Why Venezuela now: power and permissiveness

Chris, Melanie, and Zack, convene for a wide-ranging discussion of U.S. current and prospective military operations against the country of Venezuela, and the regime of Nicolas Maduro. Why is the United States sending fighter jets, an aircraft carrier, and other assets to the Caribbean? What does the military buildup say about which voices in the administration are being heard? And is there anything that Maduro can do, any deal he can make with Donald Trump, to avoid regime change, with or without a military conflict? Grievances for universities who cave to Chinese pressure and stop reporting on human rights abuses, to the Department of Defense's new plan for facilitating foreign arms sales, and to Congress for the pointless government shutdown. Attas to Norway for realizing that Chinese-made electric vehicles are vulnerable to hacking, to Paul Kelly for realizing the John Lennon's "Imagine" is a terrible song, to the Supreme Court and some members of Congress for appearing to resist Trump's executive overreach (finally!), and to the nation's veterans on the occasion of their annual official holiday.

• Missy Ryan, Vivian Salama, Michael Scherer, and Nancy A. Youssef, "Why Venezuela?" The Atlantic, November 6, 2025

• Matthew Kroenig, "Trump Should Oust Maduro," Foreign Policy, November 7, 2025

• Justin Logan and Lawrence Montreuil, "Don't Repeat Libya: The Dangers of US Intervention in Venezuela," Cato at Liberty, October 31, 2025

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• Dan Grazier, "Hegseth Wants to Make the Pentagon a Global Arms Bazaar," Responsible Statecraft, November 6, 2025

• Brett Samuels, "Trump: 'I Doubt' US Going to War with Venezuela, but Maduro's Days are Numbered," The Hill, November 3, 2025.

• Augusta Saraiva, "Trump's Move on Venezuela Splinters Region over Possible Strike," Bloomberg, November 1, 2025

• "Norway Transport Firm Step Up Controls after Tests Show Chinese-Made Buses Can Be Halted Remotely," AP, November 5, 2025."

• Nadeem Badshad, "Counter-Terror Police Investigate Claim UK University Halted Research After Chinese Pressure," The Guardian, November 3, 2025.