To Understand Venezuela, You Have To Understand Panama EXPLAINER
Kikoff is giving my audience 80% off your first month (that’s as low as $1 for your first month with the discount!). Go to https://getkikoff.com/leeja | Did the Trump admin break international law when it attacked Venezuela and captured Nicolas Maduro? Yes. Does it matter? Not at all, according to a new memo from the Trump admin providing bogus legal justification written by T. Elliot Gaiser and inspired by none other than William Barr. We’re discussing that history and the similarities Maduro’s capture has with another strongman from Latin America: Manuel Noriega.
🔗 Sources: https://www.leejamiller.com/episodes/2026/1/14/to-understand-venezuela-you-have-to-understand-panama
🎙️Listen to the podcast version of every episode here: https://www.leejamiller.com/why-america
👑 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/leejamiller
👕 Get your Reagan Ruined Everything t-shirt right here: https://leejamillermerch.com/
📃Sign up for Why, America? The Newsletter for news insights every Friday: https://leejamiller.substack.com
𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗠𝗘
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leejamiller/
🤳🏻 TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdPrpN7c/
🖥 Website: https://www.leejamiller.com
📧 E-mail: contact@tablerock.com
💌 Snail Mail:
400 S 4th Street
Suite 401-53
Minneapolis, MN 55415
___________________
𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗦
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE – Everything contained on this channel is meant solely for entertainment and informational purposes. Nothing herein should be considered legal advice nor does anything on this channel create an attorney-client relationship of any sort. Please seek guidance from a licensed attorney before making any legal decision.
COPYRIGHT – Any use of copyrighted content on this channel constitutes fair use pursuant to 17 U.S. Code § 107 as it is utilized for the purpose of criticism, comment, or news reporting allowed under that statute. See, e.g., Monster Communications, Inc. v. Turner Broadcasting Sys. Inc., 935 F.Supp. 490 (S.D. N.Y., 1996); SOFA Entertainment, Inc. v. Dodger Productions, Inc., No. 2:08-cv-02616 (9th Cir. Mar. 11, 2013); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 14-09041 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 13, 2015).
AFFILIATE LINKS – This description may include affiliate links that allow me to make a small profit (at no extra cost to you!) on purchases made through them. I only include links to products I genuinely recommend.
PLEASE NOTE: I AM NOT A JOURNALIST. Nor am I a scholar providing academic-level peer-reviewed journal articles in video form. (Because that would be boring for both me and for you, and that’s not the point of these videos.) These episodes are news commentary on the work of actual journalists (with the addition of personal takes and my own legal knowledge). I have made every attempt to cite my sources in this description. However, given that I am a one-woman show and I turn these videos around in under 24 hours (research, write, film, edit, and post) in an effort to get important information & analysis out to you asap, inadvertent mistakes happen. If you believe I have missed a citation, please reach out at hello@leejamiller.com and I will happily add it to the description.

@LeejaMiller
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Kikoff is giving my audience 80% off your first month (that’s as low as $1 for your first month with the discount!). Go to https://getkikoff.com/leeja
@nemya9586
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
They went all the way to Venezuela to capture a corrupt president when there's one at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in DC 🙃
@erict.watson2460
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
What's this? Bill Barr has always been a shifty character? Who could've imagined this to be so?
@rachelemma622
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Rep Ogles would LOVE heated rivalry
@zlatyan
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
More stunts… to keep you talking abot stuff. As long as its not the free gift of salvation we have in Christ, they will allow it.
@a_charb
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Thank you so much for having the emotional wherewithal to research. Nvm while youre living in Minneapolis. So much love to you ❣️
@randleotoro
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
i'm venezuelan living in venezuela and it pains me deeply how no one will knowledge venezuela is not a sovereign state we are a kidnapped narco-state we don't have free elections, or liberty of expression, the regime amasses all the violence and gun power and we're basically held hostages by the state, we are intervene by the cubans, china, iranian and russians which provide intelligence and repression tactics to the regime in exchange of gifting our resources which are causing a collapse in ecosystems too, we struggle with the collapsed economy due to massive corruption while all members of the regime are rich, as a state we are becoming a world or hemisphere problem by all the aestern powers making moves here and all the drug cartels and gangs and we are massively leaving our country which causes tension in the region too, but well i guess that doesn't matter, the u.s. and the venezuelan people benefits from the fall of this disgusting regime and we are ready and welcoming for change, we support Maria Corina Machado, and that is the whole truth.
@karinpowers1018
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Leeja, I love you, and you are SUPER brilliant, but 'scourge' rhymes with 'purge.'
@ericdietz-y6j
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
In fact I agree with the bloodless removal of a world leader instead of a war.
But I would prefer the UN do this sort of thing, instead of such kidnapping operations.
That is something terrorists do. It is unseemly at best, but fortunately this man caused a LOT
of suffering to his people. So for once someone approves of something Trump did.. indirectly.
But I do believe the president is not allowed to just do things like this without the senate and congress being consulted. Even the CIA has it's limits in such operations, under very specific orders.
Trump doesn't really obey the laws, or rules, or limitations.. he just does what he wants to be blunt.
@RetCon-x2q
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
So glad you covered this – it was the first thing that came to mind when Heard about Venezuela.
@joelwreakhavoc
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Please please please make an '"I'd rather be picking berries and chillin" t-shirt!?
@Birdeye75
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
I really want to get into that supposed widespread fraud about Maduro in the election
I was hoping you'd add a little bit more detail for me
This won't come as a surprise to you and most of your audience but it's almost impossible to get objective information on Venezuela
@MaryamMaqdisi
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Shameless repeating of western propaganda in an otherwise solid analysis.
@blaaakelyy
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
ronald reagan is always at the scene of the crime 😭😭
@celem91
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
We could also look back to the Suez crisis, where the US were the ones blowing the whistle and calling foul on the UK and France for actions they would later take themselves in other theatres
No part of the last three quarters of a century of international politics has been anything but deeply hypocritical (imo Suez was already the beginnings of the breakdown of US-UK alliance. The UK is treated as a vassal post ww2. Didnt back Suez, didnt even back them for the Falklands where their de jure territory is invaded by a south American nation)
@greerclemons1224
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Fuck not me being disappointed in my home state of Ohio… AGAIN! AS USUAL!!
@juliaaaUwU
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
MASON NOOOOOOOOO
@bradleybeauclair8282
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
14:20 That's how Mental Health works. There is zero biochemistry inolved, it is actually a housing market scam that overbills medicaid to take your paid-off mortgage when you are elderly. Your children on ritalin prove a family history of mental health nonsense.
@Jake66132
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Did operation Just Cause literally inspire the video games? Because if it is, then that is wild and fucked up like crazy. Messed up event to gain inspiration from
@christycole983
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
🤦🏻♀️
@Steadyeddie8734
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
The US intervenes in other countries all the time and always has but when trump does it its illegal to….ok
@itsblitz4437
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Well Manuel Ortega is sort of a special instance of a military strongman of getting support from the US in the name of the Cold War only to get ousted later by the same country that supported him, but it is nothing unique especially in Latin America, given we had thrown coups in courtesy from the CIA and supported anti communist governments especially Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, Haiti, Argentina such as the Dirty War and Dominican Republic like Rafael Trujillo and Chile remember Pinochet? The closest we had was Saddam Hussein who the US government initially supported in fighting the Ayatollah government in Iran only to back track the moment Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1990 then sanctioned and oust him a decade later.
@Ameatamaru
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
So good to see that sexy law lady Leeja Miller! ☝️
@scifirealism5943
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Poverty exists independently of welfare and family size, and persists because society chooses containment over elimination based on moral beliefs, not technical limits.
Motherhood is targeted because children make poverty visible and force investment, exposing a double standard where the poor are policed while the wealthy receive unconditional support.
Beliefs about merit and desert come first, and laws, budgets, and welfare structures are built to enforce the idea that dignity and stability must be earned.
The resources to provide middle-class stability exist, but unconditional empowerment is rejected because society does not believe poor people deserve autonomy.
The deepest injustice is not poverty itself, but the belief that poor people are inferior, which sustains a system that manages suffering instead of ending it.
@EnjoyurbleThings
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
I think some of this stuff seems questionable.
@bluregard3442
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
You sound like you have a yeast infection. try taking a bath.
@AlexDavidkova
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
One word: Petrodollar. This is how it all started. Venezuela was once one of the richest and nice places to live before they became a regime freaks. Maybe that's something to think about.
@robd8577
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Why do you seemingly personally endorse these companies inside your videos. It really detracts from your videos, in my opinion. Genuine feedback.
@samuelmontenegro365
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
el cara de anana
@Sophist990
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
I think it's cute you think this is only a Right wing thing! If you think its bad now wait till the pendulum swings and they go after the gun owners. You think it's bad now? All i got to say is stock up this is gonna get real bad. If you still believe some Person/Party is going to save your ass you haven't been paying attention.
@calamaribowl8683
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
17:25
@pauldas9787
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
Another brilliant video, thanks for all your work.
@flordeparchita
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
I'm a venezuelan and I've been following your videos for a while. Really love your work. Just wanted to thank you for being able to hold the nuance of what Trump did without treating Maduro and Cilia like helpless victims. Cilia has been in the government for more than a decade before marrying Maduro. She's not "just" Maduro's wife. And both have committed crimes against humanity in Venezuela, and are involved not only with oppression, repression, and fabricating a complex humanitarian crisis but also genocideS. Most of us didn't want any bombing or a US invasion. But that shouldn't be used to defend a genocider dictator. We also want the international law to be upheld, but not only when we get our dictator taken away, but every single time humanitarian aid trucks weren't allowed in, were burned up, or used to lure people in to kill them, like with the Kumarakapay massacre back in 2019. Not defending Maduro as if his life was worth more than the around 100 people killed in the US attack. Hoping this disgraceful turn of events at least helps people wake up and see that international law and human rights in the global south are only upheld when it interests some global north power. But when it doesn't align with their interests or as a justification to "save" or "civilize" (oh, white man's burden…), it just leads to international abandonment of the people suffering at the hands of their own government. From Palestine, to Sudan, to the DRC, to Iran, to Venezuela…may we all be free in our lifetimes.
@flordeparchita
April 7, 2026 at 5:30 am
ok a latin american person not handling 3 days of loud music should've made everyone sus of Noriega TT /j