Shaun Newman Podcast #980 - Tom Luongo & Alex Krainer #22
9 snips
Jan 8, 2026 
In this engaging conversation, Tom Luongo, a former research chemist and economist, teams up with Alex Krainer, a Croatian author and ex-hedge fund manager. They dive into the complexities of Venezuela under Maduro, exploring motives behind international actions and connections to historic British influence. The duo also draws parallels between modern financial networks and 19th-century opium wars, while suggesting a potential US-Russia alliance to combat drug laundering. Expect insights on silver markets and the implications for global finance.
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Many Plausible Motives Intersect
- Multiple plausible motives exist for the Venezuela operation including money laundering, oil, and election tech corruption.
- Tom Luongo and Alex Krainer stress that no single explanation fully captures the event's complexity.
Venezuela As Geopolitical Rosetta Stone
- Venezuela acts as both a Rosetta Stone for US hemispheric geopolitics and a linchpin of the old London-centered network.
- Taking apart Venezuela can unravel the offshore, financial, and political ties centered in London.
Reframing Drug Networks As Security Threats
- The US views parts of the Canada-to-US drug and laundering networks as effectively untouchable via normal law.
- Declaring them terrorist infrastructure provides legal tools to pursue them beyond conventional means.
