DeProgram with Ted Rall and John Kiriakou: “Venezuela: Trump’s Iraq?”

Political cartoonist Ted Rall, and producer Robby West filling in for CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, confront the fallout from federal overreach in Chicago's ICE raids and the violent U.S. military brinkmanship off Venezuela's shores, revealing how unchecked authority clashes with human rights and global stability.

• Pressure on Bibi: Advocates of Israel believe Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu isn’t serious about the ceasefire and peace deal he signed and is secretly planning to scuttle Trump’s achievement as soon as he sees a chance. Trump agrees, so he’s sending Vice President JD Vance, Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, who were instrumental in brokering the deal to illustrate the administration’s commitment to keeping the deal intact and to try to keep Mr. Netanyahu from resuming an all-out assault against Hamas. What can/will they do?

• Post-9/11 Jitters: American Airlines Flight 6569 from Omaha to Los Angeles returned to its origination airport after 36 minutes after the pilot heard banging on the locked cockpit door—a security precaution instituted after 9/11—and worried that terrorists were trying to break in. As it turns out, the radio link between the flight deck and the main cabin was down and the crew had no way to communicate with the pilot. What if there had been an emergency in the cabin? Just a reminder that every safety measure can cause a new set of problems.

• Chicago Immigration Crackdown Hearing: Federal officials confront Judge Sara L. Ellis in a courtroom showdown, defending tear gas deployments that defy her recent order amid Operation Midway Blitz. Agents clashed with protesters, journalists, and clergy in Albany Park, dispersing crowds after a routine stop escalated into chaos with minimal warnings, as captured on video. Two days later, on the South Side, federal vehicles crashed into civilians, prompting agents to unleash tear gas on gathered residents, fueling plaintiffs' claims of constitutional violations and Judge Ellis's deepening frustration—she demands body cameras be constantly activated despite government pushback, signaling a judicial hammer poised to strike harder. How bad will ICE’s war against Chicago get?

• U.S. Troops Face Venezuela: 10,000 U.S. troops now patrol Caribbean waters, interdicting drug boats under the shadow of Maduro's emergency declaration, activating an 8-million-strong militia armed with RPGs, anti-tank systems, and urban warfare tactics drilled in Caracas shantytowns. Russian-supplied Sukhoi Su-30 jets buzz the USS Jason Dunham with Kh-31 anti-ship missiles, while S-125, Buk-M2E, and Igla-S systems guard oil sites and coasts, jamming U.S. communications in a contested electromagnetic spectrum that renders helicopters vulnerable. Despite B-52 flyovers and F-35 readiness, the deployment—bolstered by USS Iwo Jima and Tomahawk subs—lacks ground logistics for a full invasion, exposing interdiction ops to provocative close passes and potential retaliation from a force in "shambles" yet lethally asymmetric. Would this be the Western Hemisphere’s version of Bush’s disastrous Iraq War?