Historical Memory and Corruption in Miami Politics

Filmmaker Billy Corben joins Chuck Todd to talk about his new documentary Men of War—a wild true story that Corben calls “Florida Man with international implications.” The film follows a group of would-be mercenaries and ex-soldiers who tried to stage a coup in Venezuela, exposing how Miami’s shadowy underworld collides with global politics. Corben and Todd dive into the cocaine-fueled chaos of Miami in the ’80s and ’90s, the psychological toll of endless war, and how one ex-Green Beret accidentally stumbled into Trump’s orbit while plotting regime change.

From Marco Rubio’s precarious foreign policy balancing act to the ongoing collapse of the Democratic Party in Florida, Chuck and Billy explore how Latin American politics, disinformation, and corruption all intertwine in the Sunshine State. Plus, they discuss Miami’s misunderstood identity, Trump’s rumored presidential library, and whether the city’s mayoral race signals what’s next for Florida’s political future.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Billy Corben joins the Chuck ToddCast

02:00 Men of War is basically “Bay of Pigs” for Venezuela

02:45 Men of War is perfectly timed for today’s news cycle

03:45 Cocaine boom was huge in Miami in the 80’s & 90’s

05:00 Men of War is “Florida Man w/ international implications”

07:00 The psychological damage of multiple tour deployments

09:00 The main character Jordan is a “post-modern” version of a soldier

13:15 Protagonist accidentally entered Trump’s high end orbit

17:30 Jordan needed to put together a trailer to find financiers for his coup

19:30 Shady international characters are common to find in Miami

20:15 Reception from the Venezuelan community for the doc?

22:15 Everybody in Miami wants to be president of a free Cuba

23:30 1950s cars are the only private possessions in Cuba

26:00 Chuck’s grandfather worked in Cuba, had to display photos of Castro

28:30 Miami is misunderstood as a melting pot when it isn’t

29:15 Miami has self segregated its neighborhoods

30:00 60% of Florida Venezuelans voted for Trump, now leaving the state

31:30 If ICE targets south Florida, there could be a massive political shift

32:45 Marco Rubio = Anakin Skywalker? Preventing the very worst of Trump

33:30 Rubio will be the fall guy for any major foreign policy failure

34:30 Administration is playing with fire in Venezuela

36:00 Congress has no idea what the administration is doing in Venezuela

37:30 The failed Venezuelan coup was memory holed because of Covid

39:30 Feels like we’re redoing Latin American policy of the 80’s

40:15 How has Jordan Goudreau not gotten a pardon from Trump?

42:30 American intervention in Latin America never goes well

44:00 End of USAID is creating vacuum in poor countries being filled by China

45:30 What does a “free Venezuela” look like in the Trump 2.0 era?

47:00 Jordan Goudreau feels betrayed by the American government

48:00 Algorithms have ruined social media

49:00 Is Miami-Dade red, blue, purple or something else politically?

52:30 Trump’s future presidential library slated for Miami

53:45 Miami is still a firm red county 

56:00 Nothing is going well in Florida for the Democratic party

56:45 Trump is less popular in Florida than he was a year ago

58:00 Who wins the mayor’s race in Miami?

59:45 Mayor’s race will head to a December runoff

1:02:00 There’s historically been brazen corruption in Miami mayoral races

1:03:30 Trump thinks “asylum” means mental institution

1:06:00 Thoughts on Mario Cristobal 

1:08:30 Miami can survive 1 loss and make the playoff, but not 2

1:12:00 Reuben Bain feels like a vintage Miami player

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