The New Yorker staff writer Jon Lee Anderson joins Tyler Foggatt to talk about the Trump Administration’s military strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug boats in the Caribbean. They discuss the questionable intelligence and rationale behind the operation, the legal concerns raised by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s alleged order to leave no survivors in a September strike, and whether the attacks feels more performative than strategic. They also explore how Trump’s framing of the issue as a drug war intersects with his broader ambitions—from pressuring the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, to reasserting American dominance in the hemisphere—and how other Latin American countries may respond to further military action in the region.

This week’s reading:

“Can Trump’s Peace Initiative Stop the Congo’s Thirty-Year War?,” by Jon Lee Anderson
“The Dishonorable Strikes on Venezuelan Boats,” by Ruth Marcus
“The Legal Consequences of Pete Hegseth’s ‘Kill Them All’ Order,” by Isaac Chotiner
“The Undermining of the C.D.C.,” by Dhruv Khullar
“In the Line of Fire,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells

The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.

Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts.

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