About this episode

The episode discusses America's role as a gangster state through the lens of the kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

This article is read by Eunice Wong , a Juilliard-trained actor, featured on Audible’s list of Best Women Narrators . Her work is on the annual Best Audiobooks lists of the New York Times, Audible, AudioFile, & Library Journal. www.eunicewong.actor Text originally published January 3, 2026 . The Chris Hedges Report is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Full Text The kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife solidifies America’s role as a gangster state. Violence does not generate peace. It generates violence. The immolation of international and humanitarian law, as the U.S. and Israel have done in Gaza, and as took place in Caracas, generates a world without laws, a world of failed states, warlords, rogue imperial powers and perpetual violence and chaos. If there is one lesson we should have learned in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya, it is that regime change spawns Frankensteinian monsters of our own creation. The Venezuelan military and security forces will no more accept the kidnapping of their president and U.S. domination – done as in Iraq to seize vast oil reserves…

People in this episode

Host: Chris Hedges

Guest: Eunice Wong

Topics covered

• U.S. foreign policy
• regime change
• international law
• Venezuela
• violence and peace
• gangster state

Keywords

• gangster state
• Nicolas Maduro
• Venezuela
• U.S. foreign policy
• regime change
• international law
• violence
• Gaza
• Eunice Wong

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Chris Hedges Report

Places: Venezuela, U.S., Iraq, Syria, Libya, Gaza

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