Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Inside the Narco Empire Network Trump is Unraveling plus The High-Stakes Countdown w Iran

Transcript

Inside the Narco Empire Network Trump is Unraveling plus The High-Stakes Countdown w Iran · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We are watching right now President Donald Trump's war on
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: narco terrorism expanding across multiple fronts and multiple countries at
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the exact same time, and in sending shock waves throughout
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Latin America. While so many are focused on what's happening
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: in Iran, the President's doing an awful lot right here
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: at home and very close to home as well. Now
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: this is no longer about drug smugglers running cocaine or
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: fetanol across our borders. According to US prosecutors and intelligence officials,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: this is now about governments, political elites, cartel protection networks,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: money laundering operations, and corrupt officials who are allegedly helping
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: the criminal organizations operate like shadow governments or even shadows states.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Mexico freezes the accounts of governor wanted in US on
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: drug charges. The president there defending his innocence is a
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: perfect example of what the President is actually up against. Now,
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: you can also remember how all this escalated in Venezuela.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: I mean, it was just a couple months ago that
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Nicholas Maduro, the socialist strongman who ruled Venezuela for years,
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: was captured in a dramatic US operation, then brought to
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: New York to face narco terrorism charges US authorities accusing
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Maduro and members of his inner circle of helping turn
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Venezuela into what critics called the narco state, where cartel activity,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: the corruption around it, and political power became deeply intertwined.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: You really couldn't have one without the other. Maduro, of course,
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: and his wife and those around him are denying all
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: those allegations, and we'll see exactly just how bad it
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: is when he goes to court. But the crackdown on
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: people like Maduro is widening. Perfect example is this week
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: one of Maduro's closest allies, the man often described as
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: Maduro's moneyman, was suddenly imported to the United States of
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: America as well. We've talked about him before. His name
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: is alex sob, the Colombian Boran businessman quote unquote, businessman
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: who allegedly handled billions of dollars directly tied to Venezuela's
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: regime's financial operations and obviously the narco terrorist money. For years,
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: Venezuela's socialist government treated Sab like royalty. They called him
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: a diplomat, They portrayed him as a hero. Marduro's regime
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: fought aggressively to protect him from US prosecution, but now
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: the regime is effectively throwing him overboard to save themselves.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: And here's what makes his story even more shocking. After
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: defending sab for years as a loyal Venezuelan official, members
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: of Venezuela's government, same ones that protected him are now
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: reportedly claiming as Venezuelan identification documents may have been fraudulent,
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: meaning Maduro's own top financial operator may have been using
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: fake credentials while operating at the highest levels of government power.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: At least that's what they're trying to sell to the world. Now,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you what, it's pretty awesome. America is entering
• 3:12
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• 3:14
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• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Patriot switch today. Now, if you really think about how
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: incredible that is using fake credentials while operating at the
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: highest levels of government power. This was not some random businessman.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: This is a man tied directly to the president, to Maduro,
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: to his inner circle, a man accused of helping move
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: billions and billions of dollars a man sanctioned by the
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: United States of America and a man who allegedly helped
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: the regime of ade sanctions and move money internationally. And
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: now the same Venezuelan officials are suddenly saying, actually, this
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: guy may not have even been legitimately Venezuelan, in essence
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: taking away his citizenship. And that tells you exactly how
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: these corrupt systems operate. Loyalty only lasts as long as
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: it's useful, or as long as all of you have power,
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: because once the pressure starts building, that's when the insiders
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: start turning on each other. Now, according to US prosecutors,
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Sam allegedly helped orchestrate money laundering schemes connected to Venezuela's
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: food subsidy programs and oil transactions. They're using shell companies
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: and fraudulent financial structures, they said, to move money throughout
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: the international banking systems. And now many analysts say sob
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: could become one of the most important witnesses in the
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: broader US case against Maduro and his network of corrupt
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: But here's why Americans should really pay close attention to
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: this story. This is not just happening in Venezuela. At
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: the exact same time, the Trump administration is tightening the screws.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: On the Duro's network.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: We now have news out of Mexico, and Mexico is
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: now facing its own corruption scandal tied directly to the
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: president and the cartel. This week, Mexican authorities froze bank
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: accounts link to officials wanted in the United States of
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: America on drug related charges tied to cartel investigations. Among
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: the names drawing enormous attention is the Cineloa governor. According
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: to reports, US investigators believe officials tied to the Cineloa
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: cartel may have used political protection. This is not a
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: shock and their networks to facilitate cartel operations. Again, this
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: is standard operating procedure for the cartels. And what happened
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: next is well the political part that is actually explosive.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Instead of immediately did sensing ourself from the accused officials,
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: the Mexican president publicly defended Rocha Moya's innocence and question
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: the basis of the US allegations. Now, that may sound
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: familiar because it follows the exact same script we've seen
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: over and over again, and corrupt systems across Latin America.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: First comes the denial, then accusations of the United States
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: is interfering politically, then the claims that prosecutors are exaggerating,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: then rhetoric about you know, sovereignty. And only later, when
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: the evidence piles up, do insiders begin abandoning one another.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: And that's exactly what we now appear to be seeing,
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: not only in Venezuela with alex SOB, but also what
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: seems to be happening in Mexico. And this is where
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: President Trump's narcoterrorism strategy becomes critically important for you to understand.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: The administration is no longer treating cartels as isolated criminal gangs.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: The argument now coming from many within the national security
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: world is that these organizations function more like transnational tear
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: networks with logistics and money laundering systems. They have armed
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: enforcement wings that are large and dangerous. They have corrupt
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: political protection at the highest levels, and international financial operations
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: that have tentacles all over the world, including the US.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: And that changes everything, because once governments themselves become compromised
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: by cartel influence and direction, it stops just being a
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: law enforcement issue. It does actually become a national security issue.
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: That's why these cases matter so much. You have fetnyl
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: flooding into American communities, and that does not happen in
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: a vacuum. Human trafficking does not happen in a vacuum either,
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: and money laundering does not happen in a vacuum as well.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: These operations they survive because up the officials allegedly protect
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: them at all costs. And now the United States under
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Donald Trump's leadership, appears to be targeting not only cartel
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: operations and operatives, but also the political and financial structures
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: that prop them up. That is the major escalation, and
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: you can already see the panic beginning because people like
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Alex Sab know where the money moved, They know which
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: officials signed deals, they know how sanctions were bypassed, and
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: they know which shell companies are being used or were
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: being used in the past, and they know which governments
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: literally look the other way, and they know which leaders
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: in those governments. Maybe we're even getting the kickbacks needed
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: to give them the protection. And if SAB cooperates with
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: US prosecutors, the implications could be enormous. Now you apply
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: that same exact logic to Mexico. If officials directly tied
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: to cartel investigations begin co op operating with American authorities,
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: investigators could potentially uncover deeper financial networks, political relationships that
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: involve the highest levels of their government, protection schemes and
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: corruption pipelines tied to organized crime in America. That possibly
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: alone is enough to shake governments and politically. It also
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: places leaders like the President of Mexico in a difficult
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: position every time she publicly now defends officials accused in
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: cartel linked investigations before those investigations are even resolved, are
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: basically barely started. Then people start to ask even more questions,
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: making it appear that political loyalty matters more than rooting
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: out corruption, which has been a long problem in Mexico.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: It's pretty fair to say you don't get any power
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: in Mexico without the cartels blessing it, or funding it,
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: or financing your political campaign or career. That's what many
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: have said about the President in Mexico right now. To be,
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: accusations are not convictions. Everyone deserves due process. But Americans
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: also understand something else when multiple high level officials across
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: multiple countries are suddenly facing allegations tied to narcotics, trafficking, corruption,
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: money laundering, and organized crime at the same time. This
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: is not random coincidence. This is part of a much
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: bigger regional battle that the White House said they were
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: going to war with. So that battle is escalating, and
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: the Trump administration's making it clear that the error of
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: treating cartels as ordinary criminals and criminal enterprises, well that's over.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: The message now is this to government officials and financiers
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: and political protectors who enable narco terrorism networks, Well you're
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: going to face pressure from the United States of America
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: like you've never seen. And if these investigations continue expanding,
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: well this story is only beginning. Trump in charge, I
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: want to turn to a ran right now. And there's
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: a lot of people asking a lot of questions. How
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: much longer is this war going to last? Where are
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: we with the ceasefire, what's going to happen with the
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: straight of Hormuz? And all of this could have a
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: massive impact on the midterm elections. It's obviously a very
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: big issue with the runoff elections that are happening right
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: now in this country. Well, President Donald Trump and Vice
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: President Jady Vance, they're making it clear that the administration
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: believes the next few days could determine whether this ends
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: diplomatically or escalates militarily. Now here's where things stand right now.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: Vice President Jady Vance said that the United States has
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: made a lot of progress in negotiations with Iran, but
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: he also warned very clearly that America remains prepared to
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: restart military operations if Tehran refuses to permanently abandon any
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: path to a nuclear weapon. The Vice President asked this
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: from the podium at the White House.
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: Very much just following off on what you just said.
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: You said that the White House is negotiating with Ron
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: in good faith. I think Americans tend to believe that.
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: But what is it about the Iranian side that you
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: personally have seen where you believe that they are negotiating
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: with us in good faith?
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: Well, first of all, I'd say it's a very complicated country,
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: and it's a country that I wouldn't pretend that I understand,
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: even after as deep as I've been involved in this
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: process from the very beginning. It's a great and proud civilization,
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: amazing people. We obviously have a great Iranian American community
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: here in the United States of America, smart people, very
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: hard working and you see some of that in the
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: negotiating team on the other side. You also see some
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: very hardline positions in the negotiating team on the other side.
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: And so I think you see that conflict the fact
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: that maybe the Iranians aren't themselves quite clear in what
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: direction they want to go to. They also are just
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: a fractured country. So you have the leadership of the country.
• 13:59
  Speaker 4: There's supreme leader, and there are a lot of officials
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: below the supreme leader that has some influence the negotiation.
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: It's not sometimes totally clear what the negotiating position of
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: the team is. And I don't know if that's sometimes
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: bad communication, if that's bad faith. I wouldn't pretend to
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: venture a guest there, but I will say with confidence
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: it's sometimes hard to figure out exactly what it is
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: that the Iranians want to accomplish out of the negotiation.
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: So what we've done is try to be as clear
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: as possible. What are our redlines, what are the things
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: that we're willing to be accommodating on, and what are
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: the things that.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: We absolutely must have.
• 14:34
  Speaker 4: And as the President has said, ad nauseum, and I
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: think I've said it a lot too, Iran cannot have
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: a nuclear weapon. We want to see not just the
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: commitment to not have a nuclear weapon, but the commitment
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: to work with us on a process to ensure that
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: not just now, not just when Donald Trump is president,
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: but years down the road, that the Iranians are not
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: rebuilding that nuclear capability.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: And that's what.
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: We're trying to accomplish in the negotiation.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: So are you to follow up.
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: As Americans at home, because this has been going on
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: for several weeks now. I think what people just want
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: to know is do you personally believe that the Iranians
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: will come to a deal? Because we keep seeing this
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: over and over again when they go back and forth.
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: So do I personally believe that? The honest answer is,
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: how could I possibly know?
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: Right?
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: And you negotiate with people and sometimes you feel like
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: you're making progress and sometimes you feel like you're not
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: making progress. What I think. What I think is that
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: the Iranians want to make a deal. What I think
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: is that the Iranians recognize that a nuclear weapon is
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: the red line for the United States of America, that
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: they've internalized that, but we're not going to know until
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: we're actually putting pen to paper on signing a deal.
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: We've had a lot of drafts, a lot of you know,
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: a lot of pieces of paper going back and forth.
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: But I will not say with confidence that we're going
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: to reach a deal until we're actually signing a negotiated
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: settlement here. And I think that it's ultimately up to
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: the Iranians whether they're willing to meet us, Because I
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: think we're certainly doing a good job, and we're certainly
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: negotiating good in good faith. We're going to have to
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: see what ultimately happens with them. I can't say with
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: confidence because I don't know what's in the mind of
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: the other side.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: Now, look, it's pretty clear the administration is trying to
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: walk a very delicate line.
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: Right now.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: You've got, on the one hand, President Trump that clearly
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: wants a diplomatic victory and he wants that to happen,
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: so you don't have a loss of life.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: In recent days, he indicated he could potentially accept a
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: long term suspension of Iran's nuclear program instead of demanding
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: a permanent dismantling, as long as there are extremely strict
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: guarantees as well as verification measures that are in place
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: on the other hand, Trump is also warning that military
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: action can resume at any moment if the negotiations collapse.
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: In fact, according to reports, President Trump said he was
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: very close to ordering a major news strike on Iran
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: before deciding to give negotiations more time after pressure from
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: goolth allies were coming in as mediators.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: Now, Trump reportedly warned Iran.
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: That a big hit quote unquote could still happen if
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: Turan keeps stalling and refuses to agree to the Administration's terms.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: And this is where the pressure campaign becomes incredibly significant.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: The United States still at this hour, has enormous military
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: assets their positioned throughout the region. US Central Command remains
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: on high alert. US naval forces are continuing their operations
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: tied the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most strategically
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: important waterways.
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: And we all know this now in the entire world.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: Roughly a fifth of global oil supplies moved through that
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: narrow shipping lane, and it's affecting the price of the
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: pump for Americans. Now, the Administration's position has been essentially this,
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: Iran can have peace and sanctions relief, or Iran can
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: face renewed economic and military pressure. Jedi Vance tried to
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: reassure Americans that this would not become a quote forever war,
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: and I think most Americans believe him. He emphasized the
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: administration's goal is targeting the strategic pressure, not endless occupation
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: or nation building, and I believe the present and most
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: Americans do as well. Now, these comments, they obviously matter politically.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: Why because there's a lot of debate happening inside the
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: Republican Party right now, and that debate is legitimate, and
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: it's over how aggressive America should be towards Iran. Now,
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: there were earlier reports that even suggested that there were
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: moments where Vance was more cautious internally about escalation while
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: President Trump and others were pushing for more attacks. Now publicly,
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: it's fair to say, after hearing what JD. Vance just said,
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: that he's fully aligned with the present strategy. Diplomacy is
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: always going to be first if possible, but military force
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: is also necessary and necessity that may need to be
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: used again, and Iran clearly understands the stakes. Iranian leaders
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: have continued insisting they will not completely surrender their Uranium
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: in Richmond capabilities, but they also are now saying that.
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: Well, maybe they're willing to do a deal.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: Look, that is the sticking point. Will the hardliners understand
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: that America will attack if they don't negotiate the right way?
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: And look, while all this is happening, at the very
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: same time, Iranian officials are also warning that renewed attacks
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: could open quote unquote new fronts throughout the Middle East.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Now that phrase is extremely important because Iran still has
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: relationships with many proxy groups throughout the region that includes
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: Hesbela militias in Iraq and Syria, the Hoho Thi linked
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: operations connected to red sea shipping lanes as well. So
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: when Iran talks about new fronts, the concern among America's
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: military analysts is that escalation would not necessarily stay confined
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: to Iran itself, that they may activate their sleeper cells
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: that can be all over the world and yes, even
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: states of America. Now that's the political side. You also
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: have the global markets that are watching every word coming
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: out of Washington, and they're also watching every move and
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: word coming out of Tehran because the straight of our
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: moves remains central of the world's economy. Any major disruption,
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: and we've seen it already, impacts all prices impact, shipping impacts, inflation,
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: impact supply chains globally. And then finally, if you just
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: look at this from a political standpoint, President Trump is
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: clearly trying to project strength while also getting a deal done.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: That's why you're hearing two messages at the same time.
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: First that talks are making progress, and second, the United
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: States is fully prepared, is fully prepared to hit Iran
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: again and maybe even harder than before if those talks fail.
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: JD.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Van summing it up this way, saying, quote America one's piece,
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: but the administration is locked and loaded if to diplomacy
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: breaks down. There's major breaking news out of Miami that
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: is going to dramatically escalate tensions between the United States
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: and Cuba, or at least the Cuban regime, and it's
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: all on purpose. Federal authorities are expected to announce what
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: sources say is a historic criminal indictment connected to former
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: Cuban leader Raul Castro, and the announcement is expected to
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: happen at a high profile event in South Florida. According
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: to multiple reports, the Department of Justice is preparing to
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: unseal criminal charges tied to the nineteen ninety six shootdown
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: of two Brothers to the rescue civilian aircraft, an incident
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: that killed four men and became one of the most
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: infamous confrontations between Cuba and the United States in modern history.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: The announcement is expected to take place at Miami's famous
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Freedom Tower, one of the most symbolic locations in America
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: for Cuban exiles and anti communist activists. And if you
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: just take a look at who's expected to be there,
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: you know this is a big deal. The acting Attorney General,
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: the FBI director, the US Attorney and Florida Center Ashley Moody,
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: as well as the Florida Attorney General. That lineup alone
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: tells you this is not some routine press conference. This
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: is being treated as a major National Security and Historical
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: Justice Department announcement. Now there's also another layer to this
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: story that makes it even more interesting. Sources are now
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: telling NBC Miami and Reuters that a grand jury has
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: already been hearing evidence in the case, and then an
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: indictment has reportedly been returned, although the exact charges have
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: not yet been publicly released. Now the case again, it
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: centers around February the twenty fourth of nineteen ninety six,
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: when Cuban meg fighters shot down two unarmed civilian operated
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: aircraft by the Miami based exile organization Brothers to the Rescue.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: The planes were flying missions connecting to locating and helping
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: Cuban refugees that were attempting to flee the communist regime.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Four men were killed in the attack over the Florida Straits,
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: and for decades Cuban exile families have demanded accountability, arguing
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: the attack was an active murder carried out against civilians
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: in international airspace. Well nearly thirty years later, the Justice
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: Department appears ready to move directly against Raul Castro himself.
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: At the time of the shootdown, Castro was serving as
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: Cuba's defense Minister and head of the Armed Forces, the
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: very military organization that carried out the attack. Now this
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: moment also comes with incredibly tense moments happening between Washington
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: and Havana. The Trump administration has dramatically increased pressure on
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: Cuban in recent months through sanctions, through energy restrictions, and
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: increasingly aggressive rhetoric against communist leadership in the Western Hemisphere.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: Reuters also reported that the administration has been openly discussing
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: stronger actions against hostile regimes connected to America's adversaries. That
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: would include Russia and China and Iran. And there's another
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: layer here that's also raising eyebrows. Just days ago, the
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: CIA director John Ratcliffe reportedly held meetings with Cuban officials
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: and even communicated messages directly tied to President Trump's demands
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: for major reforms in Cuba.
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: So, of course, now many analysts are.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: Asking was diplomacy failing behind the scenes, and is this
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: indictment part of a much larger pressure campaign against the
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Cuba regime, Because if these charges are formerly unsealed today,
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: it would mark one of the most extraordinary legal actions
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: ever taken by the United States against a former Communists
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: head of state. Of course, in the Western Hemisphere, the
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: timing of the event is also highly symbolic. The press
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: conference is reportedly tied directly to a ceremony honoring the
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: victims of the Brothers to the Rescue shoot down. That
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: means this is not just being framed as a legal proceeding,
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: it is being framed as long overdue justice for the
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: families of Americans killed in the attack. Now, as for
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: the timing, reports indicate that the dog announcement is expected
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: today at the Freedom Tower in Miami. Federal officials have
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: not yet publicly released the exact moment it will happen,
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: but we do know that NBC News report the event
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: is scheduled as a combined memorial ceremony and then a
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: criminal justice announcement. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has already reacted
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: to earlier reports about the potential indictment, calling the move
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: long overdue and politically. This is going to send shockwaves
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: through South Florida as well as Washington and Havana because
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: for decades, many Cuban exiles believe the Castro regime would
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: never face accountability in an American courtroom. Now the Department
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: of Justice appears ready to test exactly how far the
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: United States is willing to go. I also sat down
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: with Senator Ted Cruz, whose family came from Cuba. In fact,
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: many of his family members were actually oppressed by the
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: Castro regime, and here's what he had to say about
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: all of this. All right, Senator, I want to move
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: to the other big breaking news story, and this is
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: happening as you and I were getting ready to do
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: the show. There is word now that there could be
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: indictments coming from the DOJ against the Castro regime family members.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: This is significant break it down and what does this
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: actually mean if it does happen in the next twenty
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: four hours.
• 26:58
  Speaker 5: Yeah, we don't know a whole lot of details right
• 27:01
  Speaker 5: now because it is Tuesday night. The Department of Justice
• 27:04
  Speaker 5: sent out an advisory there's an event tomorrow at Miami's
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: Freedom Tower to honor the victims of the Brothers to
• 27:13
  Speaker 5: the Rescue murders, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is
• 27:17
  Speaker 5: expected to attend and a Castro indictment is expected to
• 27:23
  Speaker 5: be announced. So what we are anticipating is that the
• 27:26
  Speaker 5: Department of Justice will indict Raoul Castro. Raoul Castro is
• 27:30
  Speaker 5: Fidel Castro's brother. Fidel is dead, Raoul is still alive,
• 27:34
  Speaker 5: and it is anticipated that the Department of Justice will
• 27:37
  Speaker 5: indict Raoul Castro. Presumably, we don't have the details, so
• 27:40
  Speaker 5: this may not be exact. But the Brothers to the
• 27:44
  Speaker 5: Rescue the Cubans shot down a plane and it resulted
• 27:48
  Speaker 5: in a loss of life, and I'm assuming that is
• 27:52
  Speaker 5: the basis for the indictment. We don't know for sure,
• 27:55
  Speaker 5: we'll find out tomorrow, but that indicting Castro, assuming doj
• 28:02
  Speaker 5: does that tomorrow, is a big deal. And part of
• 28:04
  Speaker 5: the reason it's a big deal is remember the predicate
• 28:07
  Speaker 5: for going in and seizing Maduro's.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: Exactly what I was going to ask you, is is
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: this Maduro two point zero?
• 28:14
  Speaker 5: I don't know. But Maduro had been indicted. Maduro had
• 28:17
  Speaker 5: been indicted by a grand jury for trafficking, for narco trafficking,
• 28:21
  Speaker 5: for sending thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States,
• 28:25
  Speaker 5: and that indictment served as the predicate for the Delta
• 28:29
  Speaker 5: Force going and arresting him and so indicting Raul Castro.
• 28:33
  Speaker 5: I don't know if we'll see a military conflict with Cuba.
• 28:37
  Speaker 5: I'm still I'm still a little skeptical that the president
• 28:40
  Speaker 5: will engage in a shooting war with Cuba. Right now,
• 28:44
  Speaker 5: the president is imposing massive economic costs on Cuba. So
• 28:49
  Speaker 5: if you look at Cuba for the history since the
• 28:51
  Speaker 5: Communist Revolution in nineteen fifty nine, Cuba spent forty years
• 28:56
  Speaker 5: as essentially a vassal state of the Soviet Union, and
• 28:59
  Speaker 5: the Soviet Unions hoarded Cuba with money and with oil,
• 29:03
  Speaker 5: and then when the Soviet Union collapsed, when America won
• 29:05
  Speaker 5: the Cold War, Cuba entered into a faustian bargain with Venezuela.
• 29:13
  Speaker 5: And Venezuela Cuba provided them soldiers, they provided them thugs.
• 29:17
  Speaker 5: You know, the soldiers that were guarding Maduro were all
• 29:20
  Speaker 5: Cuban soldiers. And they did this throughout Latin America, where
• 29:24
  Speaker 5: they would provide thugs and enforcers to abuse and suppress
• 29:27
  Speaker 5: the populace. And Venezuela reciprocated with money and with oil,
• 29:32
  Speaker 5: and then that's what kept Cuba's communist regime alive. When
• 29:37
  Speaker 5: President Trump arrested Maduro, the Venezuelan oil and money dried
• 29:41
  Speaker 5: up immediately for a brief period of time, Mexico stepped
• 29:45
  Speaker 5: in the gap and began providing oil to Cuba, and
• 29:47
  Speaker 5: the Trump administration quite rightly, and this is something I
• 29:51
  Speaker 5: publicly encouraged, leaned on Mexico and said, cut off the oil,
• 29:55
  Speaker 5: stopped sending oil to Cuba, and they did Mexico did.
• 30:00
  Speaker 5: As a result, Cuba is in a massive economic crisis.
• 30:03
  Speaker 5: Their public transportation is all but halted. They're almost entirely
• 30:07
  Speaker 5: out of jet fuel. We saw just a week ago
• 30:10
  Speaker 5: John Ratcliffe, the head of the CIA in Cuba, meeting
• 30:13
  Speaker 5: with the heads of multiple Cuban agencies. I don't know
• 30:17
  Speaker 5: what they were discussing, uh, but the economic crisis and
• 30:20
  Speaker 5: the pressure on Cuba is massive. And I'll say this, Ben, Look.
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: We're out of oil. People need to understand, like their
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: lights are off.
• 30:26
  Speaker 5: They're having blackouts. They're yeah, no, I mean, it's it's
• 30:29
  Speaker 5: an absolute Their economy is shut down. And I also
• 30:32
  Speaker 5: want to say, look, look, it is a testament to
• 30:35
  Speaker 5: what an extraordinary moment we are in. There is a
• 30:38
  Speaker 5: very real possibility that in the next year we will
• 30:42
  Speaker 5: see new governments in Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. Now, I
• 30:48
  Speaker 5: want to be clear, I'm not naive, I'm not Pollyannish
• 30:51
  Speaker 5: about this. There are a thousand ways those could go wrong,
• 30:53
  Speaker 5: So those are not guaranteed outcomes. Yeah, but if we
• 30:57
  Speaker 5: wake up a year from now and we have governments
• 30:59
  Speaker 5: in Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela who are not enemies of America,
• 31:04
  Speaker 5: who want to be friends with America, that will be
• 31:06
  Speaker 5: the single greatest geopolitical shift since the fall of the
• 31:09
  Speaker 5: Berlin Wall, since America won the Cold War.
• 31:12
  Speaker 2: Well, keep following this story.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: I can promise you that we've got a lot more
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: that's going to happen the days ahead, so make sure
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: you don't forget. Grab our podcast, The Ben Ferguson Podcasts
• 31:22
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• 31:26
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• 31:28
  Speaker 1: the breaking news