What A Day - The U.S. Takes Aim At Venezuela

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

This week, President Donald Trump told reporters that he would be willing to hold talks with Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. His statements came as the Navy’s largest aircraft carrier arrived in the Caribbean Sea. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has conducted weeks of attacks on alleged drug boats off the coast of the South American country. But these drug trafficking allegations might just be a distraction from the real focus of Trump’s Venezuela ire. Over the weekend, Politico published a piece alleging that White House officials have begun planning for a “post-Maduro” Venezuela, including different options for countries to exile him to. To talk more about Venezuela, regime change, and the perils of war in South America, we spoke with Juan Sebastian Gonzalez, former National Security Council Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere under President Joe Biden.And in headlines, President Trump is meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince at the White House, the United Nations Security Council approves Trump’s plan for the future of Gaza, and the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey may be faltering.Show Notes:Call Congress – 202-224-3121Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's Tuesday, November 18th. I'm Jane Koston, and this is What Today? The show that can't believe President Donald Trump released those files. You know, the ones on Amelia Earhart, the aeronautical hero who disappeared while trying to circumnavigate the world in 1937. Wait, what files did you think I was talking about? On today's show, President Trump is meeting with Saudi Arabia's crown prince at the White House, and the United Nations Security Council approves Trump's plan for the future of Gaza. But let's start with Venezuela.

After weeks of attacks on alleged drug boats off the coast of the South American country, President Trump made his plans for dealing with Venezuela clear on Monday in response to a question in the Oval Office. And by clear, I mean, whatever the opposite of clear is, opaque, I guess. Is there anything you're ready to rule out at this point? Are you ruling out U.S. troops on the ground? No, I don't rule that. I don't rule out anything. We just have to take care of Venezuela.

They dumped. Sounds like mob talk to me. This came a day after Trump said that he would be willing to hold talks with Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro. That was the same day that the Navy's largest aircraft carrier arrived in the Caribbean Sea for reasons. It seems like the Trump administration is trying to have its regime change cake and eat it too. But why? Well, we've gotten contradictory response. For example, a Justice Department memo giving approval for the strikes on alleged drugboats

argues that the United States is in an armed conflict with, quote, narco-terrorist drug cartels. The memo uses the White House's own reasoning that cartels are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States from drug overdoses. But, as the New York Times says, repeatedly pointed out, most of those overdoses are from fentanyl, which Venezuela does not produce. And these drug allegations might just be a distraction from the real focus of Trump's Venezuela ire. Over the weekend, Politico published a piece alleging that White House officials have begun planning for a post-Maduro Venezuela, including different options for countries to exile him to. So to talk more about Venezuela, regime change, and the perils of war in South America,

I spoke with Juan Sebastian Gonzalez, former National Security Council Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere under President Joe Biden. Juan, welcome to Wadaday. Thanks for having me. On Sunday, the U.S. Navy announced that the USS Gerald Ford, which is the world's largest aircraft carrier, has entered the Caribbean Sea. What message is the Trump administration sending with this action? Well, with the aircraft, we have gone from a symbolic presence to a credible, I think, threat posture just off of Venezuela's coast. So I think they're upping the ante here.

Whereas before you had significant naval assets. In addition to the carrier strike group, they had amphibious readiness group. They had a bunch of destroyers. The F-35s are in Puerto Rico. But now they have roughly around 15,000 troops. They have enough to actually take Venezuela, from my perspective. Fantastic. I love doing war for reasons I don't 100% understand.

And that actually gets to something. I was curious to hear from you. So the subtext of the last few weeks has been that the U.S. wants regime change in Venezuela. That's kind of what people have been saying and what we've been hearing. But President Trump told reporters on Monday that he would, quote, probably talk with Venezuelan president, Nicholas Maduro at some point, the same Nicholas Maduro whom this White House has alleged to be basically a narco terrorist. One, what's going on here?

And two, what would you expect to see from those talks if they did actually take place? Yeah, I mean, well, the existence of a channel for dialogue I think is a very good thing, regardless, because when you have that sort of force presence, there is the risk of an accidental confrontation that would, you know, catalyze a broader intervention. That's incredibly dangerous. But, you know, so when I think about what Trump is doing, there's one cynical perspective. The first is that this is all really about migration. This entire deployment is just so that the administration can continue to use the Alien Enemies Act. to deport Venezuelans without due process, right? And right now the majority of migrants that are getting to third countries are Venezuelans. The other is that this is Trump really upping the ante to try to get a better deal from Maduro. Maduro, like right away agreed to a migration accord and has been very pliant. And so, you know, Trump is up in the ante to see if there's more that he can get. Is this actually regime change operation? I think, I think from Rubio's perspective, it certainly is. And I think that, you know, he has the support of the kind of South Florida

diaspora, but the way he's trying to sell it to the rest of the country is by merging the war on terror with the war on drugs, you know, combined with his fascist domestic migration policy, it is all really interlinked. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because I think that that South Florida note is really important here, because this is not new for Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He was talking about Maduro as a threat when he was a senator from Florida. And there has been a real relationship between Venezuelan expats in South Florida talking about the need for regime change and kind of building that up as a political force. And can you talk about like where is this coming from,

how is this happening, and what part does Rubio play in it? Yeah. I mean, well, look, it's my personal views. Even though Mark Rubio is a secretary of state, he's fundamentally still a South Florida politician. And so I think he's listening primarily to the diaspora community from South Florida that is very much pushing for the United States to get involved. I think they underestimate, particularly since they're not listening to the intelligence community, they're underestimating the consequences of Maluto's removal. That's just the beginning of a process. And even though you look at the Venezuelan military, they do not have the kind of order of battle to be able to defend against the U.S. assault. So what they're doing is they're posturing toward a guerrilla

a battle and kind of urban disruption. And that's something where if the U.S. comes in and there is some sort of removal of Maduro, the idea that you're going to install Edmundo Gonzalez, who won the elections last year overwhelmingly, or Maria Corina Machado, who is part of the leaders, one of the leaders of the opposition, the idea that they're just going to govern without significant U.S. troops on the ground really has no bearing on reality. But a lot of this is being pushed primarily by the hardline elements of the opposition. The opposition falls into to this broader spectrum, where you have some that are finding ways to work with the government. There are still pockets of democracy within Venezuela mayors and some governors are elected.

It's the presidency, really, that is really stuck. And they want the U.S. basically to fix their problem for them. Before Trump mentioned those potential talks with Maduro, Secretary of State, Rubio, tweeted that the State Department is planning to designate the Cartel de Los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization. The Trump administration has claimed that Maduro is the head of this cartel. But is this cartel even a real organization, and what is Maduro's actual relationship with it? Yeah, it isn't. You know, the designation significantly ups the ante, and by linking Maduro, I think it provides political and legal justification for these extrajudicial killings at sea, but also potentially for action on land.

But the Cartel de Los Solis, and this is not me. You look at inside crime, which is a very respected research institution. You even have the intelligence community. The Cartel de Los Soles is a made-up name that refers to elements of the Venezuelan government, military and politicians that are involved in drug trafficking. That definitely happens. But, you know, they're being described as the largest cartel in the world. That's Cina Loa and Mexico.

I mean, when you look at the cocaine trade, 95% of the cocaine that comes to the United States, comes from Colombia. Five percent of that transits through Venezuela. the 75% goes through the Pacific. And so the whole argument that this is a counter-narcotics operation is just no bearing on reality. I mean, even just the deployment is a huge kind of overcomplement to what would be the requirements of a traditional counter-narcotics mission. So this is really, it looks, walks, and talks like a regime change preparation from my perspective. Earlier this month, Senate Republicans voted against legislation that would have required congressional approval for the Trump of

administration to keep carrying out strikes against Venezuela. Are there any other ways that checks can be placed in the Trump administration's ability to carry out these strikes? You know, if you see the reporting on it was interesting because I think the administration was concerned that they were going to lose, that as actually the resolution was going to pass. So Ruby had to go up to the hill and they had to, according to the press, provide assurances that they did not have the legal justification yet to be able to attack inside of Venezuela. And that's how they actually were able to diffuse the passage of this war powers resolution. But if this administration, escalates by, you know, maybe shooting tomahawks on land to particular targets, you may see

that that resolution is revived. And it really is key because the president of the United States does not have and should never have this authority to engage in unilateral extraditional killings. I think it's important to mention, too, that so, you know, if you look at the UN charter and international humanitarian law, thresholds for the use of force, this does not meet those. It has to be an eminent threat against the United States, and just labeling a gang as a foreign terrorist organization is not a license to kill. What is really alarming is that, according to some of the kind of national security lawyers that I've spoken to, is that there are potential domestic implications to this legal justification the administration has. So if you're designated as an enemy combatant, even if you're an American citizen and you're on U.S. soil, then you're a fair game to either have your asset seized, to be detained without due process, or even to be killed on U.S.

And I think as Americans start to understand that this precedent that the administration is trying to set has very much direct link to the domestic project of deploying the National Guard, using ICE as a sort of pseudo-gastapo to really violate, I think, the rights of freedoms of even undocumented, but even U.S. citizens that are of a certain skin color, I think it should be very alarming to Americans. President Trump already tried and failed to force regime change in Venezuela during his first term. You've mentioned concerns about the second order effects, which anyone who remembers the Iraq war will say, yeah, that all makes sense because we were there for 20 years and here we are now. But what are your other concerns if the Trump administration continues to escalate and push for regime change this time around? Yeah, I mean, the first thing is that this administration is dealing with a mess of its own creation. So the mismanagement of the economy, the corruption has, you know, has led to an outflow of Venezuela. migrants. But it wasn't until the administration under Trump 1 imposed these sectoral sanctions that you see this huge spike in outbound migration. So, you know, and the destabilization,

the humanitarian crisis is all now that they're trying to actually deal with a regime change effort. So you're going to start seeing a situation where kind of a break-it-you-by-it situation where if they don't go in after removing Maduro, the country will descend into chaos. Even though 70% of Venezuela's voted against Maduro, I guess the ingredients exist there for there to be violence. Now, if the U.S. goes in, this is something that's going to going to happen for the long haul. But it is, I mean, you mentioned Iraq. There is this mentality right now where if you're not for regime change, then you're a supporter of Maduro, just like if you were against the Iraq invasion, you're a supporter of Saddam. And that's unfortunately, I think,

eliminating any sort of space for debate. Juan, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. Thanks for having me. That was my conversation with Juan Sebastian Gonzalez, former National Security Council Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere under President Biden. We'll get to more of the news in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, watch us on YouTube, and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. What a day is brought to you by Zbiotics pre-alcohol. Whether you're raising a glass to your team winning, catching up with old buddies back in town,

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Head of lines. Are you planning to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia? No. Are you looking at doing a similar security agreement like you did with time? Yeah, no, I am planning on doing it. You're going to buy it. They've been a great ally. They've got to like us very much.

In case you're wondering, Trump said that he lost his voice yelling at, quote, stupid people. Anyway, Trump told reporters Monday that he intends to approve Saudi Arabia's request to buy advanced U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets. That's just one item on the agenda when Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, crown prince Mohammed Bid Salman, better known as MBS, meets President Trump at the White House today. According to Reuters, Trump intends to strengthen decades-old partnerships on oil and security and explore new collaborations in tech, commerce, and possibly nuclear energy. It's MBS's first U.S. visit since the 2018 murder of journalist and critic of the crown prince, Jamal Khashoggi. A killing U.S. intelligence says MBS personally sanctioned.

But that pesky detail aside, Trump is looking to capitalize on the $600 billion investment pledged Saudi Arabia made during his visit to the kingdom in May, a trip where he avoided any talk of human rights and is expected to do so again. Shocking. A federal magistrate judge said Monday that the criminal case against former FBI director James Comey may be faltering. Why? Because Lindsay Halligan, the inexperienced prosecutor handpicked by President Trump, made a series of apparent errors before the grand jury. In a lengthy ruling, the judge ordered Halligan to fork over all the grand jury materials

used to obtain Comey's indictment. Judge William Fitzpatty, Patrick also posited whether, quote, government misconduct in the case merited dismissing it altogether. He even noted that when Halligan appeared alone before the grand jury in September to seek an indictment, she made at least two, quote, fundamental and highly prejudicial misstatements of law because of that whole inexperienced prosecutor thing. Fitzpatrick added that the grand jury records she submitted for review appear incomplete. In short, if Halligan offers a masterclass in federal prosecution, do not take it. The decision is the the latest hurdle in the effort to prosecute Comey. The case had already been rejected by U.S.

attorney Eric Siebert, who said the evidence that Comey lied to and obstructed Congress fell short, prompting Trump to remove him in September and replace him with Halligan. The decision on whether these grand jury errors warrant tossing the case will rest with U.S. District Judge Michael Nakmanoff, who has already set a hearing for early December to review separate claims from Comey's lawyers that Halligan misused the grand jury process. The result of the voting is as follows. 13 votes in favor. Zero votes against two abstentions.

The United Nations Security Council has approved a U.S. plan that authorizes an international stabilization force in Gaza. The resolution was adopted in a 13-0 vote, Russia and China abstain. And if you're wondering what exactly an international stabilization force will do, Here's U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Walts. The International Stabilization Force will stabilize the security environment, support the demilitarization of Gaza, dismantle terrorist infrastructure, decommissioned weapons, and maintain the safety of Palestinian civilians.

The vote on Monday was a diplomatic win for the Trump administration and a crucial next step for the fragile ceasefire after two long years of war between Israel and Hamas. It endorses President Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan, which also calls for a group that would lead the transition. Trump wrote on True Social that the Board of Peace will, quote, be chaired by me and include the most powerful and respected leaders throughout the world. He said board members would be announced in the coming weeks.

During negotiations, the U.S. had revised the resolution to say that after advances in the reconstruction of Gaza and other reforms, quote, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter Sunday, quote, our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed. International enrollment at U.S. colleges dipped 1% this fall, defying fears of a steep collapse after the Trump administration tightened visa scrutiny and pushed universities to cap foreign student numbers. But when you pop the hood on that 1%, there's some smoke. The number of new first-time international students dropped 17%, the sharpest plunged since the COVID-19 pandemic.

according to new data from the Institute of International Education. That 1% is buoyed by large numbers of international graduates staying in the U.S. for temporary work. Foreign students make up only about 6% of U.S. college enrollment, but they have an outsized financial impact. Most international students pay higher tuition and receive no financial aid, effectively helping subsidize the cost of educating U.S. students. Their absence is already creating major budget strains at some smaller universities. The Trump administration's visa delays and new enrollment caps have contributed to the slowdown, with students shifting towards schools in Europe and Asia, which makes sense,

as Trump essentially jaunted into every quad in America and hammered in a sign reading international students not welcome. And that's the news. One more thing. It would take me a very long time to catalog the ways in which the president of the United States is being super weird about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. From teasing Republican voters with the release of the Epstein client list during his presidential campaign, to suddenly deciding that anyone who expressed interest in the, quote, Sorted but boring case of a man who accumulated powerful friends and allies and billions of dollars while praying on young women around the world was a bad person.

person, it's been a gross repulsive journey. And so we come to Sunday evening. After weeks and weeks of attempting to discourage Republicans from voting for a bill to compel the Department of Justice to release all of its files on Jeffrey Epstein, which the president could just do anyway, Trump suddenly changed his mind. He posted on true social, quote, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files because we have nothing to hide. And it's time to move on from this Democrat hoax perpetrated by radical left lunatics in order. order to deflect from the great success of the Republican Party, including our recent victory on the Democrat shutdown. And on Monday, he doubled down in the Oval Office.

You put some on Treat Social last night. You urged House Republicans the vote in favor of this Epstein release bill they're going to vote on tomorrow. I just want to be super clear on your position. Do you want to see that past the Senate? Would you sign that bill if it gets to your desk? I do want to say, here's what I want. We have nothing to do with Epstein. The Democrats do. All of his friends were Democrats. You look at this Reinh Hoffman, you look at Larry Summers, Bill Clinton. They went to his island all the time, and many others. They're all Democrats.

All I want is I want for people to recognize a great job that I've done on pricing, on affordability, because we brought prices way down. He hasn't, but that's not the point. It's worth noting that it's not clear if the Justice Department will act on this, even if the president signs his legislation. Donald Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing and connection with Epstein. But I think I know what's going on here. Trump believes that if Democrats are implicated in the Epstein files,

which was why his vice president and FBI director were so gung-ho to get them last year, Democrats will obviously just give up on their efforts to get more information about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. Because Republicans have pledged their eternal fealty to Donald Trump, I think that Trump thinks that Democrats must have pledged eternal fealty to LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, former president Bill Clinton, and former Harvard University president Lawrence Summers. Newsflash, we have not.

I had to Google who Reed Hoffman is. Bill Clinton left the White House when I was 12, and I know Lawrence Summers best for arguing back in 2005 that women were less intelligent than men. I should also note that according to emails released by the House Oversight Committee, he was using Epstein as a, quote, wingman to attempt to pursue a relationship with a woman he was mentoring. He was, and is, still married.

So let's just put a pin in that intelligence argument for now. If the choice is get no more information, or get more information to bring justice to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's predations, but some Democrats are also implicated, I'm walking through door number two every time. It's an easy choice, unless you're Donald Trump. Before we go, the holidays are here. Trump's still letting us do those this year.

Now is the perfect time to head to the crooked store and snag gifts for your favorite activists and friends of the pod. We have everything from conversation starting stocking stuffers to cozy sweatshirts you'll be wearing all winter. And remember, you can always get yourself a gift, regardless of what this Santa guy says. I think you've been a very good little podcast listener this year. The last day to purchase to ensure you get your order by Christmas is December 11th. for domestic and December 7th for international shipping. So order soon. Head to crooked.com slash store to shop. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, celebrate the true measure of love, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're

into reading, and not just about how FBI director Cash Patel has given his country musician girlfriend a protective detail made up of elite SWAT officers, like me, Water Day, is also an Nightly Newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Jane Koston and ladies never settle for less than a full protective detail made up of elite SWAT officers. If they wanted to, they would. What a day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Desmond Taylor. Our associate producers are Emily Four and Chris Allport. Our video editor is Joseph Dutra.

Our video producer is Johanna Case. We had a production help today from Greg Walters, Matt Bird, Caitlin Plummer, Tyler Hill, and Ethan Oberman. Our senior producer is Erica Morrison, and our senior vice president of news and politics is Adrian Hill. We add help today from the Associated Press. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.

I don't know. I don't know. Thank you. Thank you. We're going to be.