US gov't supports drug traffickers in Latin America, while threatening Venezuela episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 30, 2025 · 26 MIN

US gov't supports drug traffickers in Latin America, while threatening Venezuela

from Geopolitical Economy Report · host Ben Norton

The US government has a long history of supporting corrupt, drug-dealing, right-wing oligarchs in Latin America. The Donald Trump administration is threatening to attack Venezuela, accusing leftist President Nicolás Maduro, without any evidence, of leading a cartel, while Marco Rubio defends Colombia's drug-trafficking former leader Álvaro Uribe. Ben Norton documents Washington's imperial hypocrisy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwCducQ8HHw Topics 0:00 Hypocritical US meddling in Latin America 1:41 Colombia's ex President Álvaro Uribe 4:52 (CLIP) CIA director: "We lie, cheat, steal" 5:09 Drug cartels linked to Colombian leader 6:49 Paramilitaries linked to Colombian leader 9:16 False positives scandal 11:36 Plan Colombia 12:37 Left-wing President Gustavo Petro 14:55 US interventions in Latin America 15:39 Honduran dictator Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) 16:48 US-backed coup in Honduras in 2009 18:27 US support for dictators 19:41 Drug trafficking in Honduras 22:36 US foreign policy in Latin America 22:59 CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras 24:09 Trump admin attacks Venezuela (again) 25:50 Outro

The US government has a long history of supporting corrupt, drug-dealing, right-wing oligarchs in Latin America. The Donald Trump administration is threatening to attack Venezuela, accusing leftist President Nicolás Maduro, without any evidence, of leading a cartel, while Marco Rubio defends Colombia's drug-trafficking former leader Álvaro Uribe. Ben Norton documents Washington's imperial hypocrisy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwCducQ8HHw Topics 0:00 Hypocritical US meddling in Latin America 1:41 Colombia's ex President Álvaro Uribe 4:52 (CLIP) CIA director: "We lie, cheat, steal" 5:09 Drug cartels linked to Colombian leader 6:49 Paramilitaries linked to Colombian leader 9:16 False positives scandal 11:36 Plan Colombia 12:37 Left-wing President Gustavo Petro 14:55 US interventions in Latin America 15:39 Honduran dictator Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) 16:48 US-backed coup in Honduras in 2009 18:27 US support for dictators 19:41 Drug trafficking in Honduras 22:36 US foreign policy in Latin America 22:59 CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras 24:09 Trump admin attacks Venezuela (again) 25:50 Outro

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US gov't supports drug traffickers in Latin America, while threatening Venezuela

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This episode was published on August 30, 2025.

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The US government has a long history of supporting corrupt, drug-dealing, right-wing oligarchs in Latin America. The Donald Trump administration is threatening to attack Venezuela, accusing leftist President Nicolás Maduro, without any evidence, of...

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