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A show about what they won't say and what 00:01:22.689 --> 00:01:25.689 you're probably already thinking. No fluff, no 00:01:25.689 --> 00:01:33.120 filters, no bullshit. Let's crack it open. Tonight 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:35.239 on Zero Signal, we're going to start with a headline 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:37.579 that sounds like it fell out of some alternative 00:01:37.579 --> 00:01:40.239 timeline. The capture of Nicolas Maduro, the 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:42.299 president of Venezuela. A man the United States 00:01:42.299 --> 00:01:44.959 has spent years sanctioning, indicting, threatening, 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:47.480 and isolating, suddenly in custody, suddenly 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:50.120 on a plane, suddenly facing an American courtroom. 00:01:50.260 --> 00:01:52.700 On the surface, this sounds simple. Bad guy finally 00:01:52.700 --> 00:01:55.120 gets grabbed. Justice system does its thing. 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:57.780 Roll credits. But nothing about Maduro or Venezuela 00:01:57.780 --> 00:01:59.780 has ever been simple. The closer you get to the 00:01:59.780 --> 00:02:01.640 story, the more it stops looking like law enforcement 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:04.140 starts looking like a move on a geopolitical 00:02:04.140 --> 00:02:06.560 chessboard. One where the pieces are oil, cocaine, 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:08.919 migration, and alliances with countries that 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:11.159 don't exactly send the White House Christmas 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:13.379 cards. So tonight we're going to talk about what 00:02:13.379 --> 00:02:15.759 this capture means, what it took to pull off, 00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:17.699 and why there are a lot of people whispering 00:02:17.699 --> 00:02:36.719 that Madura might not be the only target. Last 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:39.039 night, on the order of the President of the United 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:41.979 States, and in support of a request from the 00:02:41.979 --> 00:02:44.020 Department of Justice, as the President said, 00:02:44.180 --> 00:02:47.080 the United States military conducted an apprehension 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:50.319 mission in Caracas, Venezuela, to bring to justice 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:53.379 two indicted persons, Nicholas and Cecilia Maduro. 00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:57.439 This operation, known as Operation Absolute Resolve, 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:01.560 was discreet. precise and conducted during the 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:05.080 darkest hours of January 2nd and was in the culmination 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:08.520 of months of planning and rehearsal, an operation 00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:11.259 that frankly only the United States military 00:03:11.259 --> 00:03:13.879 could undertake. What I'd like to do this morning 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:15.879 is talk to you through some of the preparation 00:03:15.879 --> 00:03:20.180 and the details without compromising any of our 00:03:20.180 --> 00:03:23.259 tactics, techniques and procedures. There is 00:03:23.259 --> 00:03:26.060 always a chance that we'll be tasked to do this 00:03:26.060 --> 00:03:29.840 type of mission again. Our interagency work began 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:32.699 months ago and built on decades of experience 00:03:32.699 --> 00:03:36.400 of integrating complex air, ground, space and 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:39.580 maritime operations. While the past two decades 00:03:39.580 --> 00:03:42.020 have honed the skills of our special operations 00:03:42.020 --> 00:03:46.319 forces, this particular mission required every 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:49.919 component of our joint force with soldiers. sailors, 00:03:50.539 --> 00:03:53.840 airmen, Marines, and guardians working in unison 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:56.659 with our intelligence agency partners and law 00:03:56.659 --> 00:04:00.120 enforcement teammates in an unprecedented operation. 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:04.039 We leveraged our unmatched intelligence capabilities 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.479 and our years of experience in hunting terrorists. 00:04:07.639 --> 00:04:10.319 And we could not have done this mission without 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:13.439 the incredible work by various intelligence agencies, 00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:18.560 including the CIA, NSA, and NGA. We watched. 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:23.620 We waited, we prepared, we remained patient and 00:04:23.620 --> 00:04:27.519 professional. This mission was meticulously planned, 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:30.800 drawing lessons from decades of missions over 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:33.899 the last many years, decades or many missions 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:37.399 over these last many years. This was an audacious 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:41.339 operation that only the United States could do. 00:04:41.579 --> 00:04:45.620 It required the utmost of precision and integration 00:04:45.620 --> 00:04:49.339 within our joint force. And the word integration 00:04:49.339 --> 00:04:53.279 does not explain the sheer complexity of such 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:57.759 a mission. An extraction so precise, it involved 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:01.379 more than 150 aircraft launching across the Western 00:05:01.379 --> 00:05:05.399 Hemisphere in close coordination, all coming 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:10.189 together in time and place to layer effects for 00:05:10.189 --> 00:05:13.790 a single purpose, to get an interdiction force 00:05:13.790 --> 00:05:18.069 into downtown Caracas while maintaining the element 00:05:18.069 --> 00:05:22.230 of tactical surprise. Failure of one component 00:05:22.230 --> 00:05:25.370 of this well -oiled machine would have endangered 00:05:25.370 --> 00:05:29.329 the entire mission, and failure is never an option 00:05:29.329 --> 00:05:33.470 for America's joint force. Those in the air over 00:05:33.470 --> 00:05:36.410 Caracas last night were willing to give their 00:05:36.410 --> 00:05:39.569 lives for those on the ground and in the helicopters. 00:05:40.629 --> 00:05:42.629 Let me talk a little bit about the preparation. 00:05:43.550 --> 00:05:45.990 After months of work by our intelligence teammates 00:05:45.990 --> 00:05:50.709 to find Maduro and understand how we moved, where 00:05:50.709 --> 00:05:54.449 he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what 00:05:54.449 --> 00:05:58.360 he wore. what were his pets. In early December, 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:02.379 our force was set pending a series of aligned 00:06:02.379 --> 00:06:07.180 events. Key was choosing the right day to minimize 00:06:07.180 --> 00:06:10.600 the potential for civilian harm and maximize 00:06:10.600 --> 00:06:14.019 the element of surprise and minimize the harm 00:06:14.019 --> 00:06:16.319 to the indicted personnel. So as the president 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:19.910 said, that could be brought to justice. And as 00:06:19.910 --> 00:06:23.069 the president said earlier today, weather in 00:06:23.069 --> 00:06:26.189 Venezuela is always a factor this time of the 00:06:26.189 --> 00:06:29.230 year. And over the weeks through Christmas and 00:06:29.230 --> 00:06:31.990 New Year's, the men and women of the United States 00:06:31.990 --> 00:06:36.009 military sat ready, patiently waiting for the 00:06:36.009 --> 00:06:38.689 right triggers to be met and the president to 00:06:38.689 --> 00:06:41.970 order us into action. Last night, the weather 00:06:41.970 --> 00:06:45.250 broke just enough, clearing a path that only 00:06:45.250 --> 00:06:48.870 the most skilled aviators in the world could 00:06:48.870 --> 00:06:53.310 maneuver through ocean, mountain, low cloud ceilings. 00:06:53.569 --> 00:06:57.610 But when tasked with a mission, this organization 00:06:57.610 --> 00:07:02.949 does not quit. At 10 46 p .m. Eastern time last 00:07:02.949 --> 00:07:05.069 night, the president ordered the United States 00:07:05.069 --> 00:07:08.689 military to move forward with this mission. He 00:07:08.689 --> 00:07:11.250 said to us and we appreciated Mr President, good 00:07:11.250 --> 00:07:14.629 luck and Godspeed. And those words were transmitted 00:07:14.629 --> 00:07:17.740 to the entire joint force. Over the course of 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:20.480 the night, aircraft began launching from 20 different 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:24.620 bases on land and sea across the Western Hemisphere. 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:29.379 In total, more than 150 aircraft, bombers, fighters, 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:32.620 intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, rotary 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:35.759 wing were in the air last night. Thousands and 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:39.079 thousands of hours of experience were airborne. 00:07:39.339 --> 00:07:42.300 Our youngest crew member was 20 and our oldest 00:07:42.300 --> 00:07:45.550 crew member was 49. and there's simply no match 00:07:45.550 --> 00:07:48.850 for American military might. As the night began, 00:07:48.990 --> 00:07:51.449 the helicopters took off with the extraction 00:07:51.449 --> 00:07:53.790 force, which included law enforcement officers, 00:07:54.170 --> 00:07:56.910 and began their flight into Venezuela at 100 00:07:56.910 --> 00:08:00.470 feet above the water. As they approached Venezuelan 00:08:00.470 --> 00:08:03.589 shores, the United States began layering different 00:08:03.589 --> 00:08:06.569 effects provided by Spacecom, Cybercom, and other 00:08:06.569 --> 00:08:09.449 members of the interagency to create a pathway. 00:08:10.370 --> 00:08:15.050 Overhead, those forces were protected by aircraft 00:08:15.050 --> 00:08:17.889 from the United States Marines, the United States 00:08:17.889 --> 00:08:20.730 Navy, the United States Air Force, and the Air 00:08:20.730 --> 00:08:24.529 National Guard. The force included F -22s, F 00:08:24.529 --> 00:08:30.569 -35s, F -18s, EA -18s, E -2s, B -1 bombers, and 00:08:30.569 --> 00:08:33.789 other support aircraft, as well as numerous remotely 00:08:33.789 --> 00:08:37.200 piloted drones. As the force began to approach 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:41.659 Caracas, the Joint Air Component began dismantling 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:45.759 and disabling the air defense systems in Venezuela, 00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:49.179 employing weapons to ensure the safe passage 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:52.860 of the helicopters into the target area. The 00:08:52.860 --> 00:08:57.679 goal of our air component is, was, and always 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:01.139 will be to protect the helicopters and the ground 00:09:01.139 --> 00:09:04.440 force and get them to the target and get them 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:08.039 home. As the force crossed the last point of 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:10.659 high terrain where they'd been hiding in the 00:09:10.659 --> 00:09:14.580 clutter, we assessed that we had maintained totally 00:09:14.580 --> 00:09:18.750 the element of surprise. As the helicopter force 00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:21.830 ingress towards the objective at low level, we 00:09:21.830 --> 00:09:26.149 arrived at Maduro's compound at 1 .01 a .m. Eastern 00:09:26.149 --> 00:09:30.409 Standard Time or 2 .01 a .m. Caracas local time. 00:09:30.769 --> 00:09:34.049 And the apprehension force descended into Maduro's 00:09:34.049 --> 00:09:37.860 compound and moved with speed. precision and 00:09:37.860 --> 00:09:40.940 discipline towards their objective and isolated 00:09:40.940 --> 00:09:43.980 the area to ensure the safety and security of 00:09:43.980 --> 00:09:47.019 the ground force while apprehending the indicted 00:09:47.019 --> 00:09:50.590 persons. On arrival into the target area, the 00:09:50.590 --> 00:09:53.450 helicopters came under fire and they replied 00:09:53.450 --> 00:09:55.990 with that fire with overwhelming force and self 00:09:55.990 --> 00:09:59.210 -defense. One of our aircraft was hit, but remained 00:09:59.210 --> 00:10:01.649 flyable. And as the president said earlier today, 00:10:01.750 --> 00:10:04.470 all of our aircraft came home and that aircraft 00:10:04.470 --> 00:10:06.350 remained flyable during the rest of the mission. 00:10:07.340 --> 00:10:10.039 As the operation unfolded at the compound, our 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:13.460 air and ground intelligence teams provided real 00:10:13.460 --> 00:10:16.340 time updates to the ground force, ensuring those 00:10:16.340 --> 00:10:19.320 forces could safely navigate the complex environment 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:22.620 without unnecessary risk. The force remained 00:10:22.620 --> 00:10:27.039 protected by overhead tactical aviation. Maduro 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:30.500 and his wife, both indicted, gave up. and we're 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:33.059 taken into custody by the Department of Justice, 00:10:33.539 --> 00:10:36.159 assisted by our incredible U .S. military with 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:40.159 professionalism and precision, with no loss of 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:42.419 U .S. life. Let's start by rewinding the tape. 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:45.080 Venezuela wasn't always the cautionary tale you 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:47.240 see in cable news, b -roll. For a long time, 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:49.840 it was an oil -rich success story of South America. 00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:52.899 Huge reserves, big promises, and enough petrodollars 00:10:52.899 --> 00:10:55.600 flowing to build a kind of 21st century socialism 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:58.659 under Hugo Chavez. When Chavez died in 2013, 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:01.740 his chosen hair, Nicolas Maduro slid into that 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:04.299 chair. Bus driver turned into union leader, turned 00:11:04.299 --> 00:11:06.820 foreign minister, turned president. On paper, 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:09.080 it looks like a working class success story. 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:12.019 In reality, he inherited a system already cracking, 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:14.639 corruption baked in, oil money mismanaged, and 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:17.179 a government that had learned to survive by crushing 00:11:17.179 --> 00:11:19.480 opposition instead of fixing problems. Under 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:21.779 Maduro, the wheels didn't just wobble, they came 00:11:21.779 --> 00:11:24.519 off. Hyperinflation, empty shelves, electric 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:26.720 blackouts, millions of people walking out of 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:28.639 the country on foot. If you've ever seen the 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:31.179 images of Venezuelans carrying everything they 00:11:31.179 --> 00:11:33.399 own in a backpack and crossing into Colombia 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:35.539 by the thousands, you've seen the human side 00:11:35.539 --> 00:11:38.120 of Maduro's role. Now, put yourself in Washington's 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:40.820 shoes. Here, this regime turning into a narco 00:11:40.820 --> 00:11:43.179 state right in your hemisphere. It's accused 00:11:43.179 --> 00:11:45.419 of letting military officers and insiders run 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:47.940 a cartel known as the Cartel of the Suns. It's 00:11:47.940 --> 00:11:49.980 tied into cocaine routes, moving product from 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:52.240 Colombia through Venezuela out to Europe and 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:54.320 the United States. In 2020, the U .S. Department 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:57.320 of Justice actually indicts Maduro on narcoterrorism 00:11:57.320 --> 00:11:59.629 and drug trafficking charges and offers a huge 00:11:59.629 --> 00:12:01.610 reward for information leading to his arrest. 00:12:01.710 --> 00:12:03.549 That alone is wild. You're putting a setting 00:12:03.549 --> 00:12:06.009 head of state, the same legal shelf as cartel 00:12:06.009 --> 00:12:08.090 bosses and terrorists. So when people say the 00:12:08.090 --> 00:12:09.970 U .S. would never go into another country and 00:12:09.970 --> 00:12:11.629 grab a leader, they forget something. We've done 00:12:11.629 --> 00:12:14.669 this before. Manuel Noriega in Panama. Operation 00:12:14.669 --> 00:12:16.889 Just Cause. The message was clear. If you're 00:12:16.889 --> 00:12:18.950 both running a country and running dope, don't 00:12:18.950 --> 00:12:21.230 assume that presidential sash is a force field. 00:12:21.309 --> 00:12:23.110 So when the story breaks that Maduro has been 00:12:23.110 --> 00:12:25.889 captured, that he's on his way to are already 00:12:25.889 --> 00:12:27.669 setting in a courtroom. You have to ask this 00:12:27.669 --> 00:12:30.269 question. Is this the natural end of that 2020 00:12:30.269 --> 00:12:32.029 indictment or something else? We're supposed 00:12:32.029 --> 00:12:34.149 to believe that after years where he couldn't 00:12:34.149 --> 00:12:36.529 be touched, it suddenly all comes together. An 00:12:36.529 --> 00:12:38.730 operation we're told is clean, surgical, almost 00:12:38.730 --> 00:12:41.509 boring in its efficiency. Maybe it's an extradition 00:12:41.509 --> 00:12:43.889 dressed up as diplomacy. A neighboring country 00:12:43.889 --> 00:12:46.129 quietly hands him over after an internal power 00:12:46.129 --> 00:12:48.590 struggle. Maybe it's a jet diverted on the strength 00:12:48.590 --> 00:12:50.529 of sealed warrants, behind the scenes pressure. 00:12:50.649 --> 00:12:52.850 Maybe it's something darker. The red edition 00:12:52.850 --> 00:12:54.870 that never makes the front page in full detail. 00:12:55.029 --> 00:12:56.899 Whatever version you're being fed. understand 00:12:56.899 --> 00:12:58.909 one thing. To get a sitting president out of 00:12:58.909 --> 00:13:01.370 his own security bubble and to inform custody, 00:13:01.549 --> 00:13:03.490 you need more than just good intel. You need 00:13:03.490 --> 00:13:05.889 insiders. That's the first conspiracy pressure 00:13:05.889 --> 00:13:08.070 point. This doesn't happen without someone close 00:13:08.070 --> 00:13:10.590 to Maduro, either breaking, flipping, or deciding 00:13:10.590 --> 00:13:12.529 he's more valuable as a bargaining chip than 00:13:12.529 --> 00:13:14.710 a boss. It could mean a military faction that's 00:13:14.710 --> 00:13:17.649 tired of being tied to sanctions or narco trafficking 00:13:17.649 --> 00:13:20.409 allegations. It could mean a rival insider, the 00:13:20.409 --> 00:13:22.830 ruling party who sees his moment to step into 00:13:22.830 --> 00:13:25.230 the vacuum. Or, and this is where it gets interesting, 00:13:25.350 --> 00:13:27.210 it could mean a deal. Safe pass. message and 00:13:27.210 --> 00:13:29.629 money for one circle, handcuffs and headlines 00:13:29.629 --> 00:13:31.669 for the man on top. If you are the United States 00:13:31.669 --> 00:13:33.809 and you went up Maduro for years, you don't wait 00:13:33.809 --> 00:13:36.070 for a miracle. You engineer the conditions for 00:13:36.070 --> 00:13:38.169 one. Now, add in a second layer. This isn't just 00:13:38.169 --> 00:13:40.090 about one country and its leader. Look at who 00:13:40.090 --> 00:13:42.929 Maduro has been getting close with to while Washington 00:13:42.929 --> 00:13:45.370 has been tightening the screws, Iran, Russia, 00:13:45.509 --> 00:13:47.769 to a lesser extent, China and Turkey. When your 00:13:47.769 --> 00:13:50.129 economy is sanctioned to death and Western banks 00:13:50.129 --> 00:13:52.049 won't touch you, you go to whoever's willing 00:13:52.049 --> 00:13:53.830 to do business in the shadows. That has meant 00:13:53.830 --> 00:13:56.940 Iranian fuel shipments when Venezuela's own refineries 00:13:56.940 --> 00:13:59.220 were falling apart. It's meant flights and cargo 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:01.700 links that Western intel agencies watched very 00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:03.559 carefully because they weren't always convinced 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:05.980 it was just for food or spare parts for those 00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:08.419 planes. It meant long -running accusations that 00:14:08.419 --> 00:14:11.379 Venezuela became a friendly space for Hezbollah 00:14:11.379 --> 00:14:13.879 -linked networks to move money, launder profits, 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:16.419 and stage logistics in Latin America. It's meant 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:19.059 Russian strategic bombers landing in Venezuela 00:14:19.059 --> 00:14:22.700 back in the late 2010s as a way to send a message 00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:24.899 that Moscow has friends in America's backyard. 00:14:25.259 --> 00:14:26.879 yourself into the mindset of people who write 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:28.679 threat assessments for a living. You don't just 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:30.960 see Maduro as a corrupt leader running a broken 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:33.080 state. You see a gateway. You see a regime willing 00:14:33.080 --> 00:14:35.919 to trade access for survival, access to ports, 00:14:36.179 --> 00:14:38.659 airspace, passports, banks, whatever keeps the 00:14:38.659 --> 00:14:40.639 lights on in the presidential palace for more 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:43.039 than one year. Iran looking for places to extend 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:45.220 its reach to the Western Hemisphere, whether 00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:47.460 through diplomatic missions, cultural centers, 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:49.860 or shell companies. You see Russia, under sanctions 00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:51.700 of its own, trying to create pressure points 00:14:51.700 --> 00:14:54.080 close to U .S. territory. You start to ask, is 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:57.120 Venezuela or is it being turned into a platform? 00:14:57.259 --> 00:14:59.039 Now ask the forbidden question. That's how the 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:01.139 government sees it. Is this capture really about 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:03.139 cocaine and corruption or is it about breaking 00:15:03.139 --> 00:15:05.600 an alliance? Venezuela under Maduro is viewed 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:08.000 as a bridge between Iran, Russia and networks 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:10.299 that scare counter -terror analysts, Hezbollah, 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:12.679 Quads Force, Russian security contractors. Then 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:14.879 removing him isn't just a legal victory. It's 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:17.679 a regime change by indictment. It's decapitation 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:20.370 of a node in a larger network. That's how special 00:15:20.370 --> 00:15:22.610 operations and intelligence people talk when 00:15:22.610 --> 00:15:24.870 they're being honest. You don't just remove individuals, 00:15:25.049 --> 00:15:26.750 you remove links in a chain. There's another 00:15:26.750 --> 00:15:28.409 historical pattern here that's uncomfortable 00:15:28.409 --> 00:15:30.490 to talk about. When the United States has a problem 00:15:30.490 --> 00:15:32.509 it can't solve with normal diplomacy, it does 00:15:32.509 --> 00:15:34.649 two things at once. It tells a clean story to 00:15:34.649 --> 00:15:36.929 the public and runs a messier one underneath. 00:15:37.029 --> 00:15:39.509 In Noriega, the clean story was dictator, drug 00:15:39.509 --> 00:15:41.490 trafficker, minister to democracy, so we had 00:15:41.490 --> 00:15:44.350 to go in. The messy story was about bases, shipping 00:15:44.350 --> 00:15:46.590 lanes, and who controls the canal. With Saddam 00:15:46.590 --> 00:15:48.889 Hussein, the clean story was weapons of mass 00:15:48.889 --> 00:15:50.960 - destruction and liberating Iraq. The message 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:53.620 story was oil, regional balance, a long list 00:15:53.620 --> 00:15:56.500 of unfinished business from the 1990s. With Maduro, 00:15:56.700 --> 00:15:59.120 the clean story now is something like narco -dictator, 00:15:59.259 --> 00:16:01.220 finally held accountable, justice for the Venezuela 00:16:01.220 --> 00:16:04.039 people. The messy story has more to do with who 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:06.120 gets to set the roles in the western hemisphere, 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:08.539 Washington and its allies, or a coalition that 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:10.379 includes Moscow and Tehran. Here's where the 00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:12.559 conspiracy angle deepens. What if Maduro isn't 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:14.820 the real engul at all, but a lever? Think about 00:16:14.820 --> 00:16:17.179 what a man in his position knows. Internal ledgers, 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:19.580 off the book deal. intelligence shared from his 00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:22.019 partners, conversations with Russians or Iranian 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:24.460 envoys that we're never supposed to see in daylight. 00:16:24.539 --> 00:16:26.779 If you get him into a position where he's staring 00:16:26.779 --> 00:16:28.740 down decades in an American prison, you have 00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:31.059 an incentive to lean on him, not just for criminal, 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:33.000 but as a source. You don't even have to parade 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:35.039 that part in front of the cameras. The official 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:37.399 story is we want justice. The off the record 00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:39.700 story is tell us how the network works. Tell 00:16:39.700 --> 00:16:41.840 us how money flows from South America cocaine 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:43.899 labs into the Middle Eastern front companies. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:46.279 Tell us what generals are double dipping, which 00:16:46.279 --> 00:16:48.659 bankers moved which billions, which foreign agents 00:16:48.659 --> 00:16:50.840 you met and what they promised you. In that scenario, 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:52.759 Maduro isn't just a trophy, he's a hard drive. 00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:54.779 Now flip it around. If you're Iran or Russia 00:16:54.779 --> 00:16:56.639 watching this happen, what do you see? You see 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:58.559 the Americans proving they're still willing to 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:00.759 reach into another country and physically remove 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:02.740 a leader they've labeled an enemy. You see all 00:17:02.740 --> 00:17:04.900 other partners, people you deal with in Africa, 00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:07.259 Asia, Latin America, suddenly wondering if their 00:17:07.259 --> 00:17:09.319 turn is next. You see a president that creates 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:11.819 pressure to respond, not necessarily with a big, 00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:13.799 obvious missile launch, but with asymmetrical 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:16.660 moves, cyber attacks, sabotage, using proxies. 00:17:16.329 --> 00:17:18.309 If you believe that Maduro's capture was less 00:17:18.309 --> 00:17:20.549 about justice, more about dismantling a loose 00:17:20.549 --> 00:17:22.609 network, then you also have to believe that the 00:17:22.609 --> 00:17:24.730 Alliance won't just shrug and walk away. Let's 00:17:24.730 --> 00:17:26.589 zoom back into Venezuela for a moment, because 00:17:26.589 --> 00:17:29.230 there's a human cost here that never fully makes 00:17:29.230 --> 00:17:31.130 it into the headlines. When you remove a strong 00:17:31.130 --> 00:17:33.329 man from a fragile system, you don't automatically 00:17:33.329 --> 00:17:35.490 get peace and democracy. Sometimes you get a 00:17:35.490 --> 00:17:37.670 power vacuum. You get factions behind the scenes 00:17:37.670 --> 00:17:39.710 maneuvering to become the next Maduro, but with 00:17:39.710 --> 00:17:42.109 a better PR team. You get military officers who 00:17:42.109 --> 00:17:44.130 suddenly don't know whether their safest move 00:17:44.130 --> 00:17:46.390 is staying loyal or flipping Besides, you get 00:17:46.390 --> 00:17:48.869 opposition leaders who have spent years trying 00:17:48.869 --> 00:17:51.210 not to get killed, now being dangled offers they 00:17:51.210 --> 00:17:54.009 can't entirely trust from foreign capitals to 00:17:54.009 --> 00:17:56.369 have their own agendas. You get regular people, 00:17:56.470 --> 00:17:59.329 teachers, nurses, shop owners, kids, who just 00:17:59.329 --> 00:18:01.769 want a stable currency and the lights to stay 00:18:01.769 --> 00:18:03.730 on, suddenly living through another round of 00:18:03.730 --> 00:18:05.710 uncertainty. If you believe that Maduro's capture 00:18:05.710 --> 00:18:07.690 is the beginning of Venezuela's healing, that's 00:18:07.690 --> 00:18:09.269 one narrative. If you believe it's the opening 00:18:09.269 --> 00:18:11.430 chapter of something more chaotic, that's another. 00:18:11.549 --> 00:18:13.869 Here's where the timing question comes in. Why 00:18:13.869 --> 00:18:15.980 now? Maduro has been under sanctions and indictment 00:18:15.980 --> 00:18:18.240 for years. The economic collapse isn't new. The 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.599 exodus of refugees isn't new. The cocaine rounds 00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:22.559 aren't new. So what changed? One theory is that 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:24.859 his value to his foreign backers started to drop. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:26.839 Foil deals were delivering what they promised. 00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:29.359 If he was seen as too toxic, too erratic, maybe 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:31.460 he became expendable, a bargaining chip to trade 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:33.779 for sanctions relief or guarantees. Another theory 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:35.799 is that the alliances themselves crossed a line 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:37.960 that Washington wasn't willing to tolerate. Perhaps 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:40.180 intelligence started to indicate not just political 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:42.440 support from Iran and Russia, but actual military 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:44.799 cooperation in ways that turned Venezuela to 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:47.079 more than an economic partner, more like a staging 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:49.000 point. When you combine that with ongoing worries 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:51.359 about Hezbollah and other proxy networks using 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:53.500 Latin America as a back office, suddenly the 00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:55.740 risk calculation shifts. A leader who was once 00:18:55.740 --> 00:18:58.240 annoying but manageable becomes an unacceptable 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:00.359 risk. There's also the domestic angle in the 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:02.099 United States. You cannot ignore the political 00:19:02.099 --> 00:19:04.500 value of a dramatic foreign victory when things 00:19:04.500 --> 00:19:07.200 at home are brittle. Polarization, economic anxiety, 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:09.900 mistrust in institutions, putting a foreign villain 00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:12.839 in handcuffs on TV is a way to project strength 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:14.859 across party lines. If you're a political face 00:19:14.859 --> 00:19:17.440 in a tough election or a messy news cycle, announcing 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:19.599 the capture of someone you've spent years calling 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:21.940 a narco terrorist dictator is a great way to 00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:23.980 change that subject. That doesn't mean the operation 00:19:23.980 --> 00:19:26.220 is fake. It means the decision of when and how 00:19:26.220 --> 00:19:28.380 to pull the trigger on that operation is never 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:30.619 purely about the target. It's about the audience. 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:33.119 Now let's talk about the court part because that's 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:34.900 where the story gets both legal and symbolic. 00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:36.859 When you haul a foreign president to an American 00:19:36.859 --> 00:19:38.839 court room, you're doing more than prosecuting 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:40.700 him. You're sending a message to every head of 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:42.400 state who has ever thought as long as I stay 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:44.289 in Inside my borders, I'm untouchable. You're 00:19:44.289 --> 00:19:46.529 saying we don't see this as politics. We see 00:19:46.529 --> 00:19:48.650 this as a crime. Conspiracy angle here is subtle. 00:19:48.769 --> 00:19:51.049 Once we normalize that ideal, where does it stop? 00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:53.349 Today it's Madura and narcoterrorism. Tomorrow 00:19:53.349 --> 00:19:55.009 could be a different leader accused of cyber 00:19:55.009 --> 00:19:57.410 attacks or human rights abuses or financial crimes. 00:19:57.529 --> 00:19:59.750 There's a version of the future where U .S. courts 00:19:59.750 --> 00:20:02.230 become kind of a global tribunal whenever Washington 00:20:02.230 --> 00:20:04.230 decides someone crossed that line. That sounds 00:20:04.230 --> 00:20:06.309 great if you trusted people drawing the lines. 00:20:06.390 --> 00:20:08.710 It sounds a lot less great if you watched those 00:20:08.710 --> 00:20:10.970 lines shift depending on whose interests are 00:20:10.970 --> 00:20:13.250 at stake. Some people will say, look, this is 00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:15.130 overthinking it. Maduro is a corrupt dictator 00:20:15.130 --> 00:20:17.210 who ruined his country, worked with cartels, 00:20:17.390 --> 00:20:19.450 cozied up to hostile regimes. Of course he should 00:20:19.450 --> 00:20:21.430 face justice. And there's truth in that. But 00:20:21.430 --> 00:20:23.710 Zero Signal isn't about accepting the press release 00:20:23.710 --> 00:20:25.730 version and calling it a night. It's about asking 00:20:25.730 --> 00:20:27.869 what has to be true in the background for the 00:20:27.869 --> 00:20:30.089 headline to exist. In this case, for Maduro to 00:20:30.089 --> 00:20:31.950 be captured and sent to court, you need high 00:20:31.950 --> 00:20:34.049 level cooperation from at least one neighboring 00:20:34.049 --> 00:20:36.349 country. A faction without its own system willing 00:20:36.349 --> 00:20:37.970 to sell him out. A green life for the people 00:20:37.970 --> 00:20:40.390 in Washington who know exactly how dangerous 00:20:40.390 --> 00:20:42.200 the president is. this sets, and the confidence 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:44.099 that they can handle whatever blowback comes 00:20:44.099 --> 00:20:46.160 next. That's a lot of moving pieces, and none 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:48.279 of them move without deep remotives. There's 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:50.539 one more thread I want to tug on before we start 00:20:50.539 --> 00:20:52.240 landing this plane. Think about information. 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:54.400 For years, the Venezuelan government has been 00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:56.759 accused of using disinformation, propaganda, 00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:59.119 and censorship to keep control. But if Maduro 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:01.339 is in custody, if he's being interrogated, if 00:21:01.339 --> 00:21:03.680 his devices and documents are being analyzed, 00:21:03.819 --> 00:21:06.039 that flow of information suddenly reverses. Secrets 00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:08.099 start to move outward instead of inward, things 00:21:08.099 --> 00:21:09.940 that were brushed off as conspiracy theories. 00:21:10.059 --> 00:21:12.099 about his foreign partners might suddenly look 00:21:12.099 --> 00:21:14.859 a lot less theoretical when they show up in court 00:21:14.859 --> 00:21:16.740 exhibits or leaked transcripts, where if you're 00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:18.859 more cynical, only the secrets that are useful 00:21:18.859 --> 00:21:21.099 to certain agendas will see the light of day, 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:23.480 while others stay locked in classified annexes 00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:25.259 forever. Either way, the capture of a leader 00:21:25.259 --> 00:21:27.539 like Maduro doesn't just change who runs a country, 00:21:27.619 --> 00:21:29.740 it changed who owns the narrative. So where does 00:21:29.740 --> 00:21:32.339 this leave us? On paper, this is a story about 00:21:32.339 --> 00:21:34.940 a narco dictator finally facing justice after 00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:37.119 years of abusing power, wrecking an economy, 00:21:37.220 --> 00:21:39.240 and aligning with regimes who want to undermine 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:41.619 the U .S. In practice, it's a story about what 00:21:41.619 --> 00:21:44.279 happens when law enforcement, intel, and geopolitics 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:46.319 fuse into the same system. Was this operation 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:48.319 about protecting Americans from drugs and terror? 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:50.500 Was it about snapping a link in a chain that 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:53.119 runs from Caracas to Moscow to Tehran? Was it 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:55.640 about domestic political theater? Or is it the 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:57.859 most unsettling version, all of the above at 00:21:57.859 --> 00:21:59.559 once? That's the part that most people don't 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:01.700 want to look at. Possibly that logical, rational 00:22:01.700 --> 00:22:04.720 motives and opportunities, self -serving opportunities, 00:22:04.900 --> 00:22:07.319 can coexist inside the same decision. As always, 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:08.930 I'm not here to tell you what to think. I'm here 00:22:08.930 --> 00:22:11.089 to walk you around the edges of the story and 00:22:11.089 --> 00:22:13.430 show you the parts that don't fit neatly into 00:22:13.430 --> 00:22:15.549 the official script. Maduro's capture and trial 00:22:15.549 --> 00:22:17.750 became real fixtures of our new cycle. You'll 00:22:17.750 --> 00:22:20.230 hear a thousand pundits talk about what it means 00:22:20.230 --> 00:22:22.450 for democracy, the rule of law, and for the free 00:22:22.450 --> 00:22:25.230 world. What you won't hear as often is the quiet 00:22:25.230 --> 00:22:27.049 worry in the background. If we can reach across 00:22:27.049 --> 00:22:28.950 borders and take him, who else is fair game? 00:22:29.029 --> 00:22:31.029 How does his former friends respond? And what 00:22:31.029 --> 00:22:32.910 happens to the millions of people in Venezuela 00:22:32.910 --> 00:22:35.049 who are about to live through yet another new 00:22:35.049 --> 00:22:37.369 beginning designed not by them, but for them? 00:22:37.710 --> 00:22:39.390 If you're listening to this, I'm not asking you 00:22:39.390 --> 00:22:41.390 to panic or go full doomer. That never helps. 00:22:41.529 --> 00:22:43.930 I'm asking you to do what we always talk about 00:22:43.930 --> 00:22:46.210 on this show. Live in that yellow zone of awareness. 00:22:46.369 --> 00:22:48.670 Pay attention to the connections. Notice when 00:22:48.670 --> 00:22:51.069 the narrative shifts from justice to strategy 00:22:51.069 --> 00:22:53.470 without anyone admitting it out loud. Maybe ask 00:22:53.470 --> 00:22:55.470 yourself a personal question. If powerful people 00:22:55.470 --> 00:22:57.589 can rewrite the fate of a country with an operation 00:22:57.589 --> 00:22:59.509 in a courtroom, what can you still control in 00:22:59.509 --> 00:23:01.809 your own life, your community, your situational 00:23:01.809 --> 00:23:04.049 awareness, your ability to separate signal from 00:23:04.049 --> 00:23:06.390 noise? That's yours for now. This has been Zero 00:23:06.390 --> 00:23:08.900 Signal. this story plays out, stay safe, stay 00:23:08.900 --> 00:23:11.359 curious, and stay in that thin line between fear 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:13.339 and denial. That's where the truth usually hides. 00:23:16.640 --> 00:23:19.299 We've hit the zero hour. That's a wrap on this 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:22.359 week's transmission. New episodes drop weekly, 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:25.000 so stay tuned and don't miss the next Signal. 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:29.400 Follow, subscribe and spread the word. You've 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:32.019 been listening to Zero Signal. We're out.