Lara Logan devoted Episode 53 of Going Rogue with Lara Logan to Venezuela following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, framing the moment as a critical inflection point rather than an end to the crisis.
Logan’s guest, former CIA officer Gary Berntsen, discussed what he described as the broader structure behind Maduro’s rule and why removing one leader may not dismantle the networks that sustained the regime. The conversation focused on criminal organizations, intelligence operations, election systems, and the risks facing both Venezuela and the United States as the situation evolves.
The episode follows recent DX exclusive reporting on letters sent to President Donald Trump by two former high-ranking Venezuelan officials now imprisoned in the United States. In December, The Dallas Express published a letter from former Venezuelan military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal Barrios, who wrote that the Maduro government functioned as a narco-terrorist organization and warned of intelligence, criminal, and election-related threats.
Days later, DX published a second letter from retired Major General Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, who described the expansion of the prison-based gang Tren de Aragua, alleged election manipulation inside Venezuela, and the role of senior regime figures.
Both letters were published as received, and The Dallas Express has stated it has not independently verified all underlying claims.
In Episode 53, Logan and Berntsen revisit many of the same themes raised in those letters — including organized crime, intelligence penetration, election infrastructure, and the uncertainty surrounding Venezuela’s future — while focusing on what comes next after Maduro’s arrest and why the outcome remains unresolved.
Going Rogue with Lara Logan is available on YouTube and Substack.
