Pod Save the World Where Will Trump Invade Next?
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Jan 7, 2026 
Joaquín Castro, a U.S. Representative from Texas, offers keen insights into Trump’s controversial strike on Venezuela. He highlights the lack of congressional transparency regarding military actions and criticizes the significant costs to American taxpayers. The conversation delves into a proposed war powers resolution to better regulate future interventions. Castro also discusses concerns from military families and the Latinx community, addressing the potential ramifications of U.S. operations across the region.
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Operation Was A Large, Months-Long Campaign
- The Venezuela operation combined cyber, drone, and Delta Force elements showing months of planning and high cost.
- Ben Rhodes warns public bragging jeopardizes future classified capabilities and assets.
Decapitation, Not Democratic Transition
- Removing Maduro but leaving his regime's structures intact is a decapitation, not full regime change.
- Ben Rhodes argues the move is about oil access and signaling U.S. power, not human rights or democracy.
Why U.S. Rejected Opposition Leadership
- CIA assessed Maduro insiders were better positioned than opposition to govern post-removal because the military won't accept Maria Machado.
- Rhodes says a negotiated transition or roadmap to elections was the standard alternative the U.S. ignored.