BONUS: On the Road in Mexico Urging the Mexican Government to get Serious about Defeating Cartels plus Dems Bemoan Trump's Fighting Violent Crime
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
iHeartPodcasts
4.5 • 11.4K Ratings
🗓️ 2 September 2025
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this powerful episode of Verdict with Ted Cruz, Senator Ted Cruz and co-host Ben Ferguson break down Cruz’s recent diplomatic trip to El Salvador, Panama, and Mexico, offering exclusive insights into foreign policy, national security, and the fight against crime—both abroad and at home.
🔹 El Salvador: Cruz applauds President Nayib Bukele’s aggressive crackdown on gangs like MS-13 and 18th Street, which has led to a dramatic drop in homicide rates. He contrasts this success with the U.S.’s ongoing struggles with crime and illegal immigration.
🔹 Panama: After touring the Panama Canal, Cruz raises alarms about China’s growing influence in the region—highlighting strategic infrastructure projects that could threaten U.S. economic and national security in a future conflict.
🔹 Mexico: Cruz meets with top Mexican officials to push for stronger cooperation on border security and cartel dismantling. He critiques Mexico’s rejection of U.S. military involvement and compares it to successful models like Plan Colombia and El Salvador’s approach.
Back home, the conversation shifts to domestic crime and politics:
🔸 Cruz slams Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for downplaying Chicago’s violent crime crisis, citing its 13-year streak as the U.S. murder capital.
🔸 He argues that Democratic policies in states like Illinois and California mirror Mexico’s reluctance to confront criminal organizations.
🔸 With the 2025 midterms on the horizon, Cruz warns of a Republican “enthusiasm gap” and stresses the importance of voter turnout, despite early policy wins under Trump.
Key Themes: U.S. foreign policy, China’s influence in Latin America, border security, cartel violence, crime in American cities, 2025 elections, Republican strategy, and Democratic policy failures.
🎧 Don’t miss this episode packed with geopolitical analysis, hard-hitting crime stats, and bold political commentary.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:05.5 | Welcome, it is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. |
| 0:07.7 | Ben Ferguson with you, Senator. |
| 0:09.3 | You have come back from a Kodell of Latin America, and it is finally wrapped. |
| 0:14.0 | You got back in the wee hours of the morning, and you're going to give us a final update on the last part of your trip. |
| 0:20.4 | Well, I got home at 4 in the morning last night, so it's good to be at home. |
| 0:23.7 | It's good to sleep at my own bed. |
| 0:25.3 | It was a very productive trip. |
| 0:27.0 | As we discussed on previous pods, we started by going to El Salvador. |
| 0:30.8 | I met with President Bucheli, the president of El Salvador, saw the incredible success he has had |
| 0:36.1 | defeating gangs, defeating MS-13 in the 18th Street Barrio in El Salvador. |
| 0:41.6 | They've gone from the highest murder rate in the entire world, 100 homicides per 100,000 people. |
| 0:48.8 | That meant in any given year, one in a thousand Salvadorans was being murdered. |
| 0:57.5 | That number has plummeted by 98%. Last year, |
| 1:04.1 | their murder rate was 1.9 per 100,000. That is, among the safest in the world, that is three times safer than the United States of America. We're just over six murders per 100,000. El Salvador |
| 1:09.4 | is now three times as safe. Incredible success, |
| 1:12.9 | what they're doing in El Salvador. From then, I flew on to Panama. Panama was a fascinating |
| 1:18.1 | meeting. I toured the Panama Canal. I must say it is truly an engineering miracle. The idea that |
| 1:24.7 | the United States was able to build this more than a century ago. In |
| 1:28.2 | 1914, it is an incredible design, and it's incredibly important both for U.S. national |
| 1:36.0 | security and for U.S. economic security. And so I had multiple discussions with senior |
| 1:41.0 | Panamanian officials about the critical importance of removing China from the Panama Canal. |
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