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US lawmakers react to attack on Venezuela, ‘capture’ of Nicolas Maduro

US lawmakers react to attack on Venezuela, ‘capture’ of Nicolas Maduro

The United States’s attack on Venezuela and the purported “capture” of President Nicolas Maduro have drawn heated reactions in Washington, DC, amid months of mounting tensions between the two countries. Democratic lawmakers have largely condemned US President Donald Trump’s actions on Saturday against the South American country and its leader, saying they violate international law and lack necessary Congressional approval. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Members of Trump’s Republican Party, meanwhile, have defended the attacks as part of the administration’s push to stem drug trafficking into the US. Here’s a look at some of the reactions from US lawmakers. Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib “Trump’s illegal and unprovoked bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president are grave violations of international law and the U.S. Constitution. These are the actions of a rogue state,” Tlaib wrote on social media. “The American people do not want another regime change war abroad.” Democratic Senator Andy Kim The Democratic senator accused US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of lying when they told lawmakers during a Senate briefing last month that the US pressure campaign against Venezuela was not about regime change. “I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress,” Kim wrote on X. “Trump rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling our nation into another war.” Advertisement He added that the US strike “doesn’t represent strength” and is not “sound foreign policy”. “It puts Americans at risk in Venezuela and the region, and it sends a horrible and disturbing signal to other powerful leaders across the globe that targeting a head of state is an acceptable policy for the U.S. government.” Democratic Congresswoman Betty McCollum McCollum, the ranking Democrat on the US House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, called on Trump to immediately halt US strikes against Venezuela. “The actions taken today by the Trump administration are blatantly illegal,” she said in a statement. “Venezuela poses no imminent national security threat to the United States and Congress has not voted to authorize any use of force in the region.” She urged Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to call the House of Representatives back into session immediately “to rein in this out-of-control President”. Democratic Senator Reuben Gallego “This war is illegal, it’s embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year. There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela,” Gallego wrote on X. Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern McGovern also raised questions about the lack of Congressional oversight, saying that “without authorization from Congress, and with the vast majority of Americans opposed to military action, Trump just launched an unjustified, illegal strike on Venezuela.” “He says we don’t have enough money for healthcare for Americans—but somehow we have unlimited funds for war??” the Democratic lawmaker wrote on X. Republican Senator Tom Cotton Cotton, a top Trump ally in Congress, hailed the US president as well as US troops and law enforcement officers for an “incredible operation”. “Nicolas Maduro wasn’t just an illegitimate dictator; he also ran a vast drug-trafficking operation. That’s why he was indicted in U.S. court nearly six years ago for drug trafficking and narco-terrorism,” Cotton wrote on X. He said he spoke with Rubio, the US secretary of state, who confirmed that Maduro was in US custody and “will face justice for his crimes against our citizens”. Cotton then appeared to threaten the interim government in Venezuela, saying it needed to “decide whether to continue the drug trafficking and colluding with adversaries like Iran and Cuba or whether to act like a normal nation and return to the civilized world”. “I urge them to choose wisely,” Cotton wrote. Republican Senator Mike Lee Lee, who had been critical of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuela, said Rubio told him that Maduro had been arrested “to stand trial on criminal charges” in the US. Advertisement Lee also wrote on social media that Rubio told him the US military action in Venezuela “was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant”. “This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack,” Lee said in a post on X. Republican Senator Rick Scott The Florida senator said “the strikes against and capture of narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro” were conducted “with a level of professionalism and precision”. He said they also send a message to the world that Trump “is a man of his word, and the United States will not tolerate terrorists.” “Maduro was indicted in a U.S. Court and was told to stop sending drugs into our country to kill our kids and grandkids, but he refused. This is peace through strength on full display. Today, America and the world are a safer place,” Scott wrote on X. US Vice President JD Vance Vance said that the operation to “capture” Maduro shows that Trump “means what he says”. “The president offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States,” Vance said on social media. Before Saturday’s attacks, senior Trump administration officials had said Venezuela’s oil belongs to Washington, falsely describing the nationalisation of the South American country’s petroleum industry as “theft”. In his X post, Vance also addressed the experts, world leaders and US lawmakers who have denounced the administration’s actions against Venezuela as illegal. “And PSA for everyone saying this was ‘illegal’: Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas,” the US vice president said. Adblock test (Why?)

House GOP critics break with Trump over Venezuela operation that captured Maduro

House GOP critics break with Trump over Venezuela operation that captured Maduro

President Donald Trump’s House GOP critics are ripping the administration’s operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the first to criticize the Trump administration’s operation in Venezuela, again breaking from the majority of his party and butting heads with the commander in chief. Massie, a longtime critic of U.S. foreign intervention, appeared to question the legality of the federal government’s Venezuela strikes. “If this action were constitutionally sound, the Attorney General wouldn’t be tweeting that they’ve arrested the President of a sovereign country and his wife for possessing guns in violation of a 1934 U.S. firearm law,” Massie posted to X Saturday morning. US CAPTURE OF MADURO CHAMPIONED, CONDEMNED ACROSS WORLD STAGE AFTER SURGICAL VENEZUELA STRIKES The Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed a four-count indictment against Maduro after Trump confirmed the U.S. took custody of the Venezuelan leader and his wife following strikes in the capital of Caracas. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement those charges were narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States. It’s not immediately clear what Maduro’s wife, Celia Flores, has been charged with. In a follow-up posted on the charges, Massie said, “25-page indictment but no mention of fentanyl or stolen oil. Search it for yourself.” Trump said on Fox News that Maduro and Flores were being flown to the USS Iwo Jima, which will bring them to the U.S., where they will face criminal proceedings led by the Southern District of New York. Massie’s criticism was followed by scathing comments by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., another Trump critic who is retiring from Congress early next week before finishing her term. TRUMP CASTS MADURO’S OUSTER AS ‘SMART’ MOVE AS RUSSIA, CHINA ENTER THE FRAY “If U.S. military action and regime change in Venezuela was really about saving American lives from deadly drugs, then why hasn’t the Trump admin taken action against Mexican cartels? And if prosecuting narco terrorists is a high priority, then why did President Trump pardon the former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted and sentenced for 45 years for trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into America?” part of Greene’s statement read. “The next obvious observation is that by removing Maduro this is a clear move for control over Venezuelan oil supplies that will ensure stability for the next obvious regime change war in Iran. And of course, why is it ok for America to militarily invade, bomb, and arrest a foreign leader, but Russia is evil for invading Ukraine and China is bad for aggression against Taiwan? Is it only ok if we do it? (I’m not endorsing Russia or China).” Meanwhile, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., praised the operation but expressed concerns about what precedent is being set. “My main concern now is that Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan,” Bacon said in a statement. “Freedom and rule of law were defended last night, but dictators will try to exploit this to rationalize their selfish objectives.” Bacon is also retiring from Congress, but, unlike Greene, he is serving out his full term. The vast majority of Republican lawmakers unequivocally backed the operation as expected.  Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., both said they expected congressional briefings from the Trump administration in the coming days when lawmakers return from a two-week recess. 

ICE highlights ‘best of the best’ agents who jumped into action at crash sites

ICE highlights ‘best of the best’ agents who jumped into action at crash sites

After a year in which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement dramatically increased its operations under President Donald Trump and simultaneously faced an increase in attacks against officials, the agency is highlighting the “best of the best” agents for particularly heroic actions in the line of duty. In a Friday statement, ICE said that “despite the obstacles they face, including record numbers of violent anti-ICE rioters assaulting law enforcement, terrorist attacks, and bounties placed on their heads, our courageous officers have proven their commitment to upholding the rule of law in the United States and making America safe again.” According to the agency, agents faced an increase of 1,347 percent in assaults and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats against them. ICE blamed these increases on “lies and smears from sanctuary politicians and radical activists, and hoaxes spread by the media.” “Despite that, their heroic efforts have led to historic results, helping DHS remove more than 622,000 illegal aliens,” ICE said, noting that tens of thousands of those removals were of criminal offenders, including murderers, rapists, child sex abusers, terrorists and gang members. WAVE OF CAR ATTACKS ON ICE AGENTS FOLLOWS INCENDIARY RHETORIC FROM TARGET-CITY LEADERS “That, coupled with more than 2 million illegal aliens who chose to self-deport, has created a cycle that benefits the American public,” the agency said, adding, “As ICE continues to remove more illegal aliens, more illegal aliens wisely choose to self-deport and avoid arrest.” Among the stories highlighted by the agency was a July 11 incident in Philadelphia in which two ICE officers encountered a truck that had veered off the road and crashed into a tree. The agency said the pair “sprang into action, rescuing the driver and extinguishing an engine fire while waiting for emergency responders to arrive.” In Dallas, the agency said that ICE officers witnessed a pickup truck lose control after losing a tire, causing it to roll seven times and land upside-down. ICE said its officers and two bystanders pried open the truck’s door and pulled the driver to safety. On Sept. 25, ICE said that members of its Denver special response team saved another man’s life by pulling him from a burning car along the highway. The agency said the team was en route to the Broadview, Illinois, processing facility on Sept. 25 when they approached the fiery aftermath of a multi-car highway collision. OREGON RESIDENTS SUE HOMELAND SECURITY AFTER TEAR GAS USED ON ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS ICE said that “as smoke billowed from the small car, the officers responded quickly and discovered a man with his legs pinned under the dashboard inside, unconscious and covered in blood.” The agents broke the vehicle’s window, extracted the man, and provided first aid before emergency responders arrived at the scene and transported him to a hospital. In Nuevo, California, the agency said that on Oct. 2, an off-duty ICE officer discovered a man suffering from a serious neck wound and quickly provided lifesaving aid to him while instructing his son to call 911. ICE said the officer used his own first-aid kit and applied a pressure bandage to control the heavy bleeding and stabilize the victim before first responders arrived to transport the victim to a hospital. Just weeks later, on Oct. 21, the agency said that an ICE deportation officer was conducting enforcement actions in Philadelphia when he heard multiple gunshots nearby. According to the agency, the officer then saw three juveniles fleeing the area and discovered a man who had been shot in the left thigh. ICE said that he and officers from the Philadelphia Police Department applied a tourniquet, and local police drove the man to a nearby hospital for treatment. ICE AGENTS OPEN FIRE ON VAN DRIVER WHO ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO RUN THEM OVER ON CHRISTMAS EVE Commenting on these stories, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said that “courage is measured by actions, not words.” “Every day, ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] officers show up knowing the risks they face — and they choose to serve anyway,” said Lyons. “And throughout the year, officers across the agency demonstrated professionalism, restraint and courage in moments that demanded all three.” “These stories remind us that law enforcement is about responsibility to the communities we serve, and I’m incredibly proud to be part of this organization,” he added.