Why isn’t US media busting the ‘narco-state’ myth?

The Listening PostThe United States’ deadly “counter-narcotics mission” off Venezuela’s coast hinges on an unproven drug-smuggling narrative – a familiar pretext for regime change, and one the mainstream media have been quick to echo. Meanwhile, Venezuelans face escalating repression at home.Contributors: Spencer Ackerman – Author, Reign of Terror and Waller vs Wildstorm Abby Martin – Journalist, The Empire Files Miguel Tinker Salas – Professor, Latin American history, Pomona College “Pablo” – Anonymous Venezuelan journalistOn our radar:New leaks, from a disputed 28-point peace proposal to a secretly recorded call between Trump’s envoy and a Russian official, have upended the delicate Russia-Ukraine negotiations. Meenakshi Ravi explores what these revelations mean for any future deal.Israel’s settlers: From margin to mainstreamIsraeli settler violence in the West Bank has surged to unprecedented levels, driven by a fringe movement whose far-right ideology has been amplified and normalised across Israeli news outlets. The Listening Post’s Nic Muirhead reports on the movement’s growing power and the media ecosystem enabling its rise.Featuring: Hilla Dayan – Sociologist, University of Amsterdam Nimrod Nir – Political psychologist, Hebrew University of Jerusalem / Director, AGAM Labs Oren Ziv – Photojournalist, +972 MagazinePublished On 29 Nov 2025