This is John Batchelah speaking to you, Professor John U of Berkeley University Law School and the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, about the approach to Venezuela by the second Trump administration, a very powerful flotilla off the coast of Venezuela. At the same time, air strikes against

so-called alleged drugboats. At the same time, language suggesting that the U.S. is at war or

could be at war with Venezuela, at the same time accusing the illegitimate president of Venezuela,

as a drug lord, a man the head of the cartel of the sons. How does this all come together to the actions taken so far and potentially

the actions taken by the Trump administration to challenge the Maduro regime?

Here's John Udo to explain so far what we know and what happens next.

Much more of this tonight.

Yes, I think it does, and I think actually Trump administration has taken the same

attitude that you're suggesting.

They actually have issued an executive order

and gone into court and said under oath that the United States and Childgence community

believes that Trenda, Aragua, is actually working on behalf of the Venezuelan government

or is so intertwined with the Venezuelan government

that we have a state of war that Trenda Aragua is actually committing hostile acts

against the United States both here and abroad. I've been saying that the Trump administration should provide more facts.

They're going to have to in court in order to make sure that everyone's comfortable in the claim that this is not just a drug gang.

It's not just like the mafia, but the Trendor is actually acting on behalf of Venezuela in some way, on behalf of the Maduro regime

in some way. And if that's true, then what really is going on, it seems to me, is that the United

States and Venezuela are in some kind of state of war. That the United States hasn't, as you said,

it has a lot of assets offshore Venezuela, but the United States hasn't done as much said, it has a lot of assets offshore Venezuela, but the

isn't done as much as it could if it wanted to in that state of war.

But the minimum is allowed to start using force to try to stop Trendor Aragoa from attacking

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