PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 31st, 2025: REPORT: U.S. Military Attack On Venezuela Is Imminent & FBI Foils ISIS-Inspired Halloween Terror Attack
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It's Friday, the 31st of October. How about that? Happy Halloween. May your trick or treat bag always be filled with full-size candy bars. I believe that's a traditional Halloween greeting. Anyway, welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the U.S. is reportedly on the brink of launching airstrikes inside Venezuela, targeting the Maduro regime's military command in what would mark, obviously, a major escalation in Trump's war on Latin America's powerful drug cartels. Later in the show, the FBI foils an alleged plot to carry out an ISIS-inspired terror attack targeting Halloween weekend in Michigan. I'll have those details.
But first, today's afternoon spotlight. The US is reportedly preparing to launch military actions inside Venezuela. Sources within the Trump administration told the Miami Herald that President Trump has approved strikes targeting the country's military installations, the next stage in the White House's campaign to dismantle the so-called Cartel of the Sons, a sprawling narcotics network that U.S. officials say is run directly by Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and his associates. According to multiple senior sources, of course, none of whom are authorized to open their pieholes and share this information, the strike could come within a matter of days or even hours. The plan, which was allegedly drawn up by the Pentagon and approved in principle by Trump, would hit key Venezuelan military facilities tied to drug operations with the aim of decapitating the cartel's leadership structure.
Now, before we go any further, I should note that the White House is pushing back on these reports. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly issued a statement Friday afternoon saying, quote, unnamed sources don't know what they're talking about. Any announcements regarding Venezuela policy? would come directly from the president." But if the reports prove accurate, the operation would obviously mark a sharp escalation in what the Trump administration has already framed as a, quote, armed conflict with Latin America's narco-terrorist networks. The White House says the Maduro regime and its allies now move roughly 500 tons of cocaine each year. That's a lot of coke, with roughly half going to the US and the rest to Europe.
When asked if Maduro himself is a target, officials declined to say. But one source close to the operation told the Miami Herald that the dictator's time is running out. The official said, quote, Now, again... I stress that these reports and comments are coming from anonymous sources not authorized to discuss details of any impending operation, so they may well be full of shit. Or they could be well-informed. That's the thing about anonymous sources. So, take it with a grain of salt. As our regular listeners will know, back in August, the Trump administration doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro's capture to $50 million. Now, that's the highest bounty ever offered by the U.S. government.
Additional $25 million rewards remain in place for Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, believed to be the guy who oversees cartel operations. and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, another top regime figure facing U.S. federal drug trafficking indictments. When the increased bounty was first announced, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi described Maduro as, quote, one of the world's largest drug traffickers and a threat to our national security. The White House says Maduro uses the Cartel of the Suns to move cocaine in coordination with Mexico's Sinaloa cartel and the Venezuelan gang Trandelo Agua. As we've been tracking on the PDB, news of potential land strikes inside Venezuela come amid the U.S.
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