That is not true.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
We have gone after people that have done very similar
things just like this before, and Democrats were in favor
of it when that happened.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Yeah, no, no, Look, there's massive hypocrisy from Democrats. But
I will say that there's a long precedent that you
can go back. But the closest president is in nineteen
ninety Manuel Noriega. Manuel Noriega, what was leading Panama? He
was corrupt, he had been indicted also as a drug dealer.
He was the de facto ruler of Panama. And George
(35:33):
Herbert Walker Bush Bush forty one, there was again an
indictment and President Bush the first sent in the military
to arrest and remove Noriega, just like they did with
Maduro Norriega. Actually, do you know the date that Noriega
was apprehended?
Speaker 4 (35:53):
I don't. What is it?
Speaker 2 (35:54):
January third, exact same date, January third of nineteen ninety
is when the US government apprehended Doriega. You know, I
actually on January third, a good friend of mine, Victoria Coach,
who's the head of foreign policy at the Heritage Foundation.
She used to be by national security advisor for four years.
(36:14):
She was President Trump's Deputy National Security Advisor in the
first term. Her daughter was getting married on January third,
So I was joking with Victoria. I'm like, wow, you
really know how to celebrate your daughter's wedding by by
by apprehending a Latin Latin American dictator and terrorist on
the date of her wedding. Victoria was laughing at that,
(36:35):
And she and I have worked for more than a
decade fighting against Chavez and Maduro and the national security
and and and drug dealing threat and terrorism threat that
they posed to the United States. Do you know what
January third is?
Speaker 3 (36:49):
Just as a.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Short personal aside, what is that? It's also the date
that I met Heidi. No way, I met Heidi on
January third of two thousand. So President Trump decided apprehend
Maduro on the twenty sixth anniversary of when I met
my wife, which was kind of an interesting an interesting coincidence.
The Noriega example is I think quite compelling and what happened.
(37:14):
Noriega was arrested, they brought him to the United States,
they prosecuted him, he was convicted, he was sentenced to
forty years and he died in prison. He ultimately died,
but there was litigation over does the president have the
authority to send in the military to arrest a corrupt
(37:36):
Latin American dictator who is a drug dealer, And the
conclusion of that litigation was yes. That is for every
pompous buffoon on TV saying there's no authority to do this,
that is a big, big problem.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
I want to go back. Can we go back to
Chuck Schumer and just that. I think it was twenty
twenty when he had something very interesting to say.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
Can we play that for everybody real quick?
Speaker 3 (38:02):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (38:03):
All right, take a listen. This is Chuck Schumer back
in twenty twenty. Listen carefully to the words that he
has to say. You're gonna get a kick out of this.
Speaker 8 (38:10):
He brags about all these things he wants to do
or is doing, but his actions belie his words. Maybe
the best metaphor was his claim to bring democracy to Venezuela.
There was a big policy there.
Speaker 4 (38:25):
It flopped.
Speaker 8 (38:26):
If the policy was working, Juan Guido wouldn't be in
the balcony here, he'd be in Venezuela. He'd be sitting
in the president's palace, or at least waging a.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Fight to win.
Speaker 8 (38:36):
He's here, and the president brags about his Venezuela policy.
Give us a break. He hasn't brought an end to
the Maduro regime. The Meduro regime is more powerful today
and more entrenched today than it was when the president began.
Speaker 1 (38:49):
So here's my part about this that makes me laugh. Democrats,
and there's a tweet that's very much like that, the
same thing from Joe Biden. Yeah, they were angry that
Trump had taken out Maduro. Now Trump takes out Maduro,
and now they're angry at Trump for taking out Maduro.
Speaker 4 (39:05):
You cannot make it up.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
Yeah, and listen carefully to what Schumer just said. There,
give us a break. He hasn't ended the Maduro regime.
So he was on the floor of the Senate. This
is a speech where he was blasting Trump in twenty
twenty for not having taken Maduro out. And now in
the wake of President Trump having another enormously successful military operation,
(39:30):
the last just a few hours in actual execution, and
then it was over, and then Maduro was gone and
he was on his way to the United States. Schumer
and Kamala Harris and just about every Democrat you find
are are freaking out and they're just being hypocrites. They
just hate Trump and and just like they're defending every
illegal immigrant, they're defending all of the gang bangers who
(39:53):
are here. In this case, the Democrats are becoming the
chief defender of of Nicholas Maduro.
Speaker 3 (40:01):
But as I mentioned on.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
The legal front, if you look back to Noriega front
and center in terms of the litigation that will happen
over this is that in nineteen eighty nine, Bill Barr
was the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel. Now,
Bill Barr, you have a call, ended up becoming George
(40:24):
Herbert Walker Bush's attorney general, and then he was also
a g for President Trump in the first term. Bill
Barr at the time was leading what's called OLC, and
OLC is charged under federal law with writing authoritative opinions
on what is what is the constitution, what is legal?
What are the constraints on the executive branch? And by
(40:45):
the way, there is a long history of incredibly important
jurist and scholars being the heads of OLC, including Antonin Scalia.
He was the head of OLC, including William Renquist, for
whom I clerked if Justice of the Supreme Court. He
was the head of OLC under Nixon, including Chuck Cooper,
(41:05):
my first boss when I practiced law. Uh So OLC
that they are typically they are often US Supreme Court
clerks themselves. They are constitutional experts. And Barr issued a
detailed opinion making clear that the US government had the
authority to go and apprehend uh uh Noriega and and
(41:26):
and Barr said several things, So it's a detailed opinion.
Speaker 3 (41:28):
By the way, you can read the entire opinion. The
opinion is public. Uh.
Speaker 2 (41:32):
But but Barr concluded that Number one, the FBI statutory
arrest authority quote authorisest extra territorial investigations and arrests. So
that's in the statute existing US law. The FBI can
go abroad and arrest someone. And and Barr concluded the
president can lawfully order that extratorial extra territorial arrest and
(41:58):
and interestingly, bar so one of the main arguments that
democrats in the media, although that's redundant because they're one
in the same democrats in the media, and by the way,
law professors fall into that same camp. They're all clutching
their pearls. And their main argument deals with the United
Nations Charter and an Article two four of the un
Charter prohibits the quote use of force against the territorial
(42:22):
integrity of any state. And so their main argument is
this violates the un Charter. Well, what Barr concluded, and
this is a quote and by the way, it's not
just Barr's opinion. This is a binding decision from OLC
that binds the executive and lesson until it's overturned. So
it is like a judicial opinion, but within the executive branch.
Barr said that Article two four of the UN Charter
(42:46):
does not quote prohibit the executive, as a matter of
domestic law, from authorizing forcible abductions. Put another way, quote,
as a matter of domestic law, the executive has the
to authorize actions inconsistent with Article two four of the
un Charter. What does that mean? The the un Charter
(43:07):
is not independently binding on the United States government. The
Constitution is binding on the government. You know, back before
I was in the Senate, what I did for a
living is argued us Supreme Court cases and and the
most consequential case that I argued before the Supreme Court
was a case called Mediing versus Texas.
Speaker 3 (43:26):
I ended up winning six y three.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
It was an incredibly consequential case, but it dealt with
the authority of the International Court of Justice, the World Court,
the judicial arm of the UN, to bind the US
justice system. And and and I argued representing the State
of Texas successfully, the UN doesn't have the authority to
do that. The World Court doesn't have the authority to
do it. It is the US Constitution, and it is
(43:48):
US laws. And if Congress wants to pass a law,
that can be binding. But Congress had not in that
in Median passed a law relevant to the issue there. Likewise,
here the DOJ opinion was, even if the UN Charter
says something different, as a matter of US constitutional law,
the President can order this. And critically, the Bar opinion
(44:11):
also concluded that a US arrest abroad quote in violation
of foreign law does not violate the Fourth Amendments. And
to be clear, the Bar opinion was litigated in the
nor Dieega case and and Noriega state in jail, so
he lost all of those claims. That is really powerful
(44:32):
legal precedent, and it is very closely on point.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
You talk about the legal side this, I want to
ask just real quickly, are there other legal aspects and
challenges in this case It could come up as well.
Speaker 2 (44:45):
Well, yes, and look, there are distinctions that I would
expect Maduro to argue between this case and the Noriega case.
In in the Norriega case, the General Assembly in Panama
had actually declared war on the United States.
Speaker 3 (45:01):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Secondly, they had shot and killed a US marine. And
so those are both both facts that that leaned in
favor of Noriega the president being able to respond and
respond militarily. In this instance, the government of of of
Venezuela has not formally declared war on the United States.
And they have not uh, they have not killed a
(45:24):
marine or a service member. Although uh, Maduro's drug trafficking
has killed countless Americans thousands, and and and and you know,
hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, a massive number of
Americans Maduro is responsible for killing through drug trafficking. I
will say also that there is a second issue that
(45:44):
will be litigated, which is what's called head of state immunity.
So Maduro will go and argue that that the actions
he carried out were as the leader of Venezuela and
as a general principle US government, US courts don't imp
hose criminal liability for the actions a head of state does,
(46:05):
and Noriega was the de facto leader of Panama, but
he was not elected by the people. In this case,
the guy was recognized as a head of state, and
so it's different from Noriega.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
That will be litigated.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
I think the response to that is fine, that may
have been he may have enjoyed that immunity back in
twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen, but twenty nineteen when he ignored
the results of the election and seized power illegitimately, everyone
agrees he was illegitimate. The United States, by the way,
the Biden administration agreed that. The first Trump administration agreed
(46:43):
that most of the rest of the world is acknowledged
that Maduro stayed in power illegitimately. One exception from head
of state immunity is if the government invites you in.
In this case, I think you would say there's not
an operational government that is legitimate, that he was, he
(47:03):
was an illegitimate dictator, but that will be a subject
of litigation. It would not surprise me to see that
question go all the way to the US Supreme Court.
Speaker 1 (47:11):
All right, and finally, I know I'm gonna laugh because
I know you're gonna have an answer to this. Are
there any other legal presents that are going to come
up in here as well as we wrap up the
legal side of this.
Speaker 2 (47:20):
There are, And there's a line of cases that's known
as the Kerf Frisbee doctrine, which says that that unlawful
abductions of criminals on foreign soil does not stop the
criminal prosecution of those individuals in US courts. And the
lead case in this line of cases is a case
(47:42):
called the United States versus alvarezma Chain. It was a
nineteen ninety two ruling, and the Supreme Court six' three
concluded that A mexican national who was forcibly abducted In
mexico from his home brought to The United states that
he could be criminally. Prosecuted it didn't matter if his
(48:03):
being seized abroad was, illegally and so that line of.
Cases If maduro were just a run of the mill drug,
dealer it would be a very easy question that regardless
of the circumstances of his. Capture if he VIOLATED us criminal,
laws he could be prosecuted, here and so that line
of CASES i think will be. Relevant and, again all
(48:24):
the folks ON tv claiming this is illegal are ignoring
both The constitution And Supreme court, precedent not to mention
the BINDING doj opinion from nineteen eighty.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
Nine, Center we've run along on this legal, issue which
is so, important AND i hope that everyone listening right
now enjoyed, it BECAUSE i feel Like i've learned a.
Lot i'm hoping that everyone listening has learned a lot
on the legal side of.
Speaker 4 (48:47):
This but there's still a lot that we've.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
Not gotten a covery At, Center so we're gonna do
that On wednesday. Show let's just talk a little bit
of preview on. That there's a lot of people asking
why was the wife? Arrested what's next Is, venezuela What
america's role should be? There also what's next for other
countries that have been, warned whether That's, Mexico. Columbia the
list goes kind of on and on in this part
of the world with narco, terrorism uh and also the
warnings To iran that have come from This White. House
(49:11):
all these are. Connected so let's kind of lay out
what you're gonna get On.
Speaker 4 (49:14):
Wednesday, Yeah, look.
Speaker 2 (49:17):
In terms of the, wife the answer to that is
is pretty. Simple she also has been. Indicted she's been
indicted as a collaborator who's been actively participating in the
in the criminal effort to be a drug, dealer and
she's been actively part of. It Uh, and so she's
separately indicted as another criminal. Defendant uh and and that's
why she was arrested as. Well what we're going to
talk about On wednesday is is there are very significant
(49:39):
geopolitical issues in terms of the rest Of Latin america
and in Particular. Cuba cuba is enormously dependent On. Venezuela
venezuela is enormously dependent On, cuba and and taking Out
maduro puts the communist regime In cuba in in in real.
Jeopardy and and and AND i think we could end
up SEEING i think there's a real possibility that we
(50:01):
see the communist government In cuba. Fall you also look
at In Colombia petro as an Anti american. Leftist there
was a very close ally Of, maduro's very close ally
of the communist government In. CUBA i think The colombian
leadership has got to be worried about this as. Well
so we're gonna break down those geopolitical issues On wednesday's,
(50:21):
Podcast but we're also going to talk about going, forward
which is What President trump did here was very. Important
he sent in a very targeted effort to go and
Arrest maduro for this. Indictment he succeeded incredibly. Well the
question is where do we go from? Here and early
on the administration has suggested That maduro's vice president is
(50:44):
likely to remain in charge Of. Venezuela that is raising significant.
Concerns we're going to talk about that because Because maduro's
vice president is also a Leftist america hating, communist and
and so that that that that raises significant. Problems one
of the justifications for going in is is That maduro was,
(51:07):
illegitimate and SO i think it's important and we're going
to talk about this On, wednesday that that that that
there be a democratic election In venezuela relatively, quickly so
that you have a, legitimate democratically elected. Leader AND i
also think it is very important That america not get
mired down in a long extended. OCCUPATION i don't think
(51:29):
that's gonna. HAPPEN i don't Think President trump wants that to.
Happen but there are real risks and and we we've
seen that uh in in the wake Of, afghanistan in
the wake Of iraq to having a long EXTENDED us
military presence on the. Ground and so we're going to
talk about the risks there and and and also about
(51:50):
Uh Maria Karina, machado the leader of the, opposition what her,
Role Juan, guido what's gonna happen. Next all of that's
going to be In wednesday's.
Speaker 4 (51:59):
Podcast it's going to be a really interesting. One don't.
Speaker 1 (52:01):
Forget download this Show, Monday Wednesday friday wherever you get
your podcasts at that subscriber on a download. Button and
this pod we do most days now on video as,
well so you can watch On facebook or on. YouTube
grab that there as well in the. CENTER i will
see you back here On wednesday morning for another really fun.
Speaker 4 (52:17):
Show
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Ben Ferguson
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