"Gangster's Paradise" - Sec. Rubio On The Way Forward In Venezuela
SmartHERNews
Jenna Lee
4.9 • 660 Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sec. Rubio testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the first time - since the U.S. operation in Venezuela, and provides a behind the scenes perspective on one of the biggest stories of 2026.
00:00 Introduction: Are We at War in Venezuela?
00:09 Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing Highlights
00:47 The Importance of the Hearing and Secretary Rubio's Role
02:25 US Operations in Venezuela: Goals and Challenges
03:22 Secretary Rubio's Explanation and Gangster's Paradise
04:07 Economic Mechanism and US-Venezuela Relations
06:43 Senator Murphy's Questions on Defining Success
07:29 CIA Director's Meeting in Caracas and Embassy Plans
10:59 Congressional Concerns: War Powers and Consultation
18:06 Senator Duckworth's Perspective on Military Options
21:17 Conclusion: What Does Winning Look Like?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Are we at war in Venezuela? Did we commit acts of war in that country? And what was the CIA |
| 0:10.1 | director doing recently in Caracas? Let's talk about it. I'm Jenna. And this is smarter news. |
| 0:15.2 | And I just listened to a three-hour Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing with Secretary Rubio so that you didn't have to. |
| 0:22.7 | I just wanted to pull the highlights for you because this looked to be a very pivotal moment on Capitol Hill and I didn't want you to miss it. |
| 0:29.2 | Why does this matter? Why does this hearing matter? Well, it's only been 25 days since the operation by the United States to go into Venezuela and remove the de facto leader and take Nicholas Maduro back to the United States to face charges and effectively start working with the existing government in the country. |
| 0:48.4 | We're going to talk more about that at a moment. |
| 0:50.0 | So there's only been 25 days. This is the first time that Secretary Rubio has appeared before the very |
| 0:54.9 | same committee that he served on Wallace Senator. And that's really key here. Remember, Secretary of State |
| 1:01.5 | Rubio is not just Secretary of State. He's also the acting national security advisor to the |
| 1:06.9 | president. He's also the acting National Archivists at this time. So he wears a lot of hats |
| 1:12.3 | in this administration, but he also has a lot of really key relationships still on Capitol Hill. |
| 1:17.2 | In fact, he's the only cabinet member in the Trump administration that received unanimous |
| 1:22.9 | support from his colleagues, meaning that Democrats voted for him to be confirmed as Secretary of State. |
| 1:28.4 | And that speaks to the relationships he's been able to build on Capitol Hill. So when he's |
| 1:33.1 | appeared before our elected representatives in the past, there's a little bit different tone |
| 1:38.6 | when we see him questioned versus other members of the cabinet. It doesn't mean that it doesn't get a little spicy at times. |
| 1:45.8 | You're going to see that here. |
| 1:47.4 | But it's clear that there's an existing working relationship there. |
| 1:51.1 | And I'm always watching these exchanges and why it's important to watch three hours of a hearing |
| 1:55.9 | because you never know what you are going to learn. |
| 2:00.3 | I find it's always more fruitful to watch a more |
| 2:04.6 | comfortable conversation between lawmakers and a member of an administration versus an antagonistic |
... |
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