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Foreign. Here you are listening to the O'Reilly update. Coming up next, the news with Mike Slater.
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Thank you, Bill. Happy New Year. It is Monday, January 5, 2026. Here's what's happening today in America. Maduro in custody, Denmark tells us to stop it. IsIs attacked and Second Amendment win for California. It's all coming up. First, an incredible law enforcement operation according to Marco Rubio in Venezuela to capture Maduro and his wife from inside their military base. 150American aircraft providing cover for our helicopters. Those aircraft we now believe struck surface to air missile systems, communications antennas and at least two buildings that appeared to be storage depots. The explosions of Venezuela first reported 2am local time on Saturday, first at a port, then at an airport. We have video now of a surface to air missile system next to a damaged airplane and some have identified it as a Russian supplied system. Then explosions at the Capitol. Five targets were struck, including another military air base. Maduro is to appear in a federal court in Manhattan today. Four counts narco terrorism, conspiracy, cocaine importation, conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. As early as August, the CIA sent a small unit into Venezuela with the goal of providing extraordinary insight, end quote, into Maduro's movements. Maduro and his wife apparently tried to escape to a steel safe room but didn't make it in time. President Trump said our forces trained for months in a replica of the presidential compound in Venezuela, sort of like we did with bin Laden's compound. And it turns out our guys trained with massive blowtorches, according to the president, in case they had to cut through steel walls and in Maduro's safe room. In other our hemisphere news, Denmark's prime minister told President Trump to stop the threats about taking over Greenland. This comes after Kate Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller, tweeted out a map of Greenland with an American flag on top of it. In other international news, British and French warplanes led a strike in Syria, taking out an underground facility where members of ISIS stored weapons and explosives. Syria joined the anti ISIS coalition late last year. A federal appeals panel ruled that a California law that prohibits open carry of firearms in heavily populated counties is unconstitutional. This ruling was issued by two judges on the three judge panel. This is the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The judges found that the state's policy of limiting open carry to counties with a population of less than 200,000 is inconsistent with the Second Amendment. There's nothing in the Second Amendment about only applying in rural areas. The law that the 9th Circuit just said was unconstitutional, banned open carry in urban areas, which is where 95% of the people of California live. We have a lot more incredible details about this law enforcement operation getting Maduro out of Venezuela. We'll give you some more details coming up next. And then something you might not know, the value of Venezuela's oil. It's next.
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I'm Mike Slater filling it for Bill O'Reilly. Now it's time for the O'Reilly update. Message of the day. There's so much to say about this operation to bring Maduro to justice. Someone found a clip from 2019 of CNN and MSNBC. People talking about again, this is 2019 talking about how Trump allowing Maduro to stay in power is proof that Trump is Putin's puppet. Remember, this was during the all the Russia, Russia, Russia nonsense. And they also said that Trump likes Maduro because Trump gets along with thugs and strongmen around the world. Oh, now what? Speaking of experts, the Financial Times said experts had warned that Venezuela's layered air defense network could complicate US Air operations. Oh, yeah, experts warned we just blew up that air defense network and then the helicopters waltzed right in. So experts wrong. Yet again. The left's in a real funny place because they haven't coordinated yet as to why they think this was so terrible, what Trump did in Venezuela. So they're throwing at everything to see what sticks. Uh, you know, they went back to, of course, the old standby, the old code Pink standby from 2003, no war for oil. There's a lot of this violates international law. International law is pointless and fake. Remember back in 2003 with all these United Nation strongly worded letters. International law has been written by our enemies around the world and often enemies within our own government to decrease American power on the world stage. International law has always been written to neuter America. It has made us weaker to the point where Iran, Russia, Hezbollah and China were operating out of Venezuela to kill Americans launching from our own hemisphere. And our president wasn't going to allow that to happen anymore. A lot of people on the left talking about, oh, there's no legal justification. While the legal justification for capturing Maduro is four counts narco terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. The indictment says that Maduro imported thousands of tons of cocaine into the United states over a 25 year period. He's a narco terrorist. This would be like capturing El Chapo, some other drug kingpin. And I'm glad that it was treated like that and not like capturing Saddam Hussein. To capture Saddam and bring democracy to Iraq, it required 1.5 million American troops. We were there for eight years. Took us nine months to find Saddam in that hole. We went to the U.N. we did the whole thing. We created a coalition of the willing and 4,500Americans died, countless injured, countless lives changed, ruined to get Saddam Hussein. But this president with the Fox News Weekend host Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio and this incredible team that the President has created captured Maduro in a flawless military operation with zero casualties, involving every branch of our military. Launching from 20 different bases, 150 aircraft taking Maduro from palace to prison in 24 hours. Well done to everyone in our military who was a part of this operation. And also, this is what leadership looks like. We have forgotten what strong leadership can bring. Let us marvel at how fearsome we can be with the right vision, with the right leadership and with American first principles. And to those who say this isn't America first regaining control of our hemisphere to make sure that everything operating in it is in the best interest of our country. It's the definition of America first. We'll talk more about Venezuelan oil and how that can help America next. Mike Slater filling in for Bill O'Reilly. Now it's time for something you might not know. Venezuela has 300 billion barrels, billion barrels of crude oil in its reserves, more than any other country in the world. 20% of the world's total reserves are in Venezuela. At Today's price of $60 a barrel, that's a value of $18 trillion. $18 trillion is almost the entire GDP of China. Germany has the third highest GDP at 5 trillion. And the value of oil reserves of Venezuela is 18 trillion. It's also half of our US debt. Maybe we could use this oil to pay off our debt. This has been a pet point of mine for a long time. This is our oil that communists confiscated from America. JD Vance made this point. He said, I see a lot of criticism about oil. About 20 years ago, Venezuela expropriated American oil property and until recently used that stolen property to get rich and fund their narco terrorist activities. I understand the anxiety over the use of military force. But are we just gonna, are we just supposed to allow a communist to steal our stuff in our hemisphere and do nothing? Great powers don't act like that. This is our oil. We discovered oil in the Middle east and Venezuela. We came up with the technology, the engineering, the infrastructure, the manpower. We did every possible thing related to oil in the world. And then 40 years after we did all that, these countries decided just to take it from us and nationalize our oil interest, and we just let them. That's always been crazy to me. Oil in Venezuela was discovered first by Shell company, which is a, which a British Dutch company, and then Standard Oil, which is Exxon and Conoco and Chevron. Exxon's from Ohio, Conoco is from Utah, and Phillips is from Oklahoma. None of these are Venezuelan oil companies. And we just let Venezuela take them all over in 1976 because Venezuela said there ares now 21 private companies, private oil companies were kicked out of Venezuela. Now, you may remember back in 2016, Trump was asked about the Iraq war and he said we should have taken the oil. But George W. Bush, he didn't want, he didn't want to look bad. The code pink activists won. The no war for oil people won. So we didn't use all that oil that was at our fingertips. And now we will. Trump said, quote, we're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, and start making money for our country. Of course we should. As one Venezuelan fella said to those who say that the United States is only interested in oil, I asked those people, what do you think the Russians and the Chinese wanted? The recipe for tacos? More coming up. I'm Mike Slater. I have a podcast called Politics by Faith. Please join us over there every day. Bill O'Reilly will be back tomorrow. Spread the word.
Episode: The O'Reilly Update, January 5, 2026
Host: Bill O'Reilly (with Mike Slater filling in)
Date: January 5, 2026
This episode centers on dramatic recent news: the U.S.-led capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Mike Slater, filling in for Bill O’Reilly, provides analysis of the operation, its geopolitical implications, international reactions, and a detailed look at Venezuela’s oil reserves and their significance to American interests.
Event Summary:
U.S.-led forces successfully captured Maduro and his wife in Venezuela with extensive military coordination, including airstrikes and raids on multiple Venezuelan military sites.
US Military Involvement:
Maduro’s Legal Troubles:
Maduro faces four federal counts in Manhattan: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
“As early as August, the CIA sent a small unit into Venezuela with the goal of providing extraordinary insight…into Maduro's movements.” — Mike Slater, 00:55
Slater highlights past media skepticism of Trump’s intentions with Maduro, recalling 2019 claims that Trump’s approach showed him as "Putin’s puppet."
“Trump likes Maduro because Trump gets along with thugs and strongmen around the world. Oh, now what?” — Mike Slater, 03:36
Liberal critics allege the operation violated international law and was motivated by oil, echoing anti-war protests from the Iraq era.
Slater dismisses international law as “pointless and fake,” arguing it is often designed to limit America.
“International law has always been written to neuter America.” — Mike Slater, 04:08
He contrasts this operation with the Iraq War, emphasizing its swift success and lack of U.S. casualties, calling it an example of “what leadership looks like” (05:45).
Economic Value:
“$18 trillion is almost the entire GDP of China. Germany has the third highest GDP at 5 trillion. And the value of oil reserves of Venezuela is 18 trillion.” — Mike Slater, 07:10
Ownership Debate:
“Are we just supposed to allow a communist to steal our stuff in our hemisphere and do nothing? Great powers don’t act like that. This is our oil.” — Mike Slater quoting JD Vance, 08:07
Historical Context:
Oil in Venezuela was discovered by foreign (mainly American and British-Dutch) companies.
Venezuela expropriated oil assets from 21 private companies in 1976, a move Slater sees as theft (“we just let them”).
Slater juxtaposes the current action with the U.S. failure to claim Iraq’s oil after the war, suggesting this time “we will” use it to benefit the U.S. economy.
“Trump said...‘we’re going to have our very large United States oil companies...go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for our country.’ Of course we should.” — Mike Slater quoting Trump, 09:45
Slater frames the military action as a defense of American interests and security:
"Regaining control of our hemisphere to make sure that everything operating in it is in the best interest of our country...it's the definition of America first." — Mike Slater, 06:28
He criticizes historical hesitancy and claims decisive leadership is vital for American strength and prosperity.
“Those aircraft we now believe struck surface to air missile systems, communications antennas and at least two buildings that appeared to be storage depots.”
— Mike Slater, 00:22
“Experts warned we just blew up that air defense network and then the helicopters waltzed right in. So experts wrong. Yet again.” — Mike Slater, 03:57
“The law that the 9th Circuit just said was unconstitutional, banned open carry in urban areas, which is where 95% of the people of California live.” — Mike Slater, 02:15
“International law has always been written to neuter America. It has made us weaker to the point where Iran, Russia, Hezbollah and China were operating out of Venezuela to kill Americans launching from our own hemisphere. Our president wasn't going to allow that to happen anymore.” — Mike Slater, 04:17
“Well done to everyone in our military who was a part of this operation. And also, this is what leadership looks like. We have forgotten what strong leadership can bring.” — Mike Slater, 06:00
“As one Venezuelan fella said to those who say that the United States is only interested in oil, I asked those people, what do you think the Russians and the Chinese wanted? The recipe for tacos?” — Mike Slater, 10:20
The episode conveys assertive, patriotic, and critical perspectives of both opposition media and international law, while championing decisive American action and interests. Speaker tone is bold, occasionally humorous (“recipe for tacos?”), and unfiltered in its advocacy for U.S. power and prosperity.
This episode provides a detailed, unapologetic analysis of the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro, positioning it as a defining moment of American strength, strategic interest, and “America first” leadership. Slater, channeling O’Reilly’s ethos, dismisses critics and emphasizes the operation’s strategic, legal, and economic justification, especially regarding Venezuela’s valuable oil resources. The commentary is rich with historical references, contemporary critiques, and a firm stance on the significance of assertive leadership in safeguarding American interests.