Friday Focus Emergency Episode: Trump's military operation in Venezuela replaces the dictator but not the dictatorship

The full length edition of this special Friday Focus episode is being made available to all paying and non-paying subscribers. In this special emergency episode Rudyard and Janice unpack the stunning US invasion of Venezuela and abduction and arrest of its President Nicolas Maduro. Trump's statement that the US would "run" Venezuela for some indeterminate period of time gave little to no indication of a planned transition or a commitment to a democratic outcome. Was Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, the country's new leader, part of a deal with the US prior to Maduro's extraction? If so, the US now has a client regime in Venezuela signalling that the world is indeed returning to a system of spheres of influence. Does Putin now own Eastern Europe? Can Xi Jinping do what he wants in Taiwan? This one abduction could be the green light Russia and China have been waiting for and thus has huge global implications. Meanwhile every leader in the western hemisphere who opposes Trump is now worried about the possibility of being taken in the middle of the night. Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus and Munk Dialogues. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.