Good day. It's Friday, December 5th, 2025. Welcome to the Daily Article podcast from Denison Forum.

Dr. Ryan Dennison, senior editor for Theology, wrote today's daily article. I'm Chris Elkins, narrator.

Early this week, Dr. Jim Denison discussed the ongoing controversy surrounding Secretary of War Pete Hedgeseth

and the accusations that he was responsible for war crimes.

But while people continue to debate that question, other questions persist about what President Trump

and his administration are preparing to do next about America's intensifying conflict with Venezuela.

As is often the case, the president has not been shy with his plans.

In addition to parking the largest buildup of American naval forces since the Cuban missile crisis,

with 15,000 troops parked just outside of Venezuela's borders,

Trump has also signed off on the CIA's plans for covert measures inside the country.

Moreover, he's hinted at sending in ground forces saying, I don't rule out anything.

We just have to take care of Venezuela.

And while the situation appears to be escalating quickly, recent reports indicate that the administration began preparing for these attacks as early as January. I'm Il Bovi,

who was the acting deputy attorney general at the time, recommended attacking drug boats

leaving Venezuela in February, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio has advocated

for a more forceful approach to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro since Trump's first term.

So while the attacks in the Caribbean have sunk 27 suspected drugboats and killed at least 87 people

as of this writing, it would appear that the administration's plans for the region likely extend beyond slowing down the flow of drugs into America.

The Trump administration's public justification for the conflict in the Caribbean is a war on deadly drugs, often citing fentanyl as the primary target.

Fentanyl is indeed a massive problem and directly led to an

estimated 48,000 deaths last year, which was actually an improvement over the 67,000 in 2003. As John Yu

points out, those deaths far outpaced the number of Americans killed in any war since Vietnam.

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