https://youtu.be/f7_0__1PUE0
For the entire transcript of this interview, please continue reading.
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today is May 629 and I’m talking to Brad
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Johnson retired CIA station chief from
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somewhere deep in Eastern Europe I think
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it was we want to talk about Venezuela
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which is it’s just the most under rated
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story and its importance maybe for I
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don’t mean today because of the current
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conflict I mean since Chavez got elected
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and he destroyed the place with
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socialism but what would you what can
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you tell us about the situation now
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because media reports have it that the
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United States is about to ruin it by
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blundering in and of course that’s
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that’s ludicrously untrue
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but maybe you can clarify that
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absolutely just kind of by way of
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background Chava is about 20 years ago
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now took power he was illegally elected
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and just began spending the money of you
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know pissing the money away and taking
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it and every year he would do things
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like change the laws and create new
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taxes and then say that you have to pay
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a back taxes and so on
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to the international companies that were
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in the oil companies mainly that we’re
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in Venezuela and so on so he he slowly
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chased out all the expertise slowly ate
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up all the money and put it into these
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programs he’s make work programs and he
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would have and so he was able to keep
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like his unemployment numbers good and
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things like that a lot of the statistics
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look pretty good because he would just
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steal money from wherever he could and
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within the economy and spend it and of
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course that’s killing the the goose that
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laid the golden eggs and so each time
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you’d have to come up with another
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golden goose another golden goose
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another golden goose and eventually that
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ran out and not long after shortly
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before he died the economy was already
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destroyed and he took a nation that was
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the fifth largest at its peak the fifth
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largest in the world I mean it was
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bigger than China the Chinese Chinese
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economy and so I mean Venezuela was very
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successful and had been nicely
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diversified for a period of time so the
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economy was starting to be a very
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broad-based economy and very wealthy I
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visited during the
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period spent some time in Venezuela in
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Caracas the capital city it’s beautiful
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I mean shopping malls well-dressed
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people well-educated all of those things
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and it’s just destroyed under Chavez now
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here on the left they’re saying oh well
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it didn’t happen until after Chavez left
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well it didn’t float to the top because
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there was nobody else to steal from in
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order to keep keep afloat this this
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fictitious economy and it’s just one of
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those things about socialism socialism
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eats up the capital in an economy all
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the money it just gobbles it up and
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spits it out and gives it away where it
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doesn’t replenish itself it’s not earned
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so it’s just socialism is an
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unsustainable form of economy and you
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need capitalism to keep the economy
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going because it replenishes itself
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every year you only take enough so that
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everything can keep producing so that
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was in essence what happened so Maduro
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kind of a hapless guy he just wasn’t up
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to the task and has continued all the
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policies but one of the big money
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spenders and it’s an important item out
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of all of this and it’s something that
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we’ve discussed here before is Alba the
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the Bolivarian Alliance it was something
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that it was Hugo Chavez his baby and he
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created what is essentially Alba is a
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socialist country Organization of
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American States it’s the equivalent of
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OAS Organization of American States
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except for four socialist economy so the
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Nicaraguan and Cubans and anyone of that
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nature was was all involved now that’s
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been very useful because they’ve created
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shipping lines and television
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programming and all of those who Spanish
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with the backing of China Russia Iran in
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particular it’s big into this so that’s
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a real value which is I think part of
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why we see what’s playing out today
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playing out in the news as we go along
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why is Russia so intent on backing
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Venezuela and keeping them into place
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and just background on that you can see
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where this was moving forward in the
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United States thought that they were
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going to be able to get rid of Maduro
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and have long white dough who’s
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recognized by 50 plus countries as the
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actual proper interim president to take
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Venezuela to elections and have a full
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presidential election and which quite Oh
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would run and probably win and become
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the next part
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but that remains to be seen how that
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part plays out but so they’re trying to
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force Maduro out as a result now I will
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say once the United States recognized
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one window it’s probably the beginning
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of the end for Maduro and the socialist
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regime regime it’s just a question of
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how this plays out but so what happened
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was clearly wrong white dough had a lot
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of contacts back into the military there
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was information moving back and forth he
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was well informed I it’s very likely I
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don’t want to say to anything more than
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that but very likely that based on all
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the lists that windows organization also
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had contact back to the US he does have
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an ambassador here in the United States
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one boy doe has an ambassador here in
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Washington DC and so I mean there was
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two-way communication almost certainly
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going on and also with like I said
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looking at what the military the
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military was ready to kind of move
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against Maduro clearly that was the case
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the United States was brought to believe
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that it was true and then all the
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pressure was brought to bear Maduro was
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ready to run and this is some of what we
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had been talking about before he was
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ready to roll and get out he was on an
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airplane and the Russian stopped him and
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kept him at this military base that’s
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run by the Cubans now I’m talking about
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that a little bit there’s about 20,000
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Cubans there now that’s that’s quite a
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few people now the Cubans themselves are
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adamant that those are not soldiers
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they’re they’re saying that there are
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health care education and basic
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infrastructure workers that’s what
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they’re saying well let me take you back
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a little bit in history back in the 80s
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when Ronald Reagan was president and we
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invaded a little island called Grenada I
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won’t go into the full story but there
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was quite a few Cubans on a little Lian
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Island a very small population there are
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quite a few Cubans there too and they
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were all said by at that time to be
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exactly the same health care workers
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education workers and basic
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infrastructure workers that was exactly
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what they said at the time well when we
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invaded those were all organized armed
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organized small tactics they put
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together a couple of ambushes against
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our troops and the Marines that were
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part of the invasion and ended up
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killing and wounding
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two Americans were killed in a couple of
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these ambushes and several others were
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wounded as a result I mean they were all
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clearly trained military units now this
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20,000 that’s there that they say our
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medical healthcare and and and basic
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infrastructure building people I
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guarantee you almost all of those are
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military trained they may also have
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separate duties where they’re performing
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health duties are so on that could be
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your educational duties that may be but
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they’re still integrated units and on in
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Grenada if they found a huge weapons
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cache ready for all you know they could
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have according to US military reporting
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they could have fielded two battalions I
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mean that’s a lot of stuff and so you
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can be guaranteed that it’s precisely
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the same thing here so if it comes to
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actual boots on the ground fighting this
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is gonna be a problem because 20,000
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troops
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I think Cuba learned last time and
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that’s why you see so many of them in
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visit Venezuela because the Ministry of
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the Army’s not gonna want to fight the
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US troops they’re just not going to want
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to do it but the Cubans they’ll do
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they’ll fight so I think that’s what
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they want to do is raise the level of
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cost if the United States decides to
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intervene I think that’s precisely what
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they’re doing now again why would
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anybody be putting so much effort into
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this Russia you know Cuba’s broke they
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don’t have money to have 20,000 troops
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maintained at a base in Venezuela the
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Venezuelans don’t have money to maintain
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20,000 Cubans in there so somebody else
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is footing the bill with Russia having
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brought in advisors and so on of course
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they’re the number one
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group of people that I would be
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suspicious of and a couple things on
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that like I said I think Russia wants to
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do it because it gives them a base of
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operations so close to the United States
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and I think they would like to actually
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have a military base in Venezuela and
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this Alba organization that I mentioned
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it’s this organization of socialist
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States within Latin America so that
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gives them then a platform to branch out
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into Latin America and try to an old
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revision of say the domino theory where
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they can start picking off these Latin
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American countries and certainly Mexico
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has always had good relationships
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these sorts of groups and leftist
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philosophy and so on so and then that
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puts them on our southern border with a
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large organized multi country group that
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can do a lot to make problems for the
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United States but where the other ask
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where does Iran fit in all this though
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because I know Iran fits in there they
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are there and they’ve also got advisors
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advisors in Venezuela and some financial
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interests because they do shipping lines
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and so on the barter system that you
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typically find among socialist countries
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because they don’t have an economy that
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can afford anything so those things are
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going on too and they seem to be very
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organized in working with Venezuela that
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level of cooperation taking place
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between socialist countries socialist
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philosophy the left here in the United
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States and Canada and Europe is the same
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they are cooperating with the Islamic
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radical movement so there’s close
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cooperation that’s where Iran is
0:09:41.770,0:09:46.570
involved in this and the tribe border
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area that people talk about which is
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kind of a no man’s own right in the
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middle of Latin America all of those
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areas are very busy hot beds of activity
0:09:53.260,0:09:57.460
for radical Islam and different all the
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different groups are represented there
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so that’s that’s where Iran is coming in
0:09:59.620,0:10:04.390
so it’s a real value to them but I don’t
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think with the you know the economic
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sanctions that we have on Iran I don’t
0:10:06.010,0:10:09.970
think they’re in a position currently to
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continue to invest in that so I think
0:10:09.970,0:10:15.760
the money is mainly coming out of being
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funded by Russia part of this – this
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Russia angle on it is is you know Venice
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was big and in narcotics now and again
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using the example of qubit something we
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see very very similar Cuba was bigger
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than our colleagues in the 80s and they
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got caught and they were just in the
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United States who are building a case in
0:10:31.060,0:10:37.960
New York to indict Fidel Castro and so
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Fidel Castro says he got wind of that
0:10:37.960,0:10:41.740
all this got publicized and they were
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building in the case and showed clear
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forward-looking infrared photographs of
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of aircraft coming in and dropping into
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the water next to Cuba and then picking
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up all these floating cocaine bags and
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and then putting him on speedboats and
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taking them off to hit Florida someplace
0:10:56.470,0:11:00.160
all while that was being photographed so
0:10:58.030,0:11:01.840
they’re building up to indict Fidel
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Castro now Fidel Castro would come to
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New York and do all of these different
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trial
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and things like that so he didn’t want
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to be indicted so what he did is he
0:11:07.120,0:11:10.510
picked four people that were involved
0:11:08.470,0:11:12.550
one of them was a very popular general
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named Ocho which you know Fidel Castro
0:11:12.550,0:11:16.150
didn’t like popular other people either
0:11:14.020,0:11:18.790
so it was a good excuse of two four in
0:11:16.150,0:11:19.420
that case and he shot all four of those
0:11:18.790,0:11:20.860
people
0:11:19.420,0:11:22.810
Tony day LaGuardia and his main
0:11:20.860,0:11:25.180
assistant and General Ocho and his main
0:11:22.810,0:11:27.130
assistant shot all four bit firing squad
0:11:25.180,0:11:28.360
and then said okay we punished a guilty
0:11:27.130,0:11:30.100
were no longer you know we’re not
0:11:28.360,0:11:32.350
involved in narcotics and he changed how
0:11:30.100,0:11:34.060
all that business was done but to
0:11:32.350,0:11:36.610
suggest that millions of dollars were
0:11:34.060,0:11:38.140
pumped into the Cuban economy an island
0:11:36.610,0:11:39.910
of ten million people and Fidel Castro
0:11:38.140,0:11:41.830
didn’t know about it as ludicrous I mean
0:11:39.910,0:11:43.150
absolutely ludicrous but that was how it
0:11:41.830,0:11:45.940
played out and what do you do you know
0:11:43.150,0:11:47.620
that he didn’t do the legal case you
0:11:45.940,0:11:51.100
know executed these four people and said
0:11:47.620,0:11:52.240
okay the guilty been punished but we’re
0:11:51.100,0:11:54.970
seeing something similar play out in
0:11:52.240,0:11:56.860
Venezuela huge huge amounts of cocaine
0:11:54.970,0:11:58.270
being moved through and they’re doing
0:11:56.860,0:12:01.360
something very odd they’re flying many
0:11:58.270,0:12:03.279
of these cocaine shipments into Honduras
0:12:01.360,0:12:05.680
and they’re burning the aircraft there
0:12:03.279,0:12:07.180
in Honduras only using him once now I’ve
0:12:05.680,0:12:09.880
followed you know if you go back from
0:12:07.180,0:12:12.700
the 80s from from you know the cocaine
0:12:09.880,0:12:15.220
cowboy days when what all of us really
0:12:12.700,0:12:17.380
got started in that in in in big numbers
0:12:15.220,0:12:18.880
and big money they had never burned
0:12:17.380,0:12:19.930
those aircraft they were always making
0:12:18.880,0:12:21.880
millions of dollars they could have
0:12:19.930,0:12:24.279
always afforded to burn an aircraft
0:12:21.880,0:12:26.740
after a single use but never did until
0:12:24.279,0:12:28.720
now and it’s through Venezuela so
0:12:26.740,0:12:30.520
there’s that can the only thing that
0:12:28.720,0:12:33.130
makes any sense just Arkham’s Berets are
0:12:30.520,0:12:35.410
picking the one outcome that fits all of
0:12:33.130,0:12:37.240
this data is that somebody’s disguising
0:12:35.410,0:12:40.150
their involvement in the cocaine trade
0:12:37.240,0:12:41.529
and to disguise that involvement they
0:12:40.150,0:12:42.670
have to burn these aircraft because they
0:12:41.529,0:12:45.040
don’t want these aircraft getting
0:12:42.670,0:12:47.740
captured or spotted you know afterwards
0:12:45.040,0:12:52.570
flying back so they have to destroy them
0:12:47.740,0:12:55.330
going there now that to me is is an
0:12:52.570,0:12:57.130
indication that somebody like Russia who
0:12:55.330,0:12:58.900
has plenty of aircraft to throw out the
0:12:57.130,0:13:00.459
problem he’s flying him in bringing him
0:12:58.900,0:13:02.680
to Cuba flying them across over to
0:13:00.459,0:13:04.300
Venezuela from there and and then using
0:13:02.680,0:13:06.130
them in the cocaine trade and it burns
0:13:04.300,0:13:07.360
them on the spot and they do make a lot
0:13:06.130,0:13:09.370
of money but that means Russia is making
0:13:07.360,0:13:10.959
a lot of money out of this so I think
0:13:09.370,0:13:12.940
that’s the other aspect of it big
0:13:10.959,0:13:14.000
political ambitions that they can use in
0:13:12.940,0:13:15.560
Latin America and the
0:13:14.000,0:13:19.610
money that they’re making in the cocaine
0:13:15.560,0:13:22.550
trade the the number two behind Maduro
0:13:19.610,0:13:24.230
has been implicated many times in our
0:13:22.550,0:13:25.670
car in the narcotics trade so that’s the
0:13:24.230,0:13:27.920
guy running it from Maduro and the
0:13:25.670,0:13:29.630
Venezuelans and he’s not doing it on his
0:13:27.920,0:13:31.130
own clearly in conjunction with the big
0:13:29.630,0:13:33.920
narco traffickers out of Colombia
0:13:31.130,0:13:35.420
clearly done with Cuban Russia he’s
0:13:33.920,0:13:37.310
using a lot of the methodology that the
0:13:35.420,0:13:39.380
Cubans sort of blazed the trail for if
0:13:37.310,0:13:42.290
you will so I think that’s the Nexus I
0:13:39.380,0:13:45.440
think they’re making money and it lets
0:13:42.290,0:13:47.330
them finance what they’re doing there so
0:13:45.440,0:13:49.520
it’s well worth having for them at very
0:13:47.330,0:13:50.980
little cost and that takes us back to
0:13:49.520,0:13:53.810
what we discussed at the beginning
0:13:50.980,0:13:55.580
Maduro was on an airplane ready to take
0:13:53.810,0:13:57.950
off and leave was gonna go to Cuba
0:13:55.580,0:13:59.240
probably onward to Spain from there but
0:13:57.950,0:14:01.130
he was gonna go to get on an airplane
0:13:59.240,0:14:02.780
and leave now he was stopped and wasn’t
0:14:01.130,0:14:06.110
allowed to leave or talked out of
0:14:02.780,0:14:07.940
leaving by the Russians so the Russians
0:14:06.110,0:14:09.680
have taken this whole situation where
0:14:07.940,0:14:11.330
the United States clearly we thought it
0:14:09.680,0:14:14.120
was in hand and that we were going to
0:14:11.330,0:14:16.670
get rid of Maduro and they jumped it up
0:14:14.120,0:14:17.450
a whole new at a whole new level to a
0:14:16.670,0:14:19.070
whole new level
0:14:17.450,0:14:21.500
and that’s that’s where we stand right
0:14:19.070,0:14:23.570
now there’s there’s Maduro has asked for
0:14:21.500,0:14:25.370
a military uprising it has not taken
0:14:23.570,0:14:27.589
place there have been riots in the
0:14:25.370,0:14:29.300
street the Maduro regime is running
0:14:27.589,0:14:31.040
people over in the streets with armored
0:14:29.300,0:14:33.170
vehicles they’re shooting some people in
0:14:31.040,0:14:35.690
the streets certainly they’re willing to
0:14:33.170,0:14:37.220
kill local population there’s just no
0:14:35.690,0:14:39.620
question now who is driving those
0:14:37.220,0:14:41.120
vehicles it’s probably the Cuban troops
0:14:39.620,0:14:42.740
that are that are doing a lot of the
0:14:41.120,0:14:44.810
actual killing and not so much the
0:14:42.740,0:14:45.830
actual Venezuelan troops because they’re
0:14:44.810,0:14:48.710
not going to want to shoot their own
0:14:45.830,0:14:50.680
people so I think we expect we may be
0:14:48.710,0:14:53.330
seeing some of that in France actually
0:14:50.680,0:14:54.680
uh yeah you know I wouldn’t be surprised
0:14:53.330,0:14:57.230
the problems are starting to become
0:14:54.680,0:14:58.850
really serious in France and I think
0:14:57.230,0:15:01.100
we’ve seen the yellow vest movement
0:14:58.850,0:15:02.870
start to push and push and push harder
0:15:01.100,0:15:07.100
and harder and harder and we’re starting
0:15:02.870,0:15:10.430
to see essentially a brexit you know
0:15:07.100,0:15:12.260
kind of consensus start to rise in some
0:15:10.430,0:15:14.170
of these other countries and there are
0:15:12.260,0:15:17.060
other European Union countries that are
0:15:14.170,0:15:20.930
seriously starting to discuss leaving
0:15:17.060,0:15:22.790
the European Union so I would say storm
0:15:20.930,0:15:25.410
clouds on the horizon in Western Europe
0:15:22.790,0:15:28.079
for the for the EU
0:15:25.410,0:15:30.929
and they used just its consolidating and
0:15:28.079,0:15:33.239
hardening its position as as a socialist
0:15:30.929,0:15:34.649
entities and so I think the people are
0:15:33.239,0:15:37.789
starting to react to that and they just
0:15:34.649,0:15:40.349
burrow down into the goofiest stuff like
0:15:37.789,0:15:42.119
the size motor you can have on a vacuum
0:15:40.349,0:15:44.609
cleaner and a hair dryer
0:15:42.119,0:15:45.599
blow dryer for a woman’s hair and things
0:15:44.609,0:15:47.369
like that you know they’re they’re
0:15:45.599,0:15:49.379
brewing down so and getting these so
0:15:47.369,0:15:51.749
light motored that they can’t really be
0:15:49.379,0:15:53.639
used to do with their purposes you know
0:15:51.749,0:15:56.609
they’re too weak to back you actually
0:15:53.639,0:15:57.929
clean the house and and they’re doing it
0:15:56.609,0:15:59.579
because they want to even use less
0:15:57.929,0:16:03.359
energy and all of that but it’s the
0:15:59.579,0:16:06.689
excuse yeah what’s your prediction for
0:16:03.359,0:16:08.129
Venezuela though Venice was tough I
0:16:06.689,0:16:11.159
think the United States is committed now
0:16:08.129,0:16:14.129
so now we’re going to see the we’re
0:16:11.159,0:16:17.579
gonna see how hardened we are I think if
0:16:14.129,0:16:18.899
it were up to me and being experienced
0:16:17.579,0:16:22.049
in this sort of thing I think what I
0:16:18.899,0:16:23.939
would try to do is defect military unit
0:16:22.049,0:16:26.189
units over to walk and wydo have
0:16:23.939,0:16:28.229
military units on the ground claim
0:16:26.189,0:16:30.539
control of the situation and ask for air
0:16:28.229,0:16:32.519
support from the United States put a
0:16:30.539,0:16:34.289
carrier task force off the coast and
0:16:32.519,0:16:36.839
then come to the aid through air
0:16:34.289,0:16:39.239
superiority of those Venezuelan troops
0:16:36.839,0:16:40.919
on the ground to help them I think
0:16:39.239,0:16:43.109
that’s the best-case scenario of how
0:16:40.919,0:16:45.299
this plays out the Russians have
0:16:43.109,0:16:50.069
hardened the position there of Maduro
0:16:45.299,0:16:51.720
the you know the dictator of venezuela
0:16:50.069,0:16:55.369
right now who does not have popular
0:16:51.720,0:16:57.389
support but he’s got all the guns and
0:16:55.369,0:16:59.939
venezuela was one of those countries
0:16:57.389,0:17:02.489
that that banned guns in private hands
0:16:59.939,0:17:04.470
ten years ago or so under who Chavez
0:17:02.489,0:17:05.879
because they all knew what was coming
0:17:04.470,0:17:08.189
you know they knew the money was going
0:17:05.879,0:17:11.579
to run out this was all cold calculated
0:17:08.189,0:17:13.740
stuff and so they took away all of the
0:17:11.579,0:17:16.230
arms from private private possession and
0:17:13.740,0:17:17.730
this is why and now you’re seeing the
0:17:16.230,0:17:19.379
results of it and that’s why innocent
0:17:17.730,0:17:22.980
people in the street you don’t like the
0:17:19.379,0:17:25.289
system and all voted it down are now
0:17:22.980,0:17:27.209
basically held hostage and and killed it
0:17:25.289,0:17:29.039
as a whim there’s not much they can do
0:17:27.209,0:17:30.360
because they just don’t have guns and
0:17:29.039,0:17:32.129
ammunition to fight back or defend
0:17:30.360,0:17:34.320
themselves so that’s a historical
0:17:32.129,0:17:35.200
constant so I think one of the one of
0:17:34.320,0:17:37.539
the one of the
0:17:35.200,0:17:41.279
critics one of the common things critics
0:17:37.539,0:17:43.630
of American policy might say is that
0:17:41.279,0:17:47.350
they’re afraid that they would see a
0:17:43.630,0:17:50.309
Russian American direct confrontation
0:17:47.350,0:17:54.159
over Venezuela do you see that happening
0:17:50.309,0:17:55.779
no not really I have I’ve heard stuff
0:17:54.159,0:17:57.610
like that but it’s not it’s not what I
0:17:55.779,0:18:00.850
consider at least a mainstream response
0:17:57.610,0:18:02.529
I mean it’s conceivable I mean it’s
0:18:00.850,0:18:04.179
theoretically possible I mean the earth
0:18:02.529,0:18:05.919
being destroyed by a meteorite tomorrow
0:18:04.179,0:18:08.590
at midnight is also theoretically
0:18:05.919,0:18:10.330
possible but it just doesn’t mean it’s
0:18:08.590,0:18:12.490
gonna happen so those those theoretical
0:18:10.330,0:18:14.649
discussions are kind of a I don’t know
0:18:12.490,0:18:16.960
it’s not yeah you can say it and not be
0:18:14.649,0:18:18.610
a bald-faced liar completely but it’s
0:18:16.960,0:18:22.929
just not something that’s that’s that’s
0:18:18.610,0:18:24.580
highly likely it’s Russia’s supply lines
0:18:22.929,0:18:27.460
and all of that are just so far away I
0:18:24.580,0:18:29.350
mean maybe if push comes to shove and
0:18:27.460,0:18:31.840
say the scenario I was discussing where
0:18:29.350,0:18:34.240
air support comes in that that
0:18:31.840,0:18:36.940
connection starts to be kind of tenuous
0:18:34.240,0:18:38.860
if there’s Russians in Venezuelan tanks
0:18:36.940,0:18:41.110
roaring up and down the streets trying
0:18:38.860,0:18:44.380
to fight back at the venezuelan troops
0:18:41.110,0:18:48.100
that are supporting bueno along the
0:18:44.380,0:18:49.809
window then you know you know american
0:18:48.100,0:18:51.309
planes come in and just take all those
0:18:49.809,0:18:53.889
out you have Russian troops got killed
0:18:51.309,0:18:56.139
but they were in Venezuelan tanks so you
0:18:53.889,0:18:58.210
know that’s that would be the area where
0:18:56.139,0:19:01.240
confrontation would take place and is
0:18:58.210,0:19:02.860
Russia gonna go to war over that back in
0:19:01.240,0:19:04.899
Europe are they gonna roll tanks into
0:19:02.860,0:19:07.539
Europe are they gonna fire nukes at the
0:19:04.899,0:19:09.010
US I mean what would be the method where
0:19:07.539,0:19:10.809
they would strike back I just don’t see
0:19:09.010,0:19:13.299
any of those things being very likely
0:19:10.809,0:19:15.760
all right for them to start I can’t help
0:19:13.299,0:19:18.070
but think that the Russians should be
0:19:15.760,0:19:20.470
pretty satisfied with Crimea which was
0:19:18.070,0:19:22.299
there near far and I would think that
0:19:20.470,0:19:24.880
they would say you know I could kind of
0:19:22.299,0:19:29.409
get America not wanting us in there near
0:19:24.880,0:19:30.760
far but I mean maybe I’m hey I’m sorry I
0:19:29.409,0:19:32.799
was gonna say we’ve talked about Ukraine
0:19:30.760,0:19:35.289
before I think what was done to Ukraine
0:19:32.799,0:19:38.019
was a travesty Island personally I’d
0:19:35.289,0:19:40.690
like to see support go back into Ukraine
0:19:38.019,0:19:42.279
and and and take this dance over to the
0:19:40.690,0:19:45.010
Ukraine and face the Russians there
0:19:42.279,0:19:46.240
which Trump might be willing to do that
0:19:45.010,0:19:48.039
we’ll see but I don’t know what his
0:19:46.240,0:19:48.999
policy advisors are saying on that
0:19:48.039,0:19:50.589
although
0:19:48.999,0:19:53.559
John Bolton’s guys act together he’s a
0:19:50.589,0:19:55.899
very smart man so well we’ll see what he
0:19:53.559,0:19:58.569
does not on the Ukraine front but here I
0:19:55.899,0:20:00.189
the other mainstream opposition view
0:19:58.569,0:20:01.959
that I hear a lot is well then what
0:20:00.189,0:20:03.819
happens after we’re bogged down in
0:20:01.959,0:20:06.279
Venezuela for decades and decades and
0:20:03.819,0:20:07.839
you know in another generation and we’re
0:20:06.279,0:20:10.359
gonna have to be there and cost money in
0:20:07.839,0:20:12.009
love of Allah well I I don’t see that as
0:20:10.359,0:20:14.559
being a very realistic argument either
0:20:12.009,0:20:16.389
it just it’s loop it’s less likely than
0:20:14.559,0:20:19.749
it is more likely to play out that way
0:20:16.389,0:20:21.789
and why well 20 years ago Venezuela had
0:20:19.749,0:20:23.079
one of the largest the largest economy
0:20:21.789,0:20:25.989
in Latin America and one of the largest
0:20:23.079,0:20:27.729
economies in the world so they just need
0:20:25.989,0:20:30.009
the expertise to come back to help
0:20:27.729,0:20:32.019
develop oil fields and then start to
0:20:30.009,0:20:33.639
build out the economy from there you
0:20:32.019,0:20:36.189
know everybody who’s thirty years old
0:20:33.639,0:20:38.559
and older in Venezuela was alive back
0:20:36.189,0:20:40.919
when the economy was normal so all your
0:20:38.559,0:20:43.659
working adults I mean your main working
0:20:40.919,0:20:46.179
population you can say is between say
0:20:43.659,0:20:49.419
thirty to sixty or thirty to sixty five
0:20:46.179,0:20:51.399
all of those guys knew what a real
0:20:49.419,0:20:54.279
economy was like so that expertise is
0:20:51.399,0:20:56.289
mostly there the planet e there’s a big
0:20:54.279,0:20:58.719
expat community that would go back in an
0:20:56.289,0:21:00.159
instant yes that looks exactly where I
0:20:58.719,0:21:02.319
was going next with this you’d have a
0:21:00.159,0:21:05.019
large expat community that would gladly
0:21:02.319,0:21:06.669
go back and all of the big oil companies
0:21:05.019,0:21:10.479
that were in Venezuela before that got
0:21:06.669,0:21:12.039
chased out by the Chavez socialist
0:21:10.479,0:21:14.649
regime those guys are still there
0:21:12.039,0:21:16.329
they’re mostly still around so the
0:21:14.649,0:21:16.839
expertise is out there can come back
0:21:16.329,0:21:20.349
quickly
0:21:16.839,0:21:22.809
most of the democratic ideals and
0:21:20.349,0:21:25.089
economic views and expertise that’s
0:21:22.809,0:21:26.679
required it’s all in place so yeah I
0:21:25.089,0:21:28.269
mean there’s gonna take some time to
0:21:26.679,0:21:30.219
turn it around but the very first thing
0:21:28.269,0:21:32.529
would be going to have elections you
0:21:30.219,0:21:34.419
then set up a democratic economy and a
0:21:32.529,0:21:36.729
Democratic president and a political
0:21:34.419,0:21:38.379
system and I think things would come
0:21:36.729,0:21:41.139
roaring back pretty quickly so I just
0:21:38.379,0:21:43.059
really all of that naysaying is all
0:21:41.139,0:21:45.519
theoretical there’s very little based on
0:21:43.059,0:21:48.429
fact they’re not it’s it’s it’s not
0:21:45.519,0:21:50.739
countries that have been under like
0:21:48.429,0:21:54.929
Romania or something that was under the
0:21:50.739,0:21:58.269
Soviet yoke or well socialist yoke under
0:21:54.929,0:22:00.519
their own regime but still you know for
0:21:58.269,0:22:01.880
70 or 80 years where all of that
0:22:00.519,0:22:04.040
expertise was then gone
0:22:01.880,0:22:05.510
spend a much shorter period so there
0:22:04.040,0:22:08.090
they’re just not it’s just not that
0:22:05.510,0:22:09.530
similar to one of those hard socialist
0:22:08.090,0:22:11.060
countries it’s been socialist forever
0:22:09.530,0:22:13.310
and they don’t have any economic
0:22:11.060,0:22:15.800
education and what they taught was not
0:22:13.310,0:22:18.470
economics what they taught was social
0:22:15.800,0:22:20.240
economics political economics so they’re
0:22:18.470,0:22:22.520
not they don’t know what it real
0:22:20.240,0:22:25.070
economics is they call it economics but
0:22:22.520,0:22:28.370
it’s political theory it’s not economics
0:22:25.070,0:22:30.320
so Venezuela doesn’t have that so I just
0:22:28.370,0:22:32.420
I don’t see that criticism as being very
0:22:30.320,0:22:35.600
realistic I got to agree having been to
0:22:32.420,0:22:38.870
Venezuela myself about a dozen times
0:22:35.600,0:22:40.730
before before Chavez I think your
0:22:38.870,0:22:42.260
assessments exactly right Brad Johnson
0:22:40.730,0:22:44.630
thank you very much for taking the time
0:22:42.260,0:22:47.060
to update us it’s an important story and
0:22:44.630,0:22:48.350
of course we’ve learned what if we’ve
0:22:47.060,0:22:52.220
learned anything in the last few years
0:22:48.350,0:22:53.960
we’ve learned that the entire media
0:22:52.220,0:22:55.550
structure of the Western world is
0:22:53.960,0:22:58.370
determined not to let us know anything
0:22:55.550,0:22:59.930
real or true so it’s very much
0:22:58.370,0:23:02.870
appreciated when we can speak some of
0:22:59.930,0:23:05.480
that information samizdat style through
0:23:02.870,0:23:10.570
to the public we’ll catch up again in
0:23:05.480,0:23:10.570
another subject soon all right thank you
0:23:45.330,0:23:48.500
[Music]
