Mexican Cartel Chaos, SCOTUS Tariff Decision & Olympic Gold
Verdict with Ted Cruz
Premiere Networks
4.6 • 43.4K Ratings
🗓️ 23 February 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
1. Major Mexican Cartel Leader Killed CHECK OUT the STORY
- Mexican forces killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (“El Mencho”), leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
- His death triggered violent retaliation across multiple Mexican states, including burning vehicles, airport panic, suspended public transportation, and regional shutdowns.
- The U.S. issued shelter‑in‑place warnings for American travelers in affected areas.
- Violence may increasingly target American tourists, especially during spring break.
- Commentary emphasizes Mexico’s struggle with cartel control and the U.S. pushing Mexico to take stronger action.
2. U.S.–Mexico Relations and Trump Administration Pressure CHECK OUT the STORY
- Mexico’s action was a response to pressure from President Trump, who warned of U.S. strikes on cartel targets.
- Broader theme: Trump administration aims to deter cartels, reduce drug trafficking, human smuggling, and violent crime.
- Noted drops in national murder rates (~20%) and drug overdose deaths (~20%), attributed to tougher border and anti‑cartel policies.
- Commentary mocks media for ignoring or downplaying these improvements.
3. Advice for Americans in Mexico
- For those currently in Mexico, the guidance is:
- Check State Department travel advisories.
- Follow regional safety updates closely.
- Contact U.S. government resources if in danger.
- Hosts recommend being extremely cautious about spring break travel during escalating cartel unrest.
4. Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Tariff Approach
- Supreme Court decision ruled that one specific statute (IEEPA) does not authorize the tariff method Trump used.
- Majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts; the prediction on the podcast had expected the opposite outcome.
- However, the ruling does not prevent Trump from imposing tariffs — it simply means he must rely on other statutes.
- The conversation outlines multiple other laws Trump can still use:
- Trade Act of 1974 (Sections 122, 301)
- Smoot-Hawley (Section 338)
- Trade Expansion Act (Section 232)
- Trade Act Safeguards (Section 201)
- Expectation: tariffs will continue, though implemented via different legal pathways.
4. Political Reaction to the Tariff Ruling
- China and U.S. Democrats were reportedly celebrating the ruling.
- Democrats oppose tariffs mainly to politically hurt Trump, not on principle.
- Expect ongoing litigation from companies seeking refunds from past tariffs—potentially costing billions.
6. Upcoming State of the Union
- Suggestion that Trump should focus the State of the Union on:
- Lower crime rates
- Lower drug overdose deaths
- “America First” accomplishments
- Acknowledged cartel takedowns but also keeping the focus on domestic well-being.
7. Olympic Highlights — USA Beats Canada in Men’s Hockey
"We got GREAT Dentists" WATCH Hughes video HERE
- Big national pride moment: USA wins gold in men’s hockey against Canada in overtime.
- Follows U.S. women also beating Canada in the finals.
- Jack Hughes (NHL player, Team USA) celebrated passionately about playing for the country.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:24.9 | Welcome, it is verdict with Senator Ted Cruz. Ben Ferguson with you as well, Senator. We totally change places. You're in Houston, that's where I usually am. I'm in D.C. where you usually are. And this is where we are today, getting ready to ahead of the State of the Union. It's going to be a fun show. We've got a lot to talk about, including a killing of a cartel leader in Mexico. |
| 0:30.8 | Well, violence is broken out in Mexico. Chaos is unfolding right now. You and I are recording this on Sunday afternoon, as we're recording it. A major Mexican cartel leader was taken out by the Mexican |
| 0:37.1 | government, the Mexican army. |
| 0:39.1 | The reaction has been violence, serious violence that is escalating. |
| 0:43.2 | Some of it is reportedly targeting American tourists. |
| 0:46.0 | We're going to break down what happens and what it means. |
| 0:49.4 | We're also going to talk about the major Supreme Court decision that came down this week. |
| 0:53.7 | The Supreme Court struck down |
| 0:55.4 | President Trump's use of tariffs, the centerpiece of his economic policy abroad. The Supreme Court |
| 1:01.8 | said that the statute he used to impose those tariffs, a statute called Aipa does not give him |
| 1:07.7 | the authority to do so. We're going to explain what that decision was all |
| 1:11.7 | about, what the court held, and in particular, what happens next? What does this mean? Does this mean |
| 1:15.9 | Trump can't use tariffs? Does it mean nothing changes? We're going to break it down and give you |
| 1:20.3 | everything you need to know to understand this topic. And finally, we're going to celebrate the |
| 1:24.7 | Olympics, a victory in men's hockey, USA, USA, |
| 1:28.8 | and we're going to highlight a couple of the extraordinary athletes who represented America |
| 1:33.5 | and brought home the gold. |
| 1:35.0 | All of that's on today's podcast. |
| 1:36.7 | Yeah, hockey, American, Canada game. |
| 1:38.3 | We've got to talk about that one as well. |
... |
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