How Cuba Propped Up Maduro

Welcome to another episode of conversations with Coleman. The whole world is paying attention to Venezuela. The stunning extraction and arrest of Nicolas Maduro has Americans asking questions like, what is president Trump's goal? Are we in the midst of another regime change war? And most importantly, what's next? But in this episode, I wanted to get behind the constantly changing headlines and delve into some deeper context about Venezuela as a country. Again and again, I find that what podcasts and news articles lack is not up to date information, but deep historical context. In this case, what does it mean for Venezuela to be run by a cartel? How did that come to be? It's a strange reality on its face. I mean, we all know what drug cartels are. We've all seen The Sopranos or The Wire or Narcos, and we know what it means for corrupt government officials to accept bribes in exchange for allowing cartels to operate freely. But what Venezuela has become is something quite different. The government, in some literal sense, is a cartel, and you can't understand anything that's going on in Venezuela right now without understanding that fact. That, at least, is the argument of my guest today, Hellet Martinez Frahela. Hellet is a Cuban born journalist and TV producer who became a political refugee after fleeing Cuba. She founded ADN Cuba and later launched ADN America, which has been keeping close tabs on Venezuela for many years. In this episode, we talk about how Venezuela was transformed from a thriving democracy with a functional economy into a socialist dystopia and ultimately a hollowed out narco state. We discussed the role of oil in Venezuela's history as well as in Trump's current motivations. We discuss the political implications of America's intervention. We talk about how Cuba and Venezuela became so close that 32 of the soldiers killed in operation absolute resolve were in fact Cuban. We talk about the prospects of regime change in Cuba, and much more. So without further ado, Helet Martinez Fragela. If you're a fan of epic fantasy, Arthurian legend, or just great storytelling, I have something for you. The Pendragon Cycle Rise of the Merlin is the Daily Wire's new seven part cinematic series. An epic reimagining of the King Arthur legend that follows a young Merlin in a Britain torn apart by warring factions and standing on the brink of a new era with the rise of Christianity. Here's the exciting part. Daily Wire plus all access members get the first two full episodes on Christmas day. Not a teaser, not a sneak peek. The entirety of episodes one and two a full month before anyone else. So if you wanna get ahead of the story, now's the time to join. And with their Black Friday sale happening right now, you can get 50% off annual subscriptions including the all access membership. The Pendragon Cycle Rise of the Merlin premieres 01/22/2026, but all access members …