Podcast Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show — "The Truth with Lisa Boothe: Venezuela, Socialism, and Narco-Terrorism: A Warning for America from a Venezuelan Insider"

Date: December 18, 2025
Host: Lisa Boothe
Guest: Daniel DiMartino (Economist, Manhattan Institute Fellow, Venezuelan exile, Founder of the Dissident Project)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Lisa Boothe sits down with Daniel DiMartino, an economist and Venezuelan exile, to discuss the ongoing crisis in Venezuela and its broader implications for the United States. The conversation centers on President Trump's tough stance against the Maduro regime and Venezuelan narco-terrorist networks, the collapse of socialism in Venezuela, and the alarming parallels DiMartino sees between far-left activism in the U.S. and the tactics that destroyed Venezuelan society. DiMartino offers a stark warning for America, emphasizing the dangers of socialism and the manipulation of activist groups, while providing personal stories from Venezuela's collapse.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. President Trump’s Policy on Venezuela and Narco-Terrorism

[03:20–06:26]

• Lisa Boothe opens by referencing rumors about possible military action against Venezuela and asks for DiMartino's view.
• DiMartino asserts that a war is unlikely:

  “There’s no way there can be a war properly because Venezuela doesn’t have a functioning military nor the capacity to fight back in any way..." — Daniel DiMartino [05:09]

• Trump’s aggressive policies, including targeting the Maduro regime and narco-terrorist networks, align with administration priorities:
  • Addressing the U.S. border crisis worsened by mass Venezuelan migration.
  • Combating the inflow of cocaine enabled by Venezuela's cooperation with Mexican cartels.
  • Economic repercussions due to the collapse of Venezuela’s oil industry—raising global oil prices.

2. Justification and Impact of Targeting Narco-Terrorists

[06:26–08:04]

• DiMartino robustly supports Trump’s actions:

  “I think it’s totally justified... the military of the Venezuelan regime, they actually are the drug traffickers. So the government itself is a cartel.” — Daniel DiMartino [06:47]

• “Cartel of the Suns”: Venezuela’s top military officials involved in trafficking.
• Venezuela works with hostile foreign actors (Hezbollah, Russia, Iran, China) for both drugs and oil exports.
• The policy of seizing oil tankers is seen as a strategic blockade, crippling Maduro’s financial resources.

3. Criminal Gangs and Venezuelan Socialism

[08:36–11:47]

• DiMartino corrects claims about prisoner releases, saying the real issue is state failure to imprison criminals, which feeds violent gangs.
• The Trende Aragua gang, originally formed by prisoners, is weaponized by the Maduro regime to suppress political dissent and terrorize populations across Latin America and the U.S.
• Foreign organized crime groups exploit lax U.S. law enforcement, especially in liberal-controlled cities, paralleling Venezuelan dynamics.

4. Parallels Between Far-Left Groups in the U.S. and Venezuela

[11:47–13:30]

• Boothe asks about the relationship between left-wing U.S. groups (Antifa, BLM, Palestinian activists) and the Venezuelan regime’s use of street gangs.
• DiMartino claims U.S. activist groups operate similarly or even more openly, citing ties between radical organizers and international socialist movements:

  “These are radical communists... they are the ones promoting all the pro Hamas protests. They’re the ones promoting all the climate activism. All of these issues are just tools for them to advance their goal: to create a socialist government in America.” — Daniel DiMartino [12:05]

5. The Collapse of Venezuela: A Personal Story

[13:30–15:18]

• DiMartino describes his middle-class upbringing and how daily life degraded: loss of water, electricity, food rationing, and dystopian biometric controls at stores.

• “The rationing system got so sophisticated... the cashier would see whether your quota covered the items you were purchasing. It’s very dystopian. This is worse than 1984.” — Daniel DiMartino [14:33]

6. Why Americans Are Vulnerable to Socialist Promises

[15:18–17:24]

• DiMartino believes susceptibility to socialism is rooted in “envy” and the desire to punish wealth more than actually helping the poor.
• Warns that Venezuela’s democratic collapse proves socialism can be voted in, only for democracy to be subverted from within.

• "What Venezuela proved... is that socialism can come democratically, not just through a revolution... In Venezuela, people were deceived into voting for socialism. And then they got into power and never left." — Daniel DiMartino [16:33]

7. The Irony of Socialist Leaders’ Wealth

[20:45–22:59]

• Boothe notes the hypocrisy: socialist leaders (like Maduro, Bernie Sanders, AOC) amass personal wealth while denouncing the "rich."
• DiMartino elaborates with Venezuelan examples—elites supplanting the prior wealthy, criminal backgrounds, and the role of connections in acquiring power and riches.

8. How to Counter Socialist Messaging

[22:59–25:38]

• Recommendations:
  • Faith communities must oppose socialism, highlighting Christian opposition.
  • Conservatives need to take back academia and engage K-12 education.
  • Family-based education about America’s values and freedoms.

• "If America stopped being a free country, it would stop being a great country." — Daniel DiMartino [24:42]

9. The Fate of the Maduro Regime

[25:38–27:24]

• DiMartino predicts the regime will only fall if its leaders feel personally threatened.
• Maduro’s strategy is to wait out the Trump administration and hope for policy changes under a different U.S. president.

• “Venezuela right now is the head of the snake. And if President Trump can cut that off, there will be so many other positive things...” — Daniel DiMartino [27:18]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s no way there can be a war properly because Venezuela doesn’t have a functioning military nor the capacity to fight back in any way...”
  — Daniel DiMartino [05:09]

• "The government itself is a cartel. It’s the cartel of the Suns.”
  — Daniel DiMartino [06:51]

• “These are radical communists... These are people who would take all our property and send us to concentration camps. And they are the ones promoting all of the pro Hamas protests.”
  — Daniel DiMartino [12:10]

• “It’s very dystopian. This is worse than 1984.”
  — Daniel DiMartino [14:33]

• “Socialism can come democratically, not just through a revolution… In Venezuela, people were deceived into voting for socialism. And then they got into power and they never left.”
  — Daniel DiMartino [16:33]

• “If America stopped being a free country, it would stop being a great country.”
  — Daniel DiMartino [24:42]

• "Venezuela right now is the head of the snake. And if President Trump can cut that off, there will be so many other positive things...”
  — Daniel DiMartino [27:18]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:20 – 05:09: Trump’s posture towards Venezuela and why a war is unlikely
• 05:09 – 08:04: Maduro regime’s crimes, narco-state, Cartel of the Suns
• 08:36 – 11:47: Criminal gangs, migration, and regime-sponsored terror
• 11:47 – 13:30: U.S. far-left groups and their links to international socialism
• 13:30 – 15:18: Personal account of Venezuela’s collapse
• 15:18 – 17:24: Why Americans are susceptible to socialism & its dangers
• 20:45 – 22:59: Hypocrisy of socialist leaders’ personal wealth
• 22:59 – 25:38: How to counter socialism — faith, education, family
• 25:38 – 27:24: Prospects for the Maduro regime and Venezuela’s future

Conclusion

This episode delivers a stark warning about the dangers of socialism—drawn directly from Venezuela’s experience—and draws bold parallels to U.S. political and activist trends. Daniel DiMartino delivers firsthand testimony of Venezuela’s fall, the reality behind narco-terrorism claims, and strategic insights into both fighting the Maduro regime and countering the allure of socialism in America. The conversation is urgent, detailed, and intended as both a warning and a call to action for American listeners.