Today on the Flash Traffic Podcast we talk about Operation Absolute Resolve to remove Venezuelan ex-president Nicolás Maduro. We discuss the tactics, the historical precedents for regime change, and what it means for international politics. Plus, we have a guest CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilot drop in to answer questions!

Watch this episode on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/WgPvH4XLYTQ

Episode 185—Venezuela Armada and the EU’s Ukraine Deal

Today on the Flash Traffic Podcast we talk about the Venezuela Armada, the EU actually doing something, Ukraine strikes Russia, a Suburban SUV with a mini-gun, and more!

Content:

00:00 Venezuela's Oil Crisis and U.S. Military Presence

03:21 Trump's Ignorance and Military Leadership

06:20 Operation Southern Spear and Venezuelan Naval Escorts

09:06 The Real Reasons Behind U.S. Actions in Venezuela

12:04 U.S. Reputation in Latin America

15:04 Ukraine's Strategic Military Developments

18:02 European Support for Ukraine

20:41 Ukraine's Military Innovations and Challenges

23:34 Recent Ukrainian Strikes on Russian Assets

38:39 Analyzing Drone Warfare and Air Defense Systems

44:30 The CIA's Lost Nuclear Device

50:41 The Search for the Missing Nuclear Device

53:36 The Goofy Space Force and Military Innovations

59:15 Graphic Videos and the Absurdity of War

Articles and Videos:

1. Trump Orders Blockade of Some Oil Tankers to and From Venezuela - The New York Times — https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/us/politics/trump-blockade-venezuela-oil-tankers.html?searchResultPosition=1

2. Inside Congress Live — https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/12/17/congress/house-gop-narrowly-defeats-boat-strike-limits-00696784

3. With New E.U. Loan, Ukraine Avoids Budget Crunch and Can Plan War Effort - The New York Times — https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/world/europe/ukraine-russia-frozen-assets-loan.html

4. Ukraine Plan Calls For Enhanced Military, With U.S. and European Backup - The New York Times — https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/world/europe/ukraine-security-guarantees-talks.html?searchResultPosition=1

5. Ukraine ‘blows up £300m Russian submarine’ with underwater drones — https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/15/ukraine-blows-up-300m-russian-submarine-underwater-drones/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

6. Satellite Pix: Russian Missile Sub Hit by Ukraine Undersea Drone Is Stationary, Leaking Oil — https://www.kyivpost.com/post/66611

7. Strike in Belgorod Region Eliminates Two russian S-400 Air Defense Systems (Video) | Defense Express — https://en.defence-ua.com/news/strike_in_belgorod_region_eliminates_two_russian_s_400_air_defense_systems_video-16865.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

8. How Did the C.I.A. Lose a Nuclear Device in the Himalayas? - The New York Times — https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/13/world/asia/cia-nuclear-device-himalayas-nanda-devi.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

9. Space Force unveils new themes for weapon systems to boost identity — https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2025/12/12/space-force-unveils-new-themes-for-weapon-systems-to-boost-identity/

10. DVIDS - Video - Chief of Space Operations Guardian Motion Graphics — https://www.dvidshub.net/video/989521/chief-space-operations-guardian-motion-graphics

11. PATINA RESEARCH on X: "The Dillon Aero Convoy Escort Vehicle CEV offers VIP protection with CNC machined, aerospace grade components, including a concealed Dillon Aero M134D housed within the cabin. While the M134 remains completely undetectable, the system can be fully deployed in under three seconds https://t.co/Qf44cWUZiF" / X — https://x.com/patinaresearch/status/2001731740159635556

12. MAKS 25 🇺🇦👀 on X: "🔥 Impressive fire show! Two Russian "camels" carrying fuel to positions were destroyed using an FPV drone of the operator of the 414th brigade "Birds of Magyar". Pokrovsk direction, Donetsk region. https://t.co/4FJ7MKWcSa" / X — https://x.com/maks_nafo_fella/status/2000524897164874113?s=46

It's War We Friday, and Eric and I talk about basically whatever we want to talk about. We talk about Venezuela, Cambodia and Thailand, U.S. Army drones, Ukrainian drones, prediction markets, and more!

Content:

03:34 Venezuela: The Next Big Conflict?

12:19 AI and the Future of Warfare

15:22 Digital Manipulation in Media

20:14 The Military Industrial Complex: Drones and Defense

25:48 The Switchblade Drone Debate: Efficacy and Relevance

31:48 Prediction Markets: Betting on Global Events

38:44 Insights from Polymarket Bets

45:51 Shooting Drones

1. Visegrád 24 on X: "BREAKING: U.S. soldiers have stormed and seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast. It was used to transport sanctioned Venezuelan and Iranian oil. Trump says that the U.S. will keep the oil from the seized tanker. https://t.co/5mRu9QkNw7" / X — https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1998901107066810427?s=46

2. Open Source Intel on X: "Reporter: Yesterday, the U.S. seized a ship off the coast of Venezuela. Would you welcome a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela? María Corina Machado: Look, some people talk about an invasion in Venezuela, the threat of an invasion, and I answer: Venezuela has already been https://t.co/viNJ6gDQuI" / X — https://x.com/Osint613/status/1999071571483165070?s=20

3. Visioner on X: "🇺🇸 The American anti-aircraft "drone" complex Merops has gained the ability to receive information from many different radar systems. Each drone costs approximately 14,500 US dollars, and the Merops system is one of the most promising developments in the C-UAS field. See the https://t.co/s8NwrI2YeB" / X — https://x.com/visionergeo/status/1998848458351063067?s=20

4. The Pentagon Wars | English Full Movie | Comedy War - YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNpGBTU_jt4

5. Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 on X: "Test flight of the Ukrainian high speed Anti-Shahed FPV drone “STING” https://t.co/418LDFrLdm" / X — https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1887521608018911683

6. Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 on X: "The @wilendhornets are presenting their "Hornet Vision" video system, which is used on the "STING" anti-Shahed drones. The video system provides a much higher quality video transmission from the interceptor to the operator. https://t.co/sZoaAGEYTk" / X — https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1997970474710757481?s=20

7. Sprinter Press on X: "The Cambodian army attacked a Thai military post on the border https://t.co/l1FkQVyI5J" / X — https://x.com/SprinterPress/status/1998333858790388134

8. Dr. Anthony Tingle on X: "The Pentagon is restricting reporting. The National Guard moves toward Memphis. The DoD buying expensive knock-off drones. And more! Listen and watch on Spotify: https://t.co/kaiRstHofs Watch on YouTube: https://t.co/tMbHyRkEeN https://t.co/d8qtvETE5w" / X — https://x.com/AnthonyLTingle/status/1970229425594884171?s=20

9. Enezator on X: "I don’t even want to think about how far artificial intelligence will go in a few years https://t.co/YqQdauCvN3" / X — https://x.com/Enezator/status/1998875236390023582?s=20

10. Army pilots face low morale, 'survivor remorse' amid big cuts — https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-pilots-question-aviation-cuts/

11. A Switchblade launcher now tested on Abrams Tanks. https://t.co/k2zFTr0CnV" / X — https://x.com/casualartyfan/status/1998148351238496601?s=46

12. A War Turned Into a Global Casino: Polymarket Cashes In on Ukraine’s Suffering — https://www.kyivpost.com/post/65449

13. Polymarket | The World's Largest Prediction Market — https://polymarket.com/

14. Ukrainian BMP-1 gunner firing 6 shells in under 20 seconds https://t.co/7CggfijPov" / X — https://x.com/Zoma3mk/status/1998811996725326300?s=20

15. Destruction of the enemy in the Pokrovsk direction. December 10, 2025 https://t.co/z3B3x1UXmx" / X — https://x.com/Heroiam_Slava/status/1999043863663563254?s=20

My guest today is Dylan Burns. He is a journalist who’s covered the Ukraine war since the beginning. He’s been to all the hottest places in the war, and he has seen everything. We talk about Pokrovsk, Kherson, drones, and more.

Dylan’s documentary One Year on the Pokrovsk Frontline:

https://youtu.be/Xv5PBB2dXuc?si=JmZ3xfI1KmESx16U

DylanBurnsTV on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/@dylanburnstv

Contents:

00:00 The Art of War Journalism

03:48 Navigating Military Press Relations

06:48 The Reality of Soldier Experiences

09:36 Documenting the Front Lines

12:46 Building Trust with Soldiers

15:39 Dangerous Situations in Conflict Zones

18:32 The Risks of Reporting from the Battlefield

21:33 The Human Cost of War

24:45 The Impact of Drone Warfare

27:48 The Future of Kherson and Civilian Safety

30:50 Targeting Civilians: A Humanitarian Crisis

33:42 The Psychological Impact of War

35:49 The Destruction of Pokrovsk: A Personal Reflection

40:01 Strategic Military Movements in Donetsk

43:48 The Evolution of Drone Warfare

49:59 Cost Disparities in Military Technology

52:20 The Future of the War: Predictions and Insights

Today, I offer a short update and commentary on Ukraine’s Negotiations and its ongoing corruption scandal.

Watch this episode on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/uCKsENXf-JM

Content:

00:00 The Impact of Trump's Foreign Policy

00:00 European Perspectives on American Politics

00:16 The Weak Link in Negotiations: Ukraine and Europe

00:17 Understanding the Broader Context of the Conflict

00:31 Research Insights from Ukraine

00:32 Expert Perspectives on Russia and Putin

00:55 Experiencing Urban Warfare Training in Ukraine

01:39 Exploring the Drone Tunnel

02:29 Logistics and Future Plans in Ukraine

02:30 Overview of the Negotiation Process

03:42 Key Players in the Negotiation

07:00 Critique of European Involvement

07:55 The Four Players in the Peace Process

08:29 Critique of Europe's Role

11:21 Frozen Russian Assets as Leverage

13:27 European Gridlock and Legal Liabilities

15:42 Negotiation Competence: A Comparison with Past Efforts

18:23 Ukraine: A Complex Conflict

18:57 The Current State of the Front Lines

23:44 Russia's Strategic Air Attacks

27:11 Ukraine's Strategic Strike Complex

30:01 Corruption Scandals in Ukraine

40:04 Negotiation Predictions and Future Outlook

My guest today is Mark Galeotti. Mark has published over 30 books on Russian politics, security, and organized crime. Today, we discuss the latest peace plan, the resiliency of the Putin regime, the Russian way of war, and the future of this war.

He has just released an updated version of his book We Need to Talk About Putin: How the West Gets Him Wrong. Available anywhere books live, even Amazon.com: https://a.co/d/cN2hZzP.

Watch this episode on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/W3w5GNJgWO8

My guest today is Thomas Mutch. He is a photojournalist and author who has covered the war in Ukraine since the beginning. We discuss war journalism, the Human Safari in Kherson, corruption, Russia’s economic troubles, and the future of this war.

His new book is The Dogs of Mariupol: Russia's Invasion and the Forging of Ukraine's Iron Generation. Available anywhere books live, even Amazon.com: https://a.co/d/872SNWg.

My guest today is Thomas Theiner. A former member of the Italian army, Thomas is a film maker and historian. For many years he lived in Kyiv for working for Ukraine's largest film company and was there during the 2014 Maidan. We discuss the history of Russia and Ukraine, and why Russia is such a terrible place.