Congressional Republicans praised President Trump’s actions as a new day in Latin America, while Democrats questioned the influence of foreign adversaries.
US military captures Venezuelan President Maduro in ‘major’ operation
The United States has detained Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a nighttime military operation.
WASHINGTON – Congressional Republicans rallied in support of the U.S. detention of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife on the night of January 3, while Democrats expressed deep skepticism about the legality of the military operation in the South American country.
After President Donald Trump announced on social media the attack on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro, Republican leaders hailed it as a new day in Latin America and an example of U.S. leadership.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Congress was not informed in advance of the attack that led to Maduro’s capture. Cotton likened this to the FBI arresting drug traffickers and cybercriminals in the United States.
“We don’t have to notify Congress every time the executive branch makes an arrest,” Cotton told Fox News. “That’s exactly what happened in Venezuela, and now Mr. Maduro will come to the United States and face justice.”
“Today, President Trump changed the course of Latin America for a generation,” Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said on the X Post.
U.S. lawmakers from both political parties have described Maduro, Venezuela’s president since 2013, as a “dictator” and “authoritarian,” but their opinions differed widely on the president’s authority to launch attacks on foreign soil.
Democrats, who are in the minority in both chambers of Congress, questioned the legitimacy of military action and the extent to which the U.S. president could act without approval from Congress.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but past presidents have taken military action without Congressional approval. In early December, a bipartisan group of senators pushed for a war powers resolution authorizing the use of force in Venezuela.
“We must be extremely careful when using military force to achieve regime change, because the consequences do not end with the first attack,” Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.
If the United States asserts its right to use military force to invade and detain foreign leaders accused of crimes, Warner questioned what would prevent China from asserting authority over Taiwan’s leaders or Russia from abducting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“Once this line is crossed, the rules that limit global chaos will begin to break down, and authoritarian regimes will be the first to take advantage of it,” Warner said.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called Maduro “the thug and illegitimate leader of Venezuela,” but said his acts of terrorism and oppression against his people do not justify Trump’s “trampling of the Constitution.”
Schiff said Congress needs to debate a war powers resolution that would authorize or deny military action.
“By acting without Congressional approval or public buy-in, Mr. Trump risks throwing the hemisphere into chaos and has broken his promise to end wars, not start them,” Schiff said in a statement. “And as he continues to brandish his saber around the world and his approval rating at home dwindles, Americans should be concerned that this is not the last time he breaks that promise.”
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said President Trump’s military operations in Venezuela are “completely inconsistent with what my Cabinet has repeatedly briefed Congress on and contrary to the expressed wishes of the American people.”
“We have no understanding of what the administration is preparing to do to reduce the risk to the United States, and no information about its long-term strategy beyond today’s extraordinary developments,” Shaheen said in a statement. “Instead, the administration has consistently misled the American people and their elected representatives by offering three different and contradictory explanations for its actions.”
House Democrats called for a briefing on Venezuela.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, called Maduro an “illegitimate ruler” but said he had seen no evidence that the Venezuelan leader’s regime posed a threat that would warrant military action without Congressional approval.
“The administration must immediately explain to Congress its plans to ensure stability in the region and the legal legitimacy of this decision,” Jaimes said in a statement.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Like Trump administration officials, he accused Maduro of “smuggling illegal drugs and members of violent cartels into this country,” a claim for which there is little evidence. The data shows that Venezuela is not a major producer of opioids like fentanyl and is a relatively small player in the much less lethal cocaine trade.
“President Trump has put American lives first, succeeded where other countries have failed, and under his leadership, America will no longer allow criminal regimes to profit from wreaking havoc and destruction on our country,” Johnson said in the X-Post.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida), who represents a South Florida district that has long pushed for Maduro’s ouster, said Maduro’s arrest is a “new day” for Venezuela and Latin America.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, America and our hemisphere are safer,” Scott said on social media.
President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are being brought to the United States to face federal charges related to drug trafficking, Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Contributors: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Francesca Chambers
