Show notes
FULL EPISODE: https://youtu.be/2n9Y_AJlzmA
Daniel describes what dissent actually looks like under the Venezuelan regime — not in theory, but in real life.
DANIEL's LINKS
- IG: https://www.instagram.com/danieldimartino/
- X: https://x.com/DanielDiMartino
He explains how Colombian trafficking networks used Venezuelan military planes, how foreign prisoners became bargaining chips, and why some Americans detained in Venezuela were working with or adjacent to the regime itself.
Most chilling is the personal story: a close friend arrested for protesting on social media. No weapons. No violence. Just speech. She was detained, tortured, and has now been imprisoned for over 18 months. Daniel recounts what detainees report happening inside Venezuelan prisons — humiliation, physical abuse, and psychological torture — all designed to break dissent.
Despite knowing the risk, she returned to Venezuela to fight for freedom.
The clip also touches on how quickly Nicolás Maduro consolidated power — rewriting the constitution within his first year and dismantling judicial independence. Daniel references the case of María Lourdes Afiuni Mora, a judge imprisoned after ruling against the regime, as a warning of what happens when the courts refuse to comply.
This isn’t chaos.
It’s enforcement.
Inside this clip:
• Venezuelan military planes and drug trafficking
• Political prisoners as bargaining leverage
• Arrests over social media posts
• Torture inside Venezuelan prisons
• 18+ months without due process
• Why people still return to resist
• Maduro’s rapid constitutional rewrite
• The Afiuni case and judicial intimidation
No exaggeration.
No slogans.
Just what power does when it isn’t challenged.
***TIMESTAMPS***
00:00:00 – Daniel’s First Memory of “Secret Police” Becoming Real, the Man Who Captured Che Guevara, “Once Venezuela Is Free…Cuba Is Next,” “The Original Sin Was Bay of Pigs,” “Venezuela Should Be Richer Than Saudi Arabia,” Singapore Still Uses Physical Punishment, “Singapore Ranks #1 for Economic Freedom,” Trump Admin Realizing Tariffs Aren’t a Good Idea
00:10:09 – Comparative Advantage, Countries Have Comparative Advantage Too, Maduro, Chávez Set the Foundation, Maduro Loyal Since Day One, What Was Likeable About Maduro?, Strange Timing of Chávez’s Death, Early Oligarch Rule, What It Felt Like When Chávez Died, When the Narco State Began, DEA Kicked Out Around 2008, Colombia as Major Supplier
00:20:30 – Colombian Drug Trades Using Venezuelan Military Planes, “Americans Biden Bargained For Worked With the Regime,” Venezuelan Torture, Arrested for Social Media Posts, “They Make Them Eat Their Own Feces…They Torture Them,” Imprisoned 18+ Months, Returned to Fight for Freedom, Maduro Rewrites Constitution in First Year, María Lourdes Afiuni Mora
00:29:35 – Judges Imprisoned for Non-Compliance, Only Friendship Daniel Ever Broke, Tracking Gold Reserves via Instagram, Gold Stored in Dubai, Money Laundering, Drug Boats Before the Invasion, Kidnapping Crisis in the 2000s, Trump Pardoning Honduras Cartel Leader, Stopping Drugs in Venezuela?, Dangerous Global Precedent
00:41:55 – Deterrence Message to China, Russia, Iran, Is This Really About Drugs?, Venezuelans Happy but Nervous, Libertarian Movement in Venezuela, Why This Is Different Than Iraq, Friends on the Ground, “Streets Are Empty…People Staying Home in Fear”
00:51:56 – 2024 Sham Election, María Corina Machado, Beatings, Opposition Corruption, Pre-Chávez Political Setup, Senate Abolished, National Guard in Grocery Stores, 2019 Failure, María Corina Smuggled to Oslo, Where Regime Figures Would Flee (Qatar or Russia), Latin American Coalition Forming
Watch the full conversation on the Julian Dorey Podcast
@JulianDoreyDaily
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