Former Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, appeared in a New York court yesterday. He’s facing drug-trafficking and weapons charges after the U.S. abducted him and his wife in an explosive operation over the weekend. But is there any credibility to the drug-trafficking accusations? And what does the cocaine supply chain look like in 2026?
Today on the show, tracing cocaine’s journey from the Andes to the streets of U.S. cities.
Further reading:
Ioan Grillo – El Narco
Related episodes:
Venezuela’s economic descent (Updated)
Why Are Venezuelans Starving?
Lessons from a former drug dealer
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Cooper Katz McKim and Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Consider This from NPR - The U.S. indicts Maduro. What’s it mean for the rest of the world?
Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and his wife, politician and attorney Cilia Flores, made their first court appearance in New York City Monday afternoon, when they both pleaded not guilty to all charges.
As Nicolás Maduro faces narco-terrorism charges in the US, Venezuelans try to figure out what it means for their future, and the rest of the world wonders what it could mean for theirs.
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As Nicolás Maduro faces narco-terrorism charges in the US, Venezuelans try to figure out what it means for their future, and the rest of the world wonders what it could mean for theirs.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
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Chapo Trap House - 999 – Nazis, Pedophiles, Drunks, Rapists & Thieves (1/5/26)
We return from break to talk about the horrific kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro and the continuing moral depravity of the gangster state called America. We speculate on what this act of imperial aggression means for the rest of the world, the hilarious snubbing of the Venezuelan opposition, the predictably inept response from the Democratic party, and the hope that someone, somewhere, can stop the Fourth Reich’s plans. Finally, we read a recent Wall Street Journal piece on Trump’s aging and addiction to aspirin.
Subscribe to patreon.com/chapotraphouse to hear our 1000th episode on Thursday!
Just a few more days to buy the 2nd printing of ¡No Pasarán!: Matt Christman's Spanish Civil War over at chapotraphouse.store
Year Zero: A Chapo Trap House Comics Anthology is also 15% off at badegg.co. Through end of year purchases of the book also include a free digital version of the comic. The digital version is also available through GlobalComix.
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Audio Mises Wire - Socialist Mamdani Inadvertently Pays Tribute to Capitalism
Zohran Mamdani held his mayoral swearing in ceremony at the now-abandoned City Hall Station that was a feature of the first New York Subway built in 1904. Unfortunately, city officials deliberately drove the subway company into insolvency and then took over.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/socialist-mamdani-inadvertently-pays-tribute-capitalism
Audio Mises Wire - The US Government Is Not the Daddy of US Oil Companies
Among the many rationalizations that the Trump administration is using to initiate massive force and violence against the Venezuelan people is that the Venezuelan government nationalized American oil interests many years ago.
Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/us-government-not-daddy-us-oil-companies
Audio Mises Wire - Questioning the Annexation of Texas as a US State
The annexation of Texas was a preview of future foreign policy.
Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/questioning-annexation-texas-us-state
Audio Mises Wire - Trump’s National Insecurity Strategy
President Trump’s latest national security initiative is unlikely to make the US secure from outside danger. For that matter, Trump’s own internal policies are making this country less secure.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/trumps-national-insecurity-strategy
Audio Mises Wire - The Statism of Donald Trump
From war to tariffs to inflation, it is clear Donald Trump is a devoted disciple of the ideology of statism and interventionism. The fact he's better than the atrocious Kamala Harris doesn't change this.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/statism-donald-trump
The Commentary Magazine Podcast - Minnesota Vice
We begin with Venezuela, of course, but move on to the startling announcement by Tim Walz that he is not running for reelection as governor of Minnesota owing to the burgeoning fraud scandal there—a staggering fall for a man who was almost vice president. And who's coming up the pike? Why, it's Zohran Mamdani! Give a listen.
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Bad Faith - Episode 538 Promo – The “Donroe Doctrine” (w/ Eugene Puryear)
Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast
Breakthrough News journalist Eugene Puryear returns to Bad Faith to discuss Donald Trump's illegal strike on Venezuela and capture of President Nicolas Maduro & his wife. He addresses mainstream media and Democratic Party complicity in supporting Trump's strike, the historical efforts of the US to control Venezuela's oil supply, and the longterm goals of US imperialism. But first, Eugene weighs in on Zohran's inauguration, Zionist police commissioner Jessica Tisch's demotion in Mamdani's administration, and whether/how the left can support electoral progress within the Democraric party without losing revolutionary discipline.
Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).
Produced by Armand Aviram.
Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).