TRASHFUTURE: "Black Bag Diplomacy" ft. Jana Silverman

Date: January 6, 2026
Guests: Jana Silverman (Professor of International Relations, UFABC Brazil; DSA International Committee co-chair)

Overview:

This episode of TRASHFUTURE takes a darkly comic look at the U.S.'s recent military intervention in Venezuela—directly abducting President Maduro—and what it signals about the future of American foreign policy, international law, and global power dynamics. The hosts lampoon the spectacle, media response, and implications for U.S. dominance, joined by expert guest Jana Silverman, who provides vital historical and political context concerning Latin America, U.S. intervention, and the neoliberal world order.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Satirical Cold Open: "Black Bagged Back to Work"

• 00:16-01:41 The hosts joke about being kidnapped, "black bagged," and forced back to the studio post-holidays—drawing comically dark allusions to recent events in Venezuela and the normalization of extraordinary force to compel compliance, whether in offices or nations.
• Quote:
  • Host: "I was hoping we would get taken by the Lib SEAL special forces, but we got taken by the CHUD Delta Special Force." (01:31)
  • Co-host: "I'm a tier 1 anti work from home operator." (00:55)

2. Special Forces as Culture War Metaphor

• 01:41-04:20
  • Discussion of the "branding" of Navy SEALs vs. Delta Force, satirizing the internal culture wars—"woke" vs. "chud" special forces—and how these preferences filter up to the highest levels:
    • SEALs seen as the "elite philosopher-king strike package" under Obama; now, under Trump/Hegseth, Delta (Army) favored for their hyper-macho reputation.
  • Notable Moment:
    • Former Military Guest: "If you've ever encountered Navy SEALs...the best way to describe it is: what if the Khmer Rouge were surfers?" (02:07)
    • Co-host: "Embedding a kind of partisan American Janissary class where SEALs are the woke special forces unit and Delta is the CHUD one..." (03:04)

3. Setup of Venezuela Crisis Discussion

• 05:02-09:08
  • Jokes give way to the core topic: the 2026 U.S. operation to abduct Maduro, its motives, context, and consequences, especially with guest Jana Silverman.

Interview with Jana Silverman

Begins 09:08

4. U.S. Intervention in Latin America: Historical Roots

• 09:08-15:52
  • Silverman places U.S. actions in Venezuela in the context of a long tradition of intervention:
    • The Monroe Doctrine (1823): Not a carte blanche for intervention at first, but laid the groundwork for expanding U.S. influence.
    • Gunboat Diplomacy: Direct (and privatized) military interventions in the 19th–early 20th century, often to enforce debt collection or assert economic control.
      • Example: Nicaragua governed by an American for two years in the 1870s.
    • Roosevelt Corollary (c. 1900): U.S. preemptive right to intervene.
    • Colonial Precedents: Cuba (post-Spanish American War), Puerto Rico, Philippines.
  • Quote:
    • Jana Silverman: "What they're doing in Venezuela, long story short, is nothing new." (15:44)

5. Recent Coup Tactics & Motivation

• 15:52-23:35
  • U.S. interventions in 20th-century Latin America usually indirect, e.g., coups backed via local militaries, CIA, or economic levers ("lawfare").
    • Parallels drawn between the current action and 19th-century invasions.
  • Twist:
    • Unlike Cold War, little need for ideological cover—now, brazen, resource-focused power plays, less concern for legitimacy.
    • Silverman: U.S. hegemony threatened by China’s rise, so the response is about retaining dominance rather than countering communism.
  • Quote:
    • Silverman: "If you lose economic and soft power...what is the US left with? Military hegemony. That's the only type of power that, uncontestedly, the United States still has an upward advantage on..." (28:41)

6. Why Does the Media Pretend This is About Democracy?

• 23:35-26:35
  • Co-hosts poke at the dissonance between official U.S. policy and media spin about restoring democracy; speculate that Trump's personal vindictiveness, such as being mocked by Maduro, could be a motivating factor.
  • Silverman: Planning goes back years via sanctions and USAID/NED interventions but agrees some decisions are personal and impulsive at the highest level.

7. The "Day After" Maduro

• 34:51-43:19
  • The calm post-coup environment: While some right-wingers had hoped for a total regime collapse, Silverman notes Venezuela’s political resilience and the likeliness of new, difficult choices for acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
  • Risks: Vice presidents in the region often pivot to neoliberalism under U.S. pressure (Temer in Brazil, Moreno in Ecuador).
  • Legal Outrage: Trying Maduro in the U.S. for non-universal crimes violates international law and sovereign immunity.

8. Europe’s Powerlessness & the Neoliberal Playbook’s Collapse

• 43:43-45:14
  • Silverman and hosts note European institutions have no actual response, merely issuing statements of “concern” while discarding democracy-promotion posturing.

9. Future Scenarios for Venezuela

• 44:26-46:12
  • Discussion: Could Venezuela descend into low-level insurgency, or will local resistance fade if material conditions improve under U.S.-dictated "reform" and sanctions relief?
• Quote:
  • Silverman: "People are really just looking to survive...I would say if this new U.S. presence...improves the material conditions, they're not going to protest against that." (42:45)

Post-Interview Analysis and Satirical MAGA “Kremlinology”

10. U.S. Policy as Farce, TV, and Spectacle

• 46:41-53:12
  • Hosts unpack how Trump’s foreign policy is motivated by spectacle and media (“government by what you want to watch on TV”), with policy determined by whoever has his ear that day.
  • Comparison to reality TV; if only someone had shown Trump a different movie, maybe a strike wouldn't have happened.
  • Recurring Note: The war on Venezuela appears at once as geopolitical assertion and deeply personal drama.

11. European and Global Reactions: Equivocation, Humiliation

• 53:12-57:44
  • European leaders reduced to parody, unable to condemn clear breaches of international law, instead mumbling about needing more information.

12. The “Mercantilism Cosplay” of the Venezuela Operation

• 65:20-68:13
  • Trump claims oil as a motive, but real economic incentives are murky; Venezuela’s oil industry is wrecked, and full-scale development is costly and risky.
  • Quote:
    • Host: "Invading Venezuela for the sake of American oil companies...should have happened...as a zero interest rate phenomenon...If from purely that perspective...where are you in term one doing this?...It is a crime, it's a stupidity...making the world a profoundly more dangerous place." (67:25–68:13)

13. Ominous Conclusion: The Age of Spectacle & Monster Politics

• 72:44–73:56
  • The hosts see a radically destabilized global order where the strongest do as they wish, and the old liberal international norms are openly flouted. The rest of the world, they predict, may soon mimic America’s reckless abandon.
  • Quote:
  • Co-host: "We are now going to see an administration that is much more guided purely by zero sum games...an international system of governance basically never existed, or if it did, it just doesn't work anymore...We're in the time of monsters now." (71:32)

Notable Quotes (w/ timestamps)

• “[The intervention] is a crime, it's a stupidity, it is making the world, it's a farce, it's making the world a profoundly more dangerous place…not even for a reason that makes sense, really, when you look at the hegemon. It's just libidinal.” — Host (68:13)
• "What they're doing in Venezuela, long story short, is nothing new." — Jana Silverman (15:44)
• "If you lose economic and soft power...what is the US left with? Military hegemony." — Silverman (28:41)
• "This is a sort of total Baudrillard victory...all of this stuff is so choreographed...it may as well not happen as far as the guys ordering it." — Co-host (52:45)
• “We are now going to see an administration that is much more guided purely by zero sum games...We're in the time of monsters now.” — Co-host (71:32)

Memorable Satirical Moments

• The team's running gag about being "black bagged" into the recording studio in Nike tech sweatsuits.
• Imagining liberal vs. "CHUD" special forces; "woke" SEALs vs. MAGA Deltas.
• Speculation on Trump being guided purely by whatever movie he most recently watched, suggesting a reality where global affairs are dictated by the content of Trump's streaming queue.
• Visualizing European leaders being forcibly zipped into tracksuits by Delta Force and finding new humiliations at America’s whim.

Timestamps for Significant Sections

• Cold Open & Satirical Kidnapping: 00:16-05:02
• Special Forces & Culture War: 01:41-04:20
• Setup for Venezuela discussion: 05:02-09:08
• Interview with Jana Silverman: 09:08-46:19
  • U.S. historical intervention: 09:08-15:52
  • Recent patterns & motivations: 15:52-23:35
  • The "day after" scenario: 34:51-43:19
• Post-interview analysis / MAGA Kremlinology: 46:41-53:12
• Europe’s humiliating equivocation: 53:12-57:44
• China, oil, multipolarity, mercantilism cosplay: 63:17-68:13
• General fears for the future / conclusion: 72:44-end

Conclusion

“Black Bag Diplomacy” blends TRASHFUTURE’s signature irreverence with a clear-eyed, expert-informed critique of the latest American military intervention in Venezuela. The episode dissects the event as a farcical yet deeply ominous display of naked power, a breakdown in the old international order, and a preview of a future where policy is shaped by spectacle, strongman whims, and media over reality. The panel and Jana Silverman remind listeners that while the methods change, the U.S.'s impulse to dominate its "backyard" remains, but now with less justification, less competence, and less constraint than ever before.