In this episode, Lisa Boothe is joined by Daniel Di Martino of the Manhattan Institute to break down the stunning arrest Nicolás Maduro and what it means for Venezuela, the United States, and the global balance of power.
Daniel explains why Maduro’s arrest is being celebrated by many Venezuelans as a long-awaited moment of accountability and explores whether this development could finally open the door to a peaceful political transition. The conversation examines America’s strategic interests in Venezuela, including energy security, oil production, and the potential economic opportunities for U.S. companies if the country stabilizes.
Lisa and Daniel also analyze the broader geopolitical implications, including how Maduro’s downfall could weaken the influence of Russia, Iran, and China in the Western Hemisphere. Finally, they discuss the political backlash from the American left and what this moment reveals about U.S. foreign policy, regime change debates, and America’s role on the global stage.
Follow Clay & Buck on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuck
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Truth with Lisa Booth, where we get
to the heart of the issues that mattered to you. Today,
we're talking about this stunning turn of events, US forces
capturing Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro, bringing him to the United
States to New York to face narco terrorism charges. We're
going to have Daniel d Martino on the show. We've
(00:20):
had him on previously. He was very interesting. He's a
Venezuelan American economists and a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
So we're going to talk about what this means for
the United States, It's impact on oil, on energy, and
also the impact and the blow it will have to
our adversaries like Russia, Aaron in China. So we're going
(00:41):
to dig it into all of it. What do you
need to know? Why should you care? Why does this
matter to you? Stay tuned for Daniel de Martino. Well, Daniel,
it's great to have you back on the show. You
were so interesting last time, so when I saw the
news of Madureau's arrest, wanted to have you back on.
(01:02):
So appreciate you making the time. I know you're busy
right now. I see you making the rounds in the media,
so appreciate you for making the time for us.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Of course, this is a very important moment.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
You know, as somebody who has fled Venezuela, what was
it like to see the news that Maduro had been arrested.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Honestly, it was so glorious, Lisa, It was first unbelievable
because it is something that you would have expected for
a long time and never thought what happened. I have
the cover of the New York Post from yesterday that
I'm keeping as a souvenir that' says captured. I'm the
picture that Trump posted of Maduro with a water bottle
(01:40):
ice covered, and that is really amazing because this is
such an evil man that Trump just got him to
bring him to justice. That is such a glorious, beautiful thing,
and I'm so grateful to the President for it.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
You know, if people say, wonder if this is and
the United States interests, you should we be meddling in Venezuela.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
What would you say to that? Well, what I would
say is the most important thing here is was in
the United States interest? And what is in the United
States interest? It's lower gas prices. In US interest is
reducing drug trafficking, in US interests, is reducing illegal immigration
in US interest, is reducing the regate of elections in
foreign countries by the major regime, by China, by Russia,
(02:27):
and US interest These all sound like very good and
important foreign policy goals that all come from the same source,
which is the majoral regime. And if the Trump administration
not only bring to justice Maduro, which is a good
thing on its own for implementing the rule of law,
but can make Venezuela free country again by this intervention
(02:49):
that's very targeted, then that will be the greatest foreign
policy achievement since the end of the Cold War, and
it will be Trump who did it.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Do you think there will be potential backlash and Thevenezuela
you know, does he have supporters? What does that look
like in Venezuela, And does he still have you know,
loyalist factions within the Venezuela military or or how do
you sort of playing out so.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Backlash in a popular support way? Absolutely not. The Venezuelan
population is thrilled, and you know if they you know,
I know, people joke about giving the position of every
position to Marco Rubio and making him governor of Venezuela.
Or something. But if they put Marco Ruby on the ballot,
Marco Ruby when the election in a landslide, that's the truth.
He has very high name recognition, I will say, same
(03:34):
as Donald Trump, and so the support among the population
is very high. But it is true that the military,
not the regular soldiers, but every person above them and
the Cubans that are embedded in it, they are all
loyalists because they're all drug traffickers, and the only way
to get them to leave was through force. They thought
(03:55):
Trump was bluffing with his threats. They thought he was
only going to stay this aircraft carrier and these boats
and these airplanes all to intimidate them to leave. And
now they learned this weekend that Trump was not playing,
that he was for real, that MAJORI is the first step,
and that he already threatened them with a second, more
powerful attack in case they don't leave and they don't
(04:18):
do what's right. This is not going to be because
it would be in vain. And Trump said he this
is not gonna be in vain. They're going to have
another thought take over the country in his press conference
yesterday that what's going to happen here is the US
is going to be in charge of the transition. That
really helped, you know, made me feel very good because
we actually do need the US in charge. People are saying, oh,
(04:40):
that's imperialism. Whatever. Look, Venezuelan people support this. We want
the regime ount and we trust Donald Trump and Marco
Rubia more than Nicholas Majora. So give me a greak.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So what do you see then, the path forward for
the future of Venezuelan government, You know, kind of how
do you see this playing out?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Well? I see two scenarios now. Before this strike. To
be honest, I thought nothing was going to happen. I
thought that was the ninety five percent likelihood. I didn't
think the strike was coming, in part because I would
rather be conservative in my expectations and be pleasantly surprised
like it happened this weekend, and not be disappointed. You know,
after twenty seven years of regime, I have to emotionally
(05:21):
protect my brain, and so now I see it as
over fifty percent chance there's a peaceful and orderly transition
in the next year, like before this year ends. And
the rest of the possibility is that the major regime,
the remnants they do the Trump administration into lengthening the
transitions so much that Trump is out of office and
(05:43):
then they stay in power forever. That's the downside risk.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
It sort of walk us through how the loss of
Maduro as an ally weekends sort of the strategic positions
of Russia are on and China against Western powers. You know,
could this lead shifts and international alliances or proxy conflicts elsewhere?
How do you see all that playing out?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yes, so this is important. You know the majority of
the casualties from this capture that happened this weekend were Cubans.
They were not Venezuela. And interestingly, right, that's because those
are the people running the security and intelligence apparatus. There
are Iranians too that collaborate with terror groups. There are
the Russians, they are their Chinese. You know. Delsi Rodriguez,
(06:26):
the vice president, she just got sworn in in all
these fake ceremonies, because all the positions are fake. In Venezuela,
they're just a gang, right, But she got sworn in
as president and guess who she shook hands first with
this morning? She shoot hangs with the ambassador of China,
the ambassador of Russia, and the ambassador of Iran. Those
were the three people. It is not a coincidence. Those
(06:49):
are the people who finance them. This is part of
why this is in US interest to support this transition away,
because this should be our hemisphere. This should be the Chinese,
the Russia, and the Iranian hemisphere from which they can
plan attacks, finance terror and so how I see the
transition happening is trumpas threatened this. They're gonna have a
(07:11):
few months to organize new elections or give power away,
and then they're gonna leave with all the money they
stole without being persecuted. Everybody you know, Delse Whorehead, your Dado,
Vladimir Padrino, all the key figures in the regime, and
they're gonna go to another country. Then there's gonna be
an amnesty for everybody inside the country left, and then
(07:34):
Venezuela will will gradually return to becoming a normal country
with private investment. This is part of why Machado is
so good. Right, she might not have the support of
the military yet, but she's the only pro American leader
in Venezuela.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
What does this mean for Russia, who's been a key
ally to Maduro through military aid, and that restructuring.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Well, what it means for Russia is that Russia was
profiting from the illegal oil, same as Iran and China.
And if Venezuela stops supplying oil to China in Iranian
and Russian ships, this is a big economic blow for them.
It's an intelligence blow. Do you think they had Venezuela
here just for oil now it was an intelligence base.
They were even building in Ranian drones. That's their goal, right,
(08:20):
And so if they lose control of Venezuela, America becomes
much safer.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Talk about how this affects Venezuela and oil production and exports,
and what does it mean for the United States energy
prices and reliance on opak.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Yes, so, Venezuela, and this is important to note, was
one of the major oil producers of the world, was
one of the main sources of oil for the United States.
The refineries in the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana
were designed to refine Venezuela and heavy oil, which is
the heavy oil that we are not producing anymore. By
the way, we produce very light oil. The Middle East
(08:56):
produces light oil. Only Canada essentially produces every oil and
so This is a very good source to diversify or
oil production from. And if Venezuela could produce just a
pre travist, pre socialism levels of oil, that would mean
three more million barrels of oil a day in output.
It would mean every single American would pay less in gas. Look,
(09:17):
all the people who criticize the president are warned against
this intervention, including you know, people like Tocar Carlson were
saying oil prices are going to shut up if we
do any kind of thing in Venezuela. Guess what happened
this morning when all markets opened and after the intervention,
oil prices went down because the market expects higher oil
production from Venezuela once it becomes a free country. It's
(09:41):
barely producing any oil. So and you know on the
sanctions would be lifted so we could import more of it.
So this is very good for our energy prospects.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
What's sort of economic opportunities do you think would open
for American companies in Venezuela And what does that mean
for both Americans and Venezuelans.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Yes, so the opportunities are really large. I've read some
estimates that the investment required to restore the oil industry
in Venezuela is about ten billion a year for the
next several years. Venezuela's and its investment in electric sextuoral water.
There's a lot of real estate investment opportunity that if
you are somebody who's betting on Venezuela recovering, there's a
(10:23):
whole lot of cheap real estate right now in Caracas
and the rest of the country. There's very cheap beach houses.
Let me tell you you know, you can buy I'm
not joking. You can buy a beach apartment for less
than ten thousand dollars, a beachfront apartment. So all of
that means that a lot of money is going to
flow into Venezuela, and that's going to be very good
for the Venezuelan population. Is going to create jobs, raise
(10:44):
tax revenue and things like the Venezuelan people desperately need.
And it's going to be a lot of profits to
Americans because, believe me, when Venezuela's a free country, the Russians,
the Chinese and all those evil regimes, they're going to
be shut out of Venezuela. Why because there are two
blos For what happened to us and we don't want
them ever again in our country. Quick break, stay with us.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
If you like what you're hearing, please share to social
media or send it to your family and friends. How
much of President Trump going after Madua, how much was
it about the drugs versus you know, oil and obviously
the strategic advantage of trying to push out Russia, Iran
(11:26):
in China from the Western hemisphere.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
So I think that what happened in Venezuela and the
reason this was done in Venezuela, now Venezuela was picked
over say Cuba, is a confluence of reasons. We mentioned
the drug traffic, and that's key, but what's also key
is the oil. You mentioned the true Venezuela Old Cuba doesn't.
Venezuela is also, you know, an ally of Russia of China,
(11:51):
similar as Cuba. But then Venezuela also is easier to
become a free country than Cuba. Venezuela has an active
opposition movement that an election, has a longer history of
democracy that's much more recent and is less utalitarian than
Cuba or Nicaragua. And so because it's also that the
(12:12):
cashcow for those regimes even Venezuela can become a free country.
Cuba will be next, and Nicarago will be next. Not
because Trump is going to extract the Cuban leader, but
because Venezuela actually may contribute both financially and militarily to
overthrow the Cuban regime once it becomes a free country.
This is something that the position leader has said, by
(12:33):
the way, Maria Karina Machado herself, that after Venezuela is free,
she's going to ensure that the free Venezuela helps liberate Cuba.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Challenging is the path forward for the Trump administration and
Venezuela to sort of keep things stabilized.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, so the look, there's there's gonna be a lot
of obviously incidents and death that's already happening, and the
media is going to exaggerate a lot of the things
that happen if this is successful. But right now the
regime is still in power, and the biggest challenge ahead
(13:13):
is getting them to give up. It's getting them yes,
we're going to organize give free elections, and we're gonna
give up, and we're gonna go live in a different country.
One challenge, I'm not sure how challenging. This is for
the Admin. I don't have privileged information, but you know,
has another country guaranteed them freedom? Do they have a
place to go? That's important. We need to give them
(13:33):
a place to go. Obviously I would prefer to have
them all arrested or eradicated, but if what Venezuela needs
to be orderly a free countries that, I'm very happy
to give them all amnesty. That's step number one. Step
number two is do they believe their life is threatened
if they don't leave. I think that after what happened
this weekend, they do, and if they don't, then the
(13:54):
president needs to remind them and needs to reminder Number one,
the CIA is still in Venezuela. How do you think
they found where Maduro lived? How do you think they
did all of this? They have people underground the United
States right now, and I think that and the other
leaders should be afraid, and if they are, they will comply.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Well, when he's threatened Rodriguez, do you think she'll heed
those warnings? I mean, right now, it at least appears
as if she wants to cooperate with the United States.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
But can that be trusted? Yeah, that's what she's saying,
I'll tell you that's not what she's telling. Venezuelan's inside
the country. You might say, well, she's just putting on
a show for strength, but the show is for who
because it's not like the Venezuelan people like her, so
she doesn't have to put in a show for us.
We all hate her, we don't believe her anyway. So
I fear that they are just double faced and they're
(14:46):
trying to persuade some people in Trump administration to let
them lengthen the transition to live longer. And if that's
what's happening, I think the Trump administration needs to harden
the screws on them, tighten them. And one of the
ways to do that would be, you know, we are
going to do another strike or we're going to do
(15:07):
some sort of CIA cover operation inside the country. Uh.
You know, there are some oil tanks that are trying
to escape. We need to capture them all and if
they escape, you know, perhaps we need to sink some
oil tanks. And that's the situation that needs to happen
and demonstrate to Delci that we are serious and we
have the guns.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
You don't, I mean, should delcea be concerned about internal
opposition to her. I mean, I found it really interesting,
as you pointed out, and what we've seen reported that
Cuba says thirty two percent of its combatants were killed
in the US raid protecting Maduro. I mean to me,
that would signal that he doesn't trust Venezuelans to protect him.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Absolutely, the need for Delsi then, so the question is
maybe Delsi was the one who rided Maduna out right,
But in which case, if that's the case, then she
should be scared of other.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Maduro loyalists, including his own son who's still in Venezuela,
and he's a powerful person, you know, and there might
be some internal regime strife. So Trump probably succeeded at
making the entire regime paranoid of each other on seeing
who is the liar, right, And that is a very
good thing. It's I mean, in a way, it's genius, right.
(16:24):
I mean, it's kind of funny how genius Trump has
been about this. And Marco Rubyo knows this very very
well because he has been studying this issue. He knows Chelsea,
he knows Maduro for more than two decades. Right, So
we have very smart people in power, and I think
Americans should know that that this is not being improvised.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Well then, allo, so you just look at how strategic
the United States was and how precise and taking out Madurea,
and you know what message that sends to you know,
some of these other leaders to to really watch their backs.
You know, the United States is not messing around, and
we are still extremely powerful and the leading superpower as well.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
That's exactly right. This is what Trump is doing here
is part of It's not only going to be helpful
for the US because of energy, because of crime, because
of immigration, because of the region. It's also sending a
signal to China and Russia and Iran, Look what we
can do. We can do this to you too if
you try something right, you know what if China invades Taiwan,
(17:32):
Look what we can do here. What if Russia keeps
playing games in Ukraine and not come to a piece
agreement like Trump is pushing for. Right, this is a
big intimidation tactically spoot and the same as in Iran. Right,
what if they try to build a new nuclear weapon
they already bombed their sites. Trump is showing how to
use American strength without a cost. To America, you.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Know, and then before we go, have you been surprised
to see the opposition from Democrat leaders in the country.
I mean, it was the Biden administration who had previously
offered twenty five million for information leading to the rest
of Nicholas Mordureau as well after you know, he you know,
the fake election in Venezuela. But have you been surprised
(18:19):
to see the lefts opposition, particularly when so many of
them have previously supported Austying Amaduro.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah, you know, on one part of me is not surprised,
because they're just gonna post everything Trump does. But the
part of me that is surprised is that the optics
are very bad electorally for them. Nobody has been negatively
affected by the action that took place in the weekend,
only positively affected unless that person is Majuro and you
are liking hoots with him, right, And that's what they're
(18:49):
looking like. They're looking like they're standing against the port
Venezuelan immigrants and in favor. You know, they're saying to
legal all on all this, but give me a break,
I'm a bumb with Libya, right, and he actually let
isis take over. We are doing something with the consent
of the local population that it's diaspora supports. It's we're
(19:13):
arresting somebody who's rightfully indicted in US court. Like Trump
could have killed Maduro and instead he chose to bring
him to justice. And the United States has a great
opportunity to dismantle not just the criminal networks they are happening,
but all the corruption, all the people who collaborated financially
with the Madua regime in our countries. I think a
lot of foreign leaders, Columbia's president and the Spanish government,
(19:38):
people in the Middle East, they are right now very
very afraid of what the United States may find out,
and I think that's a great thing, and I'm very
grateful for what Trump did.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Interesting, that's a good point, Danosy Martinez, appreciate you bringing
your expertise to the show. I know it's a great
day for you and well, I mean for America, but
for many Venus my lens as well.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
So thank you so much for coming on the show.
So thanks Lisia.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
That was Daniel di Martino. Appreciate him for coming on
the show. Appreciate you guys at home for listening every
Tuesday and Thursday, you can listen throughout the week. Also
want to thank my producer John Cassier for putting the
show together.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Until next time.
Welcome to the Truth with Lisa Booth, where we get
to the heart of the issues that mattered to you. Today,
we're talking about this stunning turn of events, US forces
capturing Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro, bringing him to the United
States to New York to face narco terrorism charges. We're
going to have Daniel d Martino on the show. We've
(00:20):
had him on previously. He was very interesting. He's a
Venezuelan American economists and a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
So we're going to talk about what this means for
the United States, It's impact on oil, on energy, and
also the impact and the blow it will have to
our adversaries like Russia, Aaron in China. So we're going
(00:41):
to dig it into all of it. What do you
need to know? Why should you care? Why does this
matter to you? Stay tuned for Daniel de Martino. Well, Daniel,
it's great to have you back on the show. You
were so interesting last time, so when I saw the
news of Madureau's arrest, wanted to have you back on.
(01:02):
So appreciate you making the time. I know you're busy
right now. I see you making the rounds in the media,
so appreciate you for making the time for us.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Of course, this is a very important moment.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
You know, as somebody who has fled Venezuela, what was
it like to see the news that Maduro had been arrested.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Honestly, it was so glorious, Lisa, It was first unbelievable
because it is something that you would have expected for
a long time and never thought what happened. I have
the cover of the New York Post from yesterday that
I'm keeping as a souvenir that' says captured. I'm the
picture that Trump posted of Maduro with a water bottle
(01:40):
ice covered, and that is really amazing because this is
such an evil man that Trump just got him to
bring him to justice. That is such a glorious, beautiful thing,
and I'm so grateful to the President for it.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
You know, if people say, wonder if this is and
the United States interests, you should we be meddling in Venezuela.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
What would you say to that? Well, what I would
say is the most important thing here is was in
the United States interest? And what is in the United
States interest? It's lower gas prices. In US interest is
reducing drug trafficking, in US interests, is reducing illegal immigration
in US interest, is reducing the regate of elections in
foreign countries by the major regime, by China, by Russia,
(02:27):
and US interest These all sound like very good and
important foreign policy goals that all come from the same source,
which is the majoral regime. And if the Trump administration
not only bring to justice Maduro, which is a good
thing on its own for implementing the rule of law,
but can make Venezuela free country again by this intervention
(02:49):
that's very targeted, then that will be the greatest foreign
policy achievement since the end of the Cold War, and
it will be Trump who did it.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Do you think there will be potential backlash and Thevenezuela
you know, does he have supporters? What does that look
like in Venezuela, And does he still have you know,
loyalist factions within the Venezuela military or or how do
you sort of playing out so.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Backlash in a popular support way? Absolutely not. The Venezuelan
population is thrilled, and you know if they you know,
I know, people joke about giving the position of every
position to Marco Rubio and making him governor of Venezuela.
Or something. But if they put Marco Ruby on the ballot,
Marco Ruby when the election in a landslide, that's the truth.
He has very high name recognition, I will say, same
(03:34):
as Donald Trump, and so the support among the population
is very high. But it is true that the military,
not the regular soldiers, but every person above them and
the Cubans that are embedded in it, they are all
loyalists because they're all drug traffickers, and the only way
to get them to leave was through force. They thought
(03:55):
Trump was bluffing with his threats. They thought he was
only going to stay this aircraft carrier and these boats
and these airplanes all to intimidate them to leave. And
now they learned this weekend that Trump was not playing,
that he was for real, that MAJORI is the first step,
and that he already threatened them with a second, more
powerful attack in case they don't leave and they don't
(04:18):
do what's right. This is not going to be because
it would be in vain. And Trump said he this
is not gonna be in vain. They're going to have
another thought take over the country in his press conference
yesterday that what's going to happen here is the US
is going to be in charge of the transition. That
really helped, you know, made me feel very good because
we actually do need the US in charge. People are saying, oh,
(04:40):
that's imperialism. Whatever. Look, Venezuelan people support this. We want
the regime ount and we trust Donald Trump and Marco
Rubia more than Nicholas Majora. So give me a greak.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So what do you see then, the path forward for
the future of Venezuelan government, You know, kind of how
do you see this playing out?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Well? I see two scenarios now. Before this strike. To
be honest, I thought nothing was going to happen. I
thought that was the ninety five percent likelihood. I didn't
think the strike was coming, in part because I would
rather be conservative in my expectations and be pleasantly surprised
like it happened this weekend, and not be disappointed. You know,
after twenty seven years of regime, I have to emotionally
(05:21):
protect my brain, and so now I see it as
over fifty percent chance there's a peaceful and orderly transition
in the next year, like before this year ends. And
the rest of the possibility is that the major regime,
the remnants they do the Trump administration into lengthening the
transitions so much that Trump is out of office and
(05:43):
then they stay in power forever. That's the downside risk.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
It sort of walk us through how the loss of
Maduro as an ally weekends sort of the strategic positions
of Russia are on and China against Western powers. You know,
could this lead shifts and international alliances or proxy conflicts elsewhere?
How do you see all that playing out?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yes, so this is important. You know the majority of
the casualties from this capture that happened this weekend were Cubans.
They were not Venezuela. And interestingly, right, that's because those
are the people running the security and intelligence apparatus. There
are Iranians too that collaborate with terror groups. There are
the Russians, they are their Chinese. You know. Delsi Rodriguez,
(06:26):
the vice president, she just got sworn in in all
these fake ceremonies, because all the positions are fake. In Venezuela,
they're just a gang, right, But she got sworn in
as president and guess who she shook hands first with
this morning? She shoot hangs with the ambassador of China,
the ambassador of Russia, and the ambassador of Iran. Those
were the three people. It is not a coincidence. Those
(06:49):
are the people who finance them. This is part of
why this is in US interest to support this transition away,
because this should be our hemisphere. This should be the Chinese,
the Russia, and the Iranian hemisphere from which they can
plan attacks, finance terror and so how I see the
transition happening is trumpas threatened this. They're gonna have a
(07:11):
few months to organize new elections or give power away,
and then they're gonna leave with all the money they
stole without being persecuted. Everybody you know, Delse Whorehead, your Dado,
Vladimir Padrino, all the key figures in the regime, and
they're gonna go to another country. Then there's gonna be
an amnesty for everybody inside the country left, and then
(07:34):
Venezuela will will gradually return to becoming a normal country
with private investment. This is part of why Machado is
so good. Right, she might not have the support of
the military yet, but she's the only pro American leader
in Venezuela.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
What does this mean for Russia, who's been a key
ally to Maduro through military aid, and that restructuring.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Well, what it means for Russia is that Russia was
profiting from the illegal oil, same as Iran and China.
And if Venezuela stops supplying oil to China in Iranian
and Russian ships, this is a big economic blow for them.
It's an intelligence blow. Do you think they had Venezuela
here just for oil now it was an intelligence base.
They were even building in Ranian drones. That's their goal, right,
(08:20):
And so if they lose control of Venezuela, America becomes
much safer.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Talk about how this affects Venezuela and oil production and exports,
and what does it mean for the United States energy
prices and reliance on opak.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Yes, so, Venezuela, and this is important to note, was
one of the major oil producers of the world, was
one of the main sources of oil for the United States.
The refineries in the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana
were designed to refine Venezuela and heavy oil, which is
the heavy oil that we are not producing anymore. By
the way, we produce very light oil. The Middle East
(08:56):
produces light oil. Only Canada essentially produces every oil and
so This is a very good source to diversify or
oil production from. And if Venezuela could produce just a
pre travist, pre socialism levels of oil, that would mean
three more million barrels of oil a day in output.
It would mean every single American would pay less in gas. Look,
(09:17):
all the people who criticize the president are warned against
this intervention, including you know, people like Tocar Carlson were
saying oil prices are going to shut up if we
do any kind of thing in Venezuela. Guess what happened
this morning when all markets opened and after the intervention,
oil prices went down because the market expects higher oil
production from Venezuela once it becomes a free country. It's
(09:41):
barely producing any oil. So and you know on the
sanctions would be lifted so we could import more of it.
So this is very good for our energy prospects.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
What's sort of economic opportunities do you think would open
for American companies in Venezuela And what does that mean
for both Americans and Venezuelans.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Yes, so the opportunities are really large. I've read some
estimates that the investment required to restore the oil industry
in Venezuela is about ten billion a year for the
next several years. Venezuela's and its investment in electric sextuoral water.
There's a lot of real estate investment opportunity that if
you are somebody who's betting on Venezuela recovering, there's a
(10:23):
whole lot of cheap real estate right now in Caracas
and the rest of the country. There's very cheap beach houses.
Let me tell you you know, you can buy I'm
not joking. You can buy a beach apartment for less
than ten thousand dollars, a beachfront apartment. So all of
that means that a lot of money is going to
flow into Venezuela, and that's going to be very good
for the Venezuelan population. Is going to create jobs, raise
(10:44):
tax revenue and things like the Venezuelan people desperately need.
And it's going to be a lot of profits to
Americans because, believe me, when Venezuela's a free country, the Russians,
the Chinese and all those evil regimes, they're going to
be shut out of Venezuela. Why because there are two
blos For what happened to us and we don't want
them ever again in our country. Quick break, stay with us.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
If you like what you're hearing, please share to social
media or send it to your family and friends. How
much of President Trump going after Madua, how much was
it about the drugs versus you know, oil and obviously
the strategic advantage of trying to push out Russia, Iran
(11:26):
in China from the Western hemisphere.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
So I think that what happened in Venezuela and the
reason this was done in Venezuela, now Venezuela was picked
over say Cuba, is a confluence of reasons. We mentioned
the drug traffic, and that's key, but what's also key
is the oil. You mentioned the true Venezuela Old Cuba doesn't.
Venezuela is also, you know, an ally of Russia of China,
(11:51):
similar as Cuba. But then Venezuela also is easier to
become a free country than Cuba. Venezuela has an active
opposition movement that an election, has a longer history of
democracy that's much more recent and is less utalitarian than
Cuba or Nicaragua. And so because it's also that the
(12:12):
cashcow for those regimes even Venezuela can become a free country.
Cuba will be next, and Nicarago will be next. Not
because Trump is going to extract the Cuban leader, but
because Venezuela actually may contribute both financially and militarily to
overthrow the Cuban regime once it becomes a free country.
This is something that the position leader has said, by
(12:33):
the way, Maria Karina Machado herself, that after Venezuela is free,
she's going to ensure that the free Venezuela helps liberate Cuba.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Challenging is the path forward for the Trump administration and
Venezuela to sort of keep things stabilized.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, so the look, there's there's gonna be a lot
of obviously incidents and death that's already happening, and the
media is going to exaggerate a lot of the things
that happen if this is successful. But right now the
regime is still in power, and the biggest challenge ahead
(13:13):
is getting them to give up. It's getting them yes,
we're going to organize give free elections, and we're gonna
give up, and we're gonna go live in a different country.
One challenge, I'm not sure how challenging. This is for
the Admin. I don't have privileged information, but you know,
has another country guaranteed them freedom? Do they have a
place to go? That's important. We need to give them
(13:33):
a place to go. Obviously I would prefer to have
them all arrested or eradicated, but if what Venezuela needs
to be orderly a free countries that, I'm very happy
to give them all amnesty. That's step number one. Step
number two is do they believe their life is threatened
if they don't leave. I think that after what happened
this weekend, they do, and if they don't, then the
(13:54):
president needs to remind them and needs to reminder Number one,
the CIA is still in Venezuela. How do you think
they found where Maduro lived? How do you think they
did all of this? They have people underground the United
States right now, and I think that and the other
leaders should be afraid, and if they are, they will comply.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Well, when he's threatened Rodriguez, do you think she'll heed
those warnings? I mean, right now, it at least appears
as if she wants to cooperate with the United States.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
But can that be trusted? Yeah, that's what she's saying,
I'll tell you that's not what she's telling. Venezuelan's inside
the country. You might say, well, she's just putting on
a show for strength, but the show is for who
because it's not like the Venezuelan people like her, so
she doesn't have to put in a show for us.
We all hate her, we don't believe her anyway. So
I fear that they are just double faced and they're
(14:46):
trying to persuade some people in Trump administration to let
them lengthen the transition to live longer. And if that's
what's happening, I think the Trump administration needs to harden
the screws on them, tighten them. And one of the
ways to do that would be, you know, we are
going to do another strike or we're going to do
(15:07):
some sort of CIA cover operation inside the country. Uh.
You know, there are some oil tanks that are trying
to escape. We need to capture them all and if
they escape, you know, perhaps we need to sink some
oil tanks. And that's the situation that needs to happen
and demonstrate to Delci that we are serious and we
have the guns.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
You don't, I mean, should delcea be concerned about internal
opposition to her. I mean, I found it really interesting,
as you pointed out, and what we've seen reported that
Cuba says thirty two percent of its combatants were killed
in the US raid protecting Maduro. I mean to me,
that would signal that he doesn't trust Venezuelans to protect him.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Absolutely, the need for Delsi then, so the question is
maybe Delsi was the one who rided Maduna out right,
But in which case, if that's the case, then she
should be scared of other.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Maduro loyalists, including his own son who's still in Venezuela,
and he's a powerful person, you know, and there might
be some internal regime strife. So Trump probably succeeded at
making the entire regime paranoid of each other on seeing
who is the liar, right, And that is a very
good thing. It's I mean, in a way, it's genius, right.
(16:24):
I mean, it's kind of funny how genius Trump has
been about this. And Marco Rubyo knows this very very
well because he has been studying this issue. He knows Chelsea,
he knows Maduro for more than two decades. Right, So
we have very smart people in power, and I think
Americans should know that that this is not being improvised.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Well then, allo, so you just look at how strategic
the United States was and how precise and taking out Madurea,
and you know what message that sends to you know,
some of these other leaders to to really watch their backs.
You know, the United States is not messing around, and
we are still extremely powerful and the leading superpower as well.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
That's exactly right. This is what Trump is doing here
is part of It's not only going to be helpful
for the US because of energy, because of crime, because
of immigration, because of the region. It's also sending a
signal to China and Russia and Iran, Look what we
can do. We can do this to you too if
you try something right, you know what if China invades Taiwan,
(17:32):
Look what we can do here. What if Russia keeps
playing games in Ukraine and not come to a piece
agreement like Trump is pushing for. Right, this is a
big intimidation tactically spoot and the same as in Iran. Right,
what if they try to build a new nuclear weapon
they already bombed their sites. Trump is showing how to
use American strength without a cost. To America, you.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Know, and then before we go, have you been surprised
to see the opposition from Democrat leaders in the country.
I mean, it was the Biden administration who had previously
offered twenty five million for information leading to the rest
of Nicholas Mordureau as well after you know, he you know,
the fake election in Venezuela. But have you been surprised
(18:19):
to see the lefts opposition, particularly when so many of
them have previously supported Austying Amaduro.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah, you know, on one part of me is not surprised,
because they're just gonna post everything Trump does. But the
part of me that is surprised is that the optics
are very bad electorally for them. Nobody has been negatively
affected by the action that took place in the weekend,
only positively affected unless that person is Majuro and you
are liking hoots with him, right, And that's what they're
(18:49):
looking like. They're looking like they're standing against the port
Venezuelan immigrants and in favor. You know, they're saying to
legal all on all this, but give me a break,
I'm a bumb with Libya, right, and he actually let
isis take over. We are doing something with the consent
of the local population that it's diaspora supports. It's we're
(19:13):
arresting somebody who's rightfully indicted in US court. Like Trump
could have killed Maduro and instead he chose to bring
him to justice. And the United States has a great
opportunity to dismantle not just the criminal networks they are happening,
but all the corruption, all the people who collaborated financially
with the Madua regime in our countries. I think a
lot of foreign leaders, Columbia's president and the Spanish government,
(19:38):
people in the Middle East, they are right now very
very afraid of what the United States may find out,
and I think that's a great thing, and I'm very
grateful for what Trump did.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Interesting, that's a good point, Danosy Martinez, appreciate you bringing
your expertise to the show. I know it's a great
day for you and well, I mean for America, but
for many Venus my lens as well.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
So thank you so much for coming on the show.
So thanks Lisia.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
That was Daniel di Martino. Appreciate him for coming on
the show. Appreciate you guys at home for listening every
Tuesday and Thursday, you can listen throughout the week. Also
want to thank my producer John Cassier for putting the
show together.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Until next time.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show News
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Clay Travis
Buck Sexton
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