1 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,000 We're back with another edition of the Federalist Radio Hour. I'm Emily Jaschinski, 2 00:00:21,039 --> 00:00:24,199 culture editor here at the Federalist. As always, you can email the show 3 00:00:24,199 --> 00:00:27,640 at radio at the Federalist dot com, follow us on X at fd R 4 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,239 L s T, make sure to subscribe wherever you download your podcasts, and 5 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:35,280 of course to the premium version of our website as well. We are joined 6 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:40,640 today by one Pablo Villa Smell. He is an editorial fellow at Spectator World, 7 00:00:40,719 --> 00:00:44,719 also a Young Voices contributor one where can people follow you on Twitter? 8 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,320 My Twitter is real JP VILLI smil v I L l A s M I 9 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,640 L. There we go. All right, so Jp, tell us a 10 00:00:54,679 --> 00:00:58,799 little bit about how you ended up as an editorial fellow at Spectator World. 11 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:00,399 Just give us a little bit of your back. I'm really excited to talk 12 00:01:00,399 --> 00:01:04,599 to you about Latin American politics and some of your recent writing. But I'm 13 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,640 curious, you know, kind of how you ended up in this space. 14 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:15,599 Yeah. So I went to school in DC American University, and I was 15 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,719 really into writing. If I can go back a little further, I grew 16 00:01:19,799 --> 00:01:23,159 up in Venezuela for a large portion of my life, which is why I'm 17 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:29,200 interested in Latin America naturally. So. But when I was in high school, 18 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,840 I met this guy and this guy told me, hey, you right, 19 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:34,439 well, do you want to pitch an article? And I pitched an 20 00:01:34,519 --> 00:01:38,920 article and it failed, and then I tried again, and then I did 21 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:42,480 the solo pitching for a while throughout the end of high school and college, 22 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:49,719 and then I found out about the Intercollegiate Studies Institute by the end of college, 23 00:01:49,719 --> 00:01:53,079 and they had a very nice fellowship program. So I applied and they 24 00:01:53,159 --> 00:01:57,719 placed me at the Spectator World. Fantastic. So tell us a little bit 25 00:01:57,719 --> 00:02:02,959 about then growing up in Venezuela with that have been so, I guess I 26 00:02:02,959 --> 00:02:07,560 don't know how old do urgiv. I'm trying to figure out which dictator you 27 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:09,919 would have grown up on. Ter tell us a little bit about that, 28 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,360 yeah, so jokingly, people always say that growing up in Venezuela the beginning 29 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:23,599 of the twenty first century you saw more popes than presidents, because Google Chavis 30 00:02:23,719 --> 00:02:28,159 was the president for most of my time there, and then I experienced the 31 00:02:28,199 --> 00:02:37,560 Maduro presidency maybe for five years. I left in twenty sixteen. So yeah, 32 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:39,639 interesting, okay, great, And so you wrote I mean, obviously, 33 00:02:39,759 --> 00:02:46,840 Venezuelan migration is a huge part of this current wave that we've seen coming 34 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:52,319 up to the American border, and for some I mean incredibly good reason. 35 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:57,919 Our asylum policy has, when properly applied, actually would apply to a lot 36 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:05,080 of Venezuelans who are ying Venezuela right now because asylum properly again, properly applied, 37 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,879 I should give entrance to people who are legitimately fleeing political repression and violence. 38 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,520 But that's not all of who's coming from Venezuela right now. Can you 39 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:21,879 tell us a little bit about what's happening? Yes, so a full disclosure. 40 00:03:21,879 --> 00:03:27,680 I'm an American citizen, so get that out of the way. I 41 00:03:27,719 --> 00:03:31,479 was born in the US, and you know my parents are American citizens too, 42 00:03:32,039 --> 00:03:38,400 So I want to maybe distance myself from the other folks. I don't 43 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:44,000 know if that's politically correct, but I it doesn't matter. What has been 44 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:49,159 What has been happening, and this is the full picture, is that Venezuela 45 00:03:49,199 --> 00:03:53,159 has had the poverty rates have been super high, not since last year, 46 00:03:53,199 --> 00:03:57,639 since the last like twenty years. Really they were accentuated by the end of 47 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:01,680 the Chavis presidency with hyperinflation and so on, and more than ninety five percent 48 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:10,520 of the population lives under the povery line. So migration from Venezuela has been 49 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:15,800 steady since the two fourteen to twelve protests. That there was a big wave 50 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:19,639 there before that there were some people that left and searched for our new home 51 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:25,360 in other countries because they somehow predicted that things were going to get that bad. 52 00:04:25,759 --> 00:04:31,800 Most people people did not. Venezuelans were worn by Cubans about the perils 53 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:36,519 of communism, but the response for Venezuelan's was always, you guys are an 54 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:42,240 island. We are in actual country. We have oil, you guys have 55 00:04:42,399 --> 00:04:49,439 nothing. So the real migration wave that began in twenty fourteen was quite big, 56 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:57,360 But what we're seeing recently it's different. Primarily the mechanism which a lot 57 00:04:57,399 --> 00:05:01,879 of these individuals are funding themselves into the border and the moment. The moment 58 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:09,319 is what I find really interesting, because if you were really escaping a dictatorship 59 00:05:09,439 --> 00:05:15,959 alone, you would have done that ten years ago. Venezuela today it's awful. 60 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,319 Of course, it's not like a great country to live in, but 61 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:24,560 it's really not as bad as it was ten years ago. The worst part 62 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:32,199 of the crisis is probably twenty fourteen, twenty twelve, maybe a little later, 63 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:39,560 a little earlier, But now Venezuela finds itself and not a better place. 64 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:44,319 If I say this, I'll get killed by some Venezuelan advocates. But 65 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,680 if you hate the situation there now, you hate it more before, not 66 00:05:47,759 --> 00:05:51,879 because things got better, just because things are not as bad. So what 67 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:59,680 really explains does migration wave. It's not economy metrics and social conditions alone. 68 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,360 It seems like something deeper is going on. And it's number one, the 69 00:06:03,879 --> 00:06:11,399 availability you can do it, it's an option, and number two, the 70 00:06:11,439 --> 00:06:16,279 networks that are now present throughout Central America and northern South America that allow for 71 00:06:16,319 --> 00:06:23,800 this possibility for you to cross the southern border before that, and I'm might 72 00:06:23,879 --> 00:06:28,680 to be you know specific here. The people that came to the United States 73 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:32,160 from Venezuela, and you can ask people in southern Florida about this, used 74 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:41,560 to be highly educated, not particularly high income, but comparatively so. And 75 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:46,040 they would have to buy a plane ticket, they would have to process a 76 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:47,920 visa, which is really hard to do when you live in a country like 77 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:55,480 Venezuela. So that migration profile was different than the one that we see today, 78 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:58,360 and you see, you know, this is something that you won't see 79 00:06:58,399 --> 00:07:02,120 in the mainstream media, but among the own Venezuelan population in southern Florida, 80 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:08,279 they're really dissatisfied with what's happening because they look at the type of migrants that 81 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,480 are crossing the southern border and they say, these people are going to cause 82 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:19,800 a backlash against Venezuelans in general. And it's kind of true because most Venezuelans 83 00:07:19,839 --> 00:07:26,000 are not trendy Aragua members. Most Venezulas aren't crossing the border illegally. Most 84 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,639 Venezulas that came to this country sought a legal way to come here. It's 85 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,319 fascinating and again you wrote about this for Spectator and a great piece called Behind 86 00:07:36,319 --> 00:07:41,519 the Venezuelan Migrant Crime Way. Folks should go check that out. But just 87 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:46,240 a couple points that you made are so important. One is just the availability 88 00:07:46,399 --> 00:07:50,839 the access to migration from Venezuela and how it's increasing migration that is such a 89 00:07:50,879 --> 00:07:55,879 reflection policies, and we can get into that a little bit, but I 90 00:07:55,959 --> 00:08:00,399 really wanted to ask you as you just sort of alluded to gang influence and 91 00:08:00,439 --> 00:08:07,480 how perhaps shifts in gang culture and Venezuela have induced some of this as well. 92 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,720 What can you tell us about how that's I guess maybe shifted, maybe 93 00:08:11,759 --> 00:08:20,199 grown. How would you describe it at JP? Yeah, so gang influence 94 00:08:20,279 --> 00:08:26,720 in Venezuela under the Maduro regime specifically has been vast and intense. I could 95 00:08:26,759 --> 00:08:33,080 talk here for hours about how there are connections between the Dez that the Sun 96 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:37,879 cartel. I guess that would be the translation in the Maduro regime. I 97 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:43,720 could talk about how the trend the Uragua basically existed because Maduro allowed it. 98 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:50,159 So I like to draw comparison to the US context for a second here. 99 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:56,879 Just imagine for a second that a gang takes control of a massive prison in 100 00:08:56,919 --> 00:09:01,639 the United States and then for ten years the US government does nothing. Then 101 00:09:01,759 --> 00:09:07,440 they built a sue, a nightclub, a restaurant in the prison. These 102 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:11,720 people they called them branis, which is crime bosses in Spanish, and the 103 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:16,720 government does nothing. Ten years passed by, and then out of nowhere, 104 00:09:16,759 --> 00:09:22,279 they sent some troops and they seemed to be doing something, but they weren't 105 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:28,159 doing something before, or they were anything at all. So it's really complex 106 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,960 and what people on the ground will tell you is that basically the way the 107 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:39,320 Maduro regime operates is that they allow for some criminality to subsist, and when 108 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:43,480 it becomes a real tangible problem for the regime, it's truly when they fight 109 00:09:43,519 --> 00:09:50,759 it. In the case of the trend de Irawa crime family, really they 110 00:09:50,799 --> 00:09:56,879 took control of a prison in the state of Ragua called to Coron and they 111 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:03,720 spent ten years just having complete control and from the prison they used it ask 112 00:10:03,759 --> 00:10:07,200 as the center of operations and they have more than they have close to three 113 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:11,000 thousand members in the gang. Now it's the biggest gang in Venezuela. And 114 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:18,320 they would they would use their influenced networks not only in Venezuela, but this 115 00:10:18,759 --> 00:10:26,440 expanded to the rest of the Americas, Chile, Peru, and they would 116 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,240 commit crime. You know, members of the gang would commit crime, send 117 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:35,720 their funds to Tokoron or they have other you know, centers of operations in 118 00:10:35,759 --> 00:10:41,559 Colombia. And that's the way they subsisted really not really like sophisticated high crime, 119 00:10:43,279 --> 00:10:50,799 but stealing phones, robbing people, committing normal penny crime and using that 120 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:58,120 and the really the home that they had in Venezuela, which was really perfect 121 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:05,679 free for a crime organization to exist. So that's so that's the broad picture. 122 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:11,720 But then the Irawa operates and has operated freely because the Madud regime has 123 00:11:11,759 --> 00:11:18,039 allowed it. But then the other part, the other component to this analysis, 124 00:11:18,159 --> 00:11:24,799 let's say, is that there seems to be a push for these people 125 00:11:24,879 --> 00:11:33,440 to leave Venezuela more recently. And I do not know necessarily if this is 126 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:41,120 an internal struggle between the criminal organization and elements of the regime or more likely, 127 00:11:41,159 --> 00:11:46,600 what it seems to me like is that there has been negotiations between the 128 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:54,919 United States and Biden administration at Maduro in the last two years where Maduro has 129 00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:01,799 felt increasingly comfortable weaponizing migration. So what you see Bikela do is that he'll 130 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:07,320 imprison all the criminals. But you know what's another policy that's even cheaper and 131 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:15,399 actually somehow geopolitically strategics. It's it's smart, don't imprison the criminals, kick 132 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,159 them out. And if you can kick them out and give them a map 133 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:22,519 that takes them to your enemy's house, then that's even better. So that 134 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:26,480 might you know, some people might hear that and think that's someone conspiranok, 135 00:12:28,799 --> 00:12:31,399 And I do think, you know, it sounds like a conspiracy, but 136 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:37,559 that's the theory that a lot of Venezuelan's underground and Latin American analysts are. 137 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:43,159 That's their conclusion. Well, and there's some there is some evidence, right 138 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:50,159 that prisons have been depleted in Venezuela. Yeah, this has happened in the 139 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:54,720 past, this one in particular, which is I would say it's the most 140 00:12:54,759 --> 00:13:00,240 like preoccupying one because it's it's not just a normal prison, it's a a 141 00:13:00,399 --> 00:13:07,559 person where the influence network is stronger than probably any other person in the Americas 142 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:15,519 really because it was controlled by the gang and they have they had their allies, 143 00:13:15,759 --> 00:13:18,840 and they've been operating for a while, so they have some some cohesion 144 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,120 that you might not see in another disorganized person with a bunch of different folks. 145 00:13:22,759 --> 00:13:30,480 So yes, I and the other another thing to think about is that 146 00:13:31,919 --> 00:13:35,840 the barbado courts, which are these paths to democracy, negotiations have been going 147 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:43,840 on, which, by the way, completely unfruitful. Maduro has responded to 148 00:13:43,879 --> 00:13:46,720 that, to the relieving of sanctions from from the Biden regime, to the 149 00:13:46,879 --> 00:13:52,159 sending back of the so called diplomat alex ab back to Venezuela, and they 150 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,679 released some US prisoners, although that was not enough in compared to what they 151 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:00,480 gave. When all these things have been happening, were the Biden dream has 152 00:14:00,519 --> 00:14:07,799 been showing some good faith a lah Iran really similar. Actually what Madua has 153 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:13,720 been doing has he's been punching back. So Biden extends his hand and says, 154 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,639 hey, we're going to release your nephews from prison. We're going to 155 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:24,559 release alex ab the highest level of Venezona official we've ever captured. We're going 156 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:30,320 to release all these folks. We're going to relieve some sanctions. And Maduro 157 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:33,240 has looked at that and said, okay, do it, Thank you very 158 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:37,360 much, awesome, and then he said, okay, if you want to 159 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:39,279 put them back, put them back. We're not going to move toward a 160 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:41,879 democracy. What we're going to do is that we're not going to let you 161 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:46,320 the poor, the illegal immigrants, and we're going to send them there and 162 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:52,600 we're gonna cost some chaos in the United States indirectly. So they've been really 163 00:14:52,639 --> 00:14:58,080 successful. I think Maduro has olex smarted the Biden administration and this should be 164 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:07,240 national news. This is incredibly interesting. 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The former US ambassadord to 189 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:19,680 Haiti has said that the United States backs Aril on Ree, who was seen 190 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:25,559 as a legitimate was stepped into the role after the former president of Haiti, 191 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:30,079 Joven Al Moyes, was assassinated and the Biden The former US abassadord to Haiti 192 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:37,039 says that the Biden administration backs ariol on Rie with the specific sort of agreement 193 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:41,759 that he accepts flights of people Haitians who have not lived in Haiti, you 194 00:17:41,799 --> 00:17:45,920 know, in many cases since the twenty twelve earthquake, back to Haiti, 195 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,839 back to Portaw Prince. And so it's like these situations are you know, 196 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:55,400 obviously just bargaining chips on the Biden administration's chess board, and the Biden administration 197 00:17:55,519 --> 00:17:57,920 is not winning at this And maybe JPU could talk to us a little bit 198 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:03,559 about the tie you just mentioned, the ties between Iran and Venezuela, which 199 00:18:03,599 --> 00:18:07,160 are deeper than I think. Again, oh, the American media talks about 200 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:11,240 it. I don't think people are necessarily aware of what Iran has done physically 201 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:17,319 in Venezuela, and that's certainly a huge piece of this puzzle. Yeah. 202 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:22,799 So in when it comes to this, there's a particular scholar. His name 203 00:18:22,839 --> 00:18:26,720 is Joseph Humeyer, which I would suggest to your listeners if you're interesting about 204 00:18:26,839 --> 00:18:34,160 learning about how present Iran is in America's backyard. He's the guy and from 205 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:38,279 what I've learned by you know, I know him and talking to him and 206 00:18:38,559 --> 00:18:45,119 going to his events with the Center for Secure Free society is that has belaw 207 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,960 presses Iranian presence, and really, you know, people talk about the Russo, 208 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:56,279 the Russian, China, Allians, and sometimes in some specific regions of 209 00:18:56,279 --> 00:19:00,279 the world they're more aligned than others, but in Latin America's specifically, they're 210 00:19:00,319 --> 00:19:06,400 quite aligned. And the Russia is the Chinese and Theiranians in Venezuela specifically, 211 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,799 for example, have had so much influence. Actually, and this is a 212 00:19:11,839 --> 00:19:18,960 fun fact, the largest military pressence that Russia has in the Americas since the 213 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,720 Cuban Missile crisis, and larger than the Cuban missile crisis, it's in an 214 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:30,920 island in Venezuela La Chila. So what we fixate on the Middle East understandably, 215 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:36,839 so when we look at China, which it's obviously a you know, 216 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:41,480 we need to focus on China because it's a big country and they're biggest year, 217 00:19:41,519 --> 00:19:45,920 the political competitor, and Asia has more defense on and you know, 218 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,839 we have some ice in Europe as well, but our eyes in Latin America 219 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:53,640 are nowhere to be found. And this is really worrisome because you know, 220 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:59,680 who has their eyes on Latin America, who has their eyes on Venezuela, 221 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:07,079 on So in all these countries, it's on China, Russia, their debt 222 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:15,720 set on controlling influencing politics there more than the United States is. And then 223 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:19,519 in Dallace presents a threat to the US. So a lot of these, 224 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:25,759 a lot of the of the migration crises that we observe, a lot of 225 00:20:25,759 --> 00:20:33,119 the the way these actors just interact with the United States and the international sphere 226 00:20:34,319 --> 00:20:41,119 are more coordinated than we think. I really think that it's really China calling 227 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:48,160 the pride out. Actually China, Chinese ambassador goes to Venezuela than when all 228 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:55,279 the when all the world leaders were meeting for the G twenty summit, Shi 229 00:20:55,319 --> 00:21:04,000 Jimping welcome Maduro to Beijing, shook cancer him there and he's really prioritizing his 230 00:21:04,039 --> 00:21:07,920 connections to Latin America. And you see him Riscilla as well, And you 231 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:12,319 see all these like isolated events, and you have to ask yourself what's happening 232 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:18,680 behind the curtain. And I think it's that these competitors that we have far 233 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:27,880 away are pushing their friends in the Western hemisphere towards specific direction. And I 234 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:32,440 don't know if the United States, of course they're noticing, but they don't 235 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:37,079 seem to care. Our elites don't care. You know. I talked to 236 00:21:37,279 --> 00:21:40,880 a pastor that sort of been twenty I think this was twenty twenty one, 237 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:48,880 who runs a shelter in Mexico, and he was saying that he's first started 238 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:55,480 noticing sort of uncontrollable flows of migration. Yeah, there have been different waves 239 00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:00,079 in different periods of American history, but he's first started noticing the current macro 240 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:06,960 wave when the Obama administration changed the Cuba policy so that it's not just if 241 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:12,319 you are fleeing Cuba and you touch American soil, you immediately get asylum. 242 00:22:14,079 --> 00:22:18,200 But what he said is that drove people to start flying maybe from Cuba to 243 00:22:18,279 --> 00:22:23,920 Venezuela, maybe from Cuba to Nicaragua, and making their way up through Latin 244 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,440 America, through Central America into Mexico and then to the border to find a 245 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:32,599 new pathway to sort of get into the United States because the old way of 246 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:37,119 just sort of taking you know, raft touching ground in Florida was not the 247 00:22:37,119 --> 00:22:41,559 most effective way to get citizenship. But he said that really created these super 248 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,920 highways, these pathways, and he'd put that, you know, sometime in 249 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:51,680 the Obama administration twenty twelve, twenty thirteen somewhere around there, and ever since, 250 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:56,000 it's just grown. Cartel power in all of these different countries has grown. 251 00:22:56,079 --> 00:23:00,440 And that's obviously what Boukell is a reaction to. That's what a lot 252 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:04,720 of these countries are reacting to. It's hurt economies, it's obviously hurt people. 253 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:11,440 It seems like actually migration itself has been one of the biggest destabilizing factors, 254 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:18,519 whether it's Venezuela or other countries throughout all of this. No, yeah, 255 00:23:18,599 --> 00:23:22,920 and I think that's a Then that's an interesting timeframe to start looking at 256 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,960 at the at the changes. I don't know if I would attribute it directly 257 00:23:27,559 --> 00:23:32,799 to the Cuba policy, but what I would say is that it is important 258 00:23:33,039 --> 00:23:37,759 to look at Latin America, you know, look at every individual country and 259 00:23:37,759 --> 00:23:42,880 their you know, specific circumstances that they face, but also the the interconnections 260 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:49,559 there, because no, no continent and I mean no, no left wing 261 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:59,000 regional movement is interconnected as Latin America's uh Brazil, for instance, the Lula 262 00:23:59,039 --> 00:24:07,160 the Silva regime has used state funds to invest in Venezulan infrastructure projects, and 263 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:12,079 similarly, when Chavis was president, He used this mechanism called Petu diplomacy to 264 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:18,960 use oil to finance not only infrastructure of projects, but protest movements and electoral 265 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:26,160 can page throughout the continent. And this is again it's really easy to observe 266 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,759 these connections when it comes to the politics of it all, that's supporting a 267 00:24:30,799 --> 00:24:36,319 candidate that enabling a protest. But you definitely see this in the enactment of 268 00:24:36,519 --> 00:24:44,519 policy. So if let's say you're Maduro right, and the first left wing 269 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,319 president just got elected in Colombia and he goes to Mita Flotus, which is 270 00:24:49,319 --> 00:24:55,200 the Venezulan equivalent of the White House, and they shake hands and they're having 271 00:24:55,240 --> 00:25:02,920 an immigration issue. Right, Colombia has been facing that the immigration crisis in 272 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:04,400 regards to Venezuela more than any other country, because you know, they're the 273 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:11,200 neighbors. What can they agree on, what what can they do to minimize 274 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:18,799 this problem for Colombia but at the same time minimize this problem for Venezuela. 275 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:26,200 So an ec antidote to that chaos would be, Hey, Gustavo Petro, 276 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:30,119 I'm gonna do it. By the way, why don't you just allow for 277 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:37,839 this immigrants to cross through your country and head toward the United States. And 278 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:41,039 what does Gustavo Petra say, Okay, I'll do that. And I'm sure 279 00:25:41,079 --> 00:25:47,720 that that same interaction would be happening between other presidents throughout the region, possibly 280 00:25:47,759 --> 00:25:55,759 Amblo. These presidents interact with each other, they know each other. They 281 00:25:55,799 --> 00:26:00,359 have more control over migration policy than the United States does. Oh, the 282 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,359 president does have a lot, but he doesn't use it. And I think 283 00:26:04,519 --> 00:26:11,279 that the more you look into it, the more it seems like these precedents, 284 00:26:11,319 --> 00:26:18,599 these leaders are using migration as a diplomatic tool. Yeah, that's a 285 00:26:18,599 --> 00:26:22,640 great point. And maybe you could also just talk to us a little bit 286 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:27,480 about what it's like for the average Venezuelan living in Venezuela right now. You 287 00:26:27,519 --> 00:26:33,359 know, there are reasons that people would want to leave Venezuela that don't just 288 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:38,000 involve, you know, leaving prisons. What's it you know, under under 289 00:26:38,039 --> 00:26:44,400 Medora right now? What is it like in Venezuela. Yeah, I've I've 290 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:51,119 written extensively about this. Actually visited Venezuela for the first time in about six 291 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:56,559 years last December and it was quite fun. I felt like this might be 292 00:26:56,599 --> 00:27:00,759 a nerdy reference, kind of felt like less is a Togueville. When he 293 00:27:00,799 --> 00:27:06,119 would write, he would write about the United States as as a non American. 294 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:11,119 After not spending a bunch of time in Venezuela and I headed back, 295 00:27:11,599 --> 00:27:15,559 I was able to observe a lot of cultural changes that were interesting. Something 296 00:27:15,559 --> 00:27:22,519 that people don't talk about a lot in Venezuela is that economic conditions have at 297 00:27:22,599 --> 00:27:29,240 least superficially improved. And this is not to say that a poverty is not 298 00:27:29,279 --> 00:27:32,839 a problem. It is, but at least in the in the capitol Kracas, 299 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:37,160 you see a lot of modernization. You see restaurants, you see new 300 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:45,319 buildings, you see designer stores popping popping here and there, so and you 301 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:49,319 actually have seen crime drop. I remember reading, you know, on Twitter, 302 00:27:49,759 --> 00:27:57,119 when the Venezuela on migrant attacks were on the rice and everyone was talking 303 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:03,599 about hoose Ebarra and v Mendosa, the assaulting of a minor and the killing 304 00:28:03,599 --> 00:28:10,119 of Lakeln Riley. People started to spot that the crime rates and crocats have 305 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:15,680 actually dropped. And this is not to you know, again, like Madua's 306 00:28:15,839 --> 00:28:18,799 awful guy. It's not to say that his policies have been successful, but 307 00:28:18,839 --> 00:28:26,400 it's it's mainly a reaction to some of that, let's say, getting used 308 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:30,039 to misery. It's a really bad way to put it. Getting used to 309 00:28:30,079 --> 00:28:36,920 how bad things have gotten. Yeah. Yeah, people have learned in a 310 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:41,599 way to just accept it, which is really sad. The hopes of political 311 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:47,559 change in Venezuela are really low. There's a new candidate there, Madiquitina Matchel, 312 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:49,839 which is really popular. But if you ask the old Lenislona do you 313 00:28:49,839 --> 00:28:55,279 think anything's going to change? They know. And you also see, and 314 00:28:55,359 --> 00:29:00,640 not to get to philosophical here, you see how the the new elites and 315 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:06,799 the old elites have you know, they've settled it out, and some of 316 00:29:06,839 --> 00:29:08,880 them are comfortable. So for instance, when when I was growing up in 317 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:15,279 Venezuela, you would see, for instance, let's say that I hate to 318 00:29:15,319 --> 00:29:18,680 talk in this way, but you would see like then the mover reach, 319 00:29:18,839 --> 00:29:26,480 right, which was government connected individuals not highly educated, but they know someone 320 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,960 who knows someone, and then they got to power and they replaced the old 321 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,559 elites. Right. You would see the old elites were really resentful and if 322 00:29:33,599 --> 00:29:37,279 you were an old elite family, you didn't hang out with the new elites. 323 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:42,680 You thought they were dirty, They were connected to the worst people in 324 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:47,480 the world to the narcos. You don't like them. What you've seen in 325 00:29:47,559 --> 00:29:51,680 Venezuela now is that a lot of the new elites and the old elites have 326 00:29:51,799 --> 00:29:55,960 become friends and now they're parts of the same circles. So that, in 327 00:29:56,039 --> 00:30:03,559 my opinion, really deteriorates any chances of political change. And meanwhile, the 328 00:30:03,839 --> 00:30:08,000 most tangible conditions in the life of the average fenessula, which again are your 329 00:30:08,039 --> 00:30:19,599 income, remain really bad. So there's that. Today's episode is brought to 330 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:25,680 you by surf Shark. Surf Shark is a cybersecurity product that improves your online 331 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:30,359 privacy and protects you from hackers. 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And you heard me right, that's three extra months for free. 347 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:49,160 So surf shark dot deals slash Federalist in Latin America is reacting to this and 348 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:56,079 sort of predictably to similar conditions, or I mean, nothing is quite Venezuela 349 00:31:56,119 --> 00:32:02,839 at this point, but reacting and sort of typically polarized ways where there's there 350 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:06,799 was talk of, you know, kind of a pink wave because far left 351 00:32:06,839 --> 00:32:10,440 candidates were elected, so very clearly far left candidates were elected in the last 352 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:14,200 couple of years. But then also you have me Lea and you have Bukel, 353 00:32:14,359 --> 00:32:20,359 and Bukeli is extremely popular. So JP that's kind of in and of 354 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:25,119 itself very interesting as you look around Latin America, bou Kele is popular, 355 00:32:27,119 --> 00:32:30,279 like outside of his own country, he's popular. There's you know, people 356 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:34,200 really admire what he's done. At the same time, you know, there 357 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:39,519 is still interest in the sort of far left historically and today in Latin America. 358 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:45,279 So do you see more kind of Melee and Bukell are very different figures, 359 00:32:45,319 --> 00:32:50,720 obviously, but both kind of culturally reactionary, do you I don't mean 360 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,440 that in a pejorative sense. How do you see all of this playing out 361 00:32:53,440 --> 00:33:00,319 down the road? Yeah? So I like that you're familiar with the difference. 362 00:33:00,359 --> 00:33:04,400 Is because one thing that I thought was really funny, and I'm sure 363 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,279 you did as well, was that when when Malay won, a lot of 364 00:33:07,279 --> 00:33:13,319 people reacted as if it where a Trump style populist, and you know, 365 00:33:13,359 --> 00:33:16,119 you saw a lot of folks on the New right, uh, celebrate his 366 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:21,839 him in a way that seemed, you know, a little not cognizant of 367 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:23,839 who he is. And this is not to say that he's not the right 368 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:30,359 antio for Argentina, because Argentina is not the US. Uh. Their their 369 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:37,480 common enemy is hyperinflation and their government is quite huge, so maybe they do 370 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:43,160 need a libertarian uh. But anyways, I digress. What I will say 371 00:33:43,319 --> 00:33:46,680 is that I do think that's really interesting that the Bookilly model and the Malay 372 00:33:46,799 --> 00:33:55,039 model are both really distinct. Uh. Book is the most let's say that, 373 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:04,640 the closest thing to a national nationalist traditional conservative that we have in Latin 374 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:09,039 America. Because the thing is that the word conservative in Latin America has actually 375 00:34:09,079 --> 00:34:16,119 not has lost some popularity. A lot of opposition figures don't call themselves conservatives. 376 00:34:16,599 --> 00:34:21,280 I don't really know why, because it's you know, overwhelming Catholic continent. 377 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:27,639 But maybe this has to do something with conversations on the top and not 378 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:34,480 necessarily popular sentiment. But at least in Venezuela, we really haven't observed any 379 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:42,719 conservative reaction. Actually, Maria Kurina Machado, which is the opposition figure there, 380 00:34:44,079 --> 00:34:49,119 she labels herself a classical liberal. She's more Malay than Bukela, although 381 00:34:49,199 --> 00:34:52,519 I could see a Bukela like figure become really popular in Venezuela. And she 382 00:34:52,599 --> 00:34:59,159 talks about privatizing elements of the public sphere of the old companies and so on. 383 00:35:01,159 --> 00:35:08,079 And in Colombia you see that similarly. Duque and Maria fernand which is 384 00:35:08,079 --> 00:35:15,199 a Columbian center there, I would say, has introduced some Bookilla like discourse 385 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:21,159 into her her platform, although she's not officially running for president yet, but 386 00:35:21,199 --> 00:35:25,559 she will. She she talks about being strong on crime and so on, 387 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:31,280 but at the core, she's more Hayak than she is Burke. And I 388 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:40,119 think most South American figures remain closer to the let's say, the the pre 389 00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:47,199 Trump conservative tradition than the new one. It's interesting to see, if it 390 00:35:47,199 --> 00:35:52,199 would be interesting to see how Bookeilla influences this. I think that the Bukella 391 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:59,840 lovers have some hope because something that happened at Sea Pack, which I attended, 392 00:36:00,079 --> 00:36:02,159 and I and I went to some of the events that happened behind the 393 00:36:02,199 --> 00:36:07,440 scenes with the Latin American leaders. But Tresa Bullrich, who's the Minister of 394 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:13,960 Security in Argentina, who actually ran against Malay from the center right, she 395 00:36:14,119 --> 00:36:21,119 actually approached Bukele and said that she has that Argentina has a lot to learn 396 00:36:21,159 --> 00:36:27,000 from their model and that they want to, you know, learn their lessons 397 00:36:27,039 --> 00:36:30,840 and maybe apply the model themselves and being harsh on crime. And then in 398 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:42,119 Ecuador Noboa, who's he's also quite you know, pre Trump gop like doesn't 399 00:36:42,159 --> 00:36:46,920 really talk about a lot of the things that the animates the American Conservative movement. 400 00:36:47,639 --> 00:36:52,679 He talks about what animated it twenty years ago. He has also talked 401 00:36:52,719 --> 00:37:00,400 about building massive prisons. Actually, some of the chaos that ensued in door 402 00:37:00,159 --> 00:37:05,679 I thing a month ago or two months ago, happened right after he announced 403 00:37:05,679 --> 00:37:10,400 that he was building a megaprison a la Bukele. So Bukele is having some 404 00:37:10,519 --> 00:37:17,679 influence. But I still think that the predominant model of governance when it comes 405 00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:24,079 to to the right in Latin America, it is a a traditional low taxes. 406 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:30,400 We don't dive into some of the social issues. Our priority is economic 407 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:37,559 and that makes some sense in Latin America because it's the most unequal continent in 408 00:37:37,599 --> 00:37:44,679 the world, and economics is center, is front and center if any political 409 00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:50,079 platform there. So I think that's what has you know, some of the 410 00:37:50,559 --> 00:37:55,880 discourse on culture and social issues and more broadly has not been front and center. 411 00:37:58,039 --> 00:38:02,519 And I think Boukeley is the exception to the rule, but maybe he 412 00:38:02,639 --> 00:38:08,199 will become more than that. I think he is. That's fascinating. Is 413 00:38:08,199 --> 00:38:12,480 there anything else, Jip, You think people maybe that we didn't touch on 414 00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:16,519 that, You think people in America should know either about Venezuela or about the 415 00:38:16,519 --> 00:38:22,559 situation in Latin America in general. In general. Yeah, what I would 416 00:38:22,599 --> 00:38:30,679 tell people is that they should be aware of the in Washington, d C. 417 00:38:30,039 --> 00:38:35,559 The lack of interest that there is when it comes to Latin America in 418 00:38:35,639 --> 00:38:40,599 the last years, and this is especially noticeable on the right. There's been 419 00:38:40,639 --> 00:38:49,760 a let's say, a lack of passion for Latin America. People think of 420 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:53,000 Latin America and they say, oh, these are communists, they hate us, 421 00:38:55,280 --> 00:39:00,800 there are drug lords, and we can't really do anything because when we 422 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:04,840 try to do something, the Pink Tide happened. And you know, this 423 00:39:05,719 --> 00:39:13,039 defeatism has taken over over the right in the North and has really influenced the 424 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:16,440 successes of the right in the South. And what I will tell people is 425 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:24,119 that that's not number one, that's not the intelligent position. I would say, 426 00:39:24,199 --> 00:39:29,960 if the left takes over, you don't give up right if you're a 427 00:39:30,039 --> 00:39:35,239 conservative right and when you look at some of them, I'm not going to 428 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,000 trash any particular think tanks because maybe one day I want a job. But 429 00:39:38,519 --> 00:39:43,400 I've been to something thinks. I've been to some thing tanks, right, 430 00:39:43,599 --> 00:39:46,119 and I've talked to some of the of the figures in the thinkings, some 431 00:39:46,159 --> 00:39:50,880 of the leaders, and I've asked them, hey, like do you have 432 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:53,880 a lot of America person and some major thing tanks in the United States have 433 00:39:54,519 --> 00:39:59,239 let's say five people working on the Middle East. Now they have like twenty 434 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:02,840 working an age, and they have some working in Europe because all the euro 435 00:40:04,519 --> 00:40:07,440 a lot of the European Alliance in the United States is so important because twenty 436 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:10,599 five percent of this and the GDP and whatever or oh. But then when 437 00:40:10,599 --> 00:40:14,960 it comes to Latin America, you have no one. Some thing things will 438 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:17,039 have like a twenty year old writing some you know, Latin America articles and 439 00:40:17,039 --> 00:40:25,239 that's it. Others have like literally no one, uh seeking to learn about 440 00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:31,039 Latin America. There's really not a lot of think tanks, not a lot 441 00:40:31,039 --> 00:40:37,280 of researchers that are passionate about Latin America's actually talking to one of my friends. 442 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:39,920 His name is Carlos Schrua. Uh. He used to be he used 443 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:44,960 to work for the national interest and he was telling me that. He was 444 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:52,079 like, JP, you're one of the only you know, conservative people that 445 00:40:52,199 --> 00:41:00,159 I know that actually writes about Latin America and not from a from a how 446 00:41:00,159 --> 00:41:04,159 do I see it? This is as a democracy, social media and perspective, 447 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,639 And I thought, you know, I took that as a compliment, 448 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:12,960 but aside from that, I also said, Wow, that's really worrying because 449 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:17,800 we should have people writing about Latin America and kind of describing the real, 450 00:41:19,039 --> 00:41:25,079 tangible national interest that are in our backyard. It's not just oh, we 451 00:41:25,159 --> 00:41:30,159 love them because because we share content with them and we want to spread democracy 452 00:41:30,199 --> 00:41:36,440 and good values. Is that they have a lot of critical minerals lithium, 453 00:41:36,519 --> 00:41:39,039 coltan, and o. These they're going to be so important in the next 454 00:41:39,039 --> 00:41:46,280 industrial revolution. They have their agricultural potential, it's immense. They have so 455 00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:53,079 many things that we should be trying to exploit for our concrete national interests. 456 00:41:53,119 --> 00:41:57,239 And while we're at it, it's good to have, you know, people 457 00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:04,199 that like us close to us. And if we hyper focus on the rest 458 00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:07,599 of the world, on Asia specifically, some of the Elbrich Kobe fans might 459 00:42:07,599 --> 00:42:14,000 get mad with me here, Well, we're we're Elbert Kobe fans on this 460 00:42:14,039 --> 00:42:15,920 podcast say it though, JP he can handle it. Yeah, Like I 461 00:42:16,760 --> 00:42:21,440 really like what Kobe and I think he's he's actually like completely right. When 462 00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:27,760 it comes to like the broad picture, Asian matters more the But if you 463 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:32,000 say that right, I would probably say Asian matters number one, and actually 464 00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:37,760 Latin America matters number two. Europe of course matters, and you know what, 465 00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:43,719 always it will always matter because if we have that Western inheritance and that 466 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:49,679 share culture. But when it comes to concrete national security, Latin America matters 467 00:42:49,679 --> 00:42:54,639 more because the day that let's say, China invades Taiwan or something else happens 468 00:42:54,639 --> 00:42:59,079 in that part of the world, if the United States reacts, what do 469 00:42:59,119 --> 00:43:01,800 we think is gonna happen in the Western Hemisphere. Why do you think the 470 00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:07,320 Chinese and the Russians have invested so heavily in Venezuela just because of the oil, 471 00:43:07,119 --> 00:43:12,719 No, not really, it's the military aspect of it too. They're 472 00:43:12,719 --> 00:43:16,559 building massive bases in all these countries. It's not just the spy facility in 473 00:43:16,599 --> 00:43:23,360 Cuba. It's much more than that. It's Venezuela is much bigger than Cuba, 474 00:43:24,199 --> 00:43:30,159 and they have. They have hundreds of islands actually in the Caribbean, 475 00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:36,000 small islands and other formations. Some of them we already know have military presences 476 00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:43,239 and those are expanding. And actually what I've referenced this before, but when 477 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:45,760 all the world leaders, you know, the Western world were meaning at the 478 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:52,000 G twenty summit, who does she jmping me with? He met with Maduro 479 00:43:52,559 --> 00:43:59,159 and actually that day they announced the Maduro and I forgot the label that he 480 00:43:59,360 --> 00:44:06,199 used, but he rose the relationship between Venezuela and China rose to a level 481 00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:13,320 in which now Venezuela is the closest ally diplomatically speaking to China in the Western 482 00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:16,639 hemisphere. Let's say I forgot the name that they use, but let's say 483 00:44:16,639 --> 00:44:22,280 they're like gold level allies now and they were silver level allies before. So 484 00:44:22,159 --> 00:44:28,000 when the world was meeting to talk about world problems, Chi Jimping was meeting 485 00:44:28,039 --> 00:44:31,320 with Maduro and letting the world know that now they're best butts more than ever 486 00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:36,800 before. And then he went to Cuba and he gave a speech in Cuba, 487 00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:40,559 and this was the I think it was the G eighty something plus China. 488 00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:47,079 He gave a speech there. Not she one of his ambassadors gave a 489 00:44:47,079 --> 00:44:53,679 speech there talking about how the global style house to unite to counter American hegemony, 490 00:44:54,079 --> 00:45:00,559 and then leaders from Colombia, Chile, Venezuela all gave same ve of 491 00:45:00,599 --> 00:45:06,559 the speech. So for for the for the Americans that love to think about 492 00:45:06,719 --> 00:45:13,199 geopolitics and how this affects them concretely and not just ah democracy, I would 493 00:45:13,239 --> 00:45:16,960 tell you what's going on in Latin America has the potential to become an actual 494 00:45:17,039 --> 00:45:25,360 national security threat. Quality toward Latin America, of course affects immigration, but 495 00:45:25,440 --> 00:45:30,599 that's you know, that's more indirect. And number two and this is, 496 00:45:30,719 --> 00:45:36,239 you know, the easiest way to look at it. When your enemies or 497 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:43,119 your competitors are focused on becoming friends with people near your neighborhood, maybe you 498 00:45:43,119 --> 00:45:46,079 should worry. You should worry much more. And I think we're worrying a 499 00:45:46,119 --> 00:45:51,800 little bit more now, But I don't think we're worrying enough. So go, 500 00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:53,960 I don't know, Go call your congresman and tell them to do something 501 00:45:54,000 --> 00:46:00,480 about Latin America. How much do you spend from your paycheck? In about 502 00:46:00,559 --> 00:46:04,440 one hundred days, The watched aut On Wall Street podcast with Chris Markowski every 503 00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:07,880 day. Chris helps unpack the connection between politics and the economy and how it 504 00:46:07,880 --> 00:46:12,360 affects your wallet. The federal government is on pace to spend over one trillion 505 00:46:12,440 --> 00:46:16,800 dollars per every one hundred days, our Speaker Johnson and congressional Republicans doing anything 506 00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:20,800 about it. Enough is enough. Whether it's happening in DC or down on 507 00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:22,639 Wall Street, it's affecting you financially. Be informed. Check out the Watched 508 00:46:22,639 --> 00:46:25,960 Out on Wall Street podcast with Chris Markowski on Apple, Spotify, or wherever 509 00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:31,360 you get your podcast. I mean, I think there's a very good argument 510 00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:36,639 it's the most important given what's been happening at the border, as you've written 511 00:46:36,679 --> 00:46:39,840 about JP, that it's even more important than Asia because once again, this 512 00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:45,000 is happening every single day to the tunes of tens of thousands of people, 513 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:47,239 so the tune of millions of people over the course of years, and that 514 00:46:47,360 --> 00:46:52,400 destabilizes not just the country immediately to the south of US, but all of 515 00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:58,159 the countries to the south of that. It has increased drug trafficking, it 516 00:46:58,159 --> 00:47:01,599 has created just widespread and stability, and as you started off by saying, 517 00:47:02,119 --> 00:47:07,159 our policies are are not blameless in all of that. So I don't think 518 00:47:07,159 --> 00:47:13,119 it's crazy at all to suggest that Latin America is right up there with ASHAFT, 519 00:47:13,159 --> 00:47:17,880 but even more important given the sort of immediate concerns happening every single day 520 00:47:17,880 --> 00:47:22,760 at the border. Yeah, but like what I was. The reason why 521 00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:28,159 why I say I say this is because I think that a lot of people 522 00:47:28,239 --> 00:47:32,559 in the America first sphere for inst is and I understand it. There's a 523 00:47:32,599 --> 00:47:37,119 lot of people that in the United States talk about Latin America. You know, 524 00:47:37,159 --> 00:47:38,719 my name is Swan, So I feel like a lot of people would 525 00:47:38,760 --> 00:47:43,880 like think that, oh, this guy is here to advocate for invading Venezuela. 526 00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:46,199 I actually know, I don't think that's like a really depends on the 527 00:47:46,199 --> 00:47:51,960 circumstance, but it's not like a smart thing to do. Now. There's 528 00:47:52,039 --> 00:47:55,960 not a lot of people that know about Latin America and actually care deeply about 529 00:47:57,000 --> 00:48:00,840 the United States, and we need more of those. And hey, guys, 530 00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:07,079 I think I want to be able to say, but uh, I 531 00:48:07,119 --> 00:48:15,039 think there's a growing movement uh in the and within you know Latin America specialists. 532 00:48:15,159 --> 00:48:19,719 Uh that are they grew up in the United States, they studied here, 533 00:48:20,360 --> 00:48:23,639 and they really appreciate the American tradition and the way of life, and 534 00:48:23,679 --> 00:48:29,840 they want to make policy to advance American interests and not Colombian, Cuban or 535 00:48:29,880 --> 00:48:35,119 Venezulan interest So a lot of the the people with Venezuela experience, for example, 536 00:48:36,039 --> 00:48:38,559 if they were in this podcast, they would be talking about how M. 537 00:48:38,639 --> 00:48:44,719 Duris awful and about how like socialism destroy their country and advocating for some 538 00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:47,800 sort of regime change. That's not what I'm going to do, and that's 539 00:48:47,840 --> 00:48:52,599 not what people should be doing. And just because some people are doing that 540 00:48:53,400 --> 00:48:59,440 doesn't mean that every single argument made about why we should care about Latin America 541 00:49:00,079 --> 00:49:04,760 are you know, are dumb and should be ignored, which I think is 542 00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:07,760 the response from lots of folks. I mean, yeah, that's a great 543 00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:13,960 point. Iran is like actually farming in Venezuela. Venezuela Maduro offered some like 544 00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:19,000 one according to Iran, at least a million hectares of land for farming and 545 00:49:19,639 --> 00:49:23,400 military development. I'm sure is happening as well. So, JP, this 546 00:49:23,480 --> 00:49:30,760 has been so interesting. I just appreciate your perspective so much. Thank you 547 00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:32,880 very much for having me. This is really fun, and you know a 548 00:49:32,920 --> 00:49:38,719 lot, you know a lot about Latin America. So you know, it's 549 00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:45,679 it is. I am completely on your side that Latin America is arguably the 550 00:49:45,760 --> 00:49:50,280 most important. I mean, it's astounding to me how much we have ignored 551 00:49:50,360 --> 00:49:55,400 the vast destabilization that's happened over the course of the last you know, ten 552 00:49:55,480 --> 00:50:00,519 plus years. Obviously it's a much longer story than that, but the waves 553 00:50:00,519 --> 00:50:07,039 of vast sUAS, of Latin America actually being under the control of extremely powerful 554 00:50:07,119 --> 00:50:10,400 gangs. It's just astounding how little we talk about it. So I think 555 00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:15,599 you're totally right on that front. Well, thank you very much and keep 556 00:50:15,639 --> 00:50:19,440 doing what you do. I love it, appreciate it. Remind us where 557 00:50:19,440 --> 00:50:22,599 people can follow you on Twitter JP. Yeah, you can find me add 558 00:50:22,760 --> 00:50:30,119 real JP vellismell v I L L as M I L. And he's also, 559 00:50:30,199 --> 00:50:34,199 of course an editorial fellow at Spectator World and a Young Voices contributor. 560 00:50:34,239 --> 00:50:37,280 I'm Emily Trshinsky, culture editor here at the Federalists. We'll be back soon 561 00:50:37,320 --> 00:50:54,000 with more. Until then, he lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray