Source: US Sen. Coons Office & US Sen. Blunt Rochester Offices
WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following statement after President Donald Trump announced that U.S. military and law enforcement personnel had launched an operation in Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro:
“I am grateful that no Americans were killed in Caracas last night, and I pray that the Americans who were injured in last night’s military action make a full and swift recovery.
“Maduro is a murderous dictator aligned with our adversaries and an illegitimate and unpopular president. I will not mourn his removal from power. However, there is no reason to believe that Americans are more secure today than they were yesterday. President Trump put American service members in harm’s way to capture Maduro, but the president lacks a clear plan for what comes next – how we avoid further violence and instability, prevent more Venezuelans from migrating across the region and arriving at our borders, or curb Venezuelan participation in drug trafficking. This raid risks creating more instability in the region, putting U.S. service members and civilians in the hemisphere at risk, and dividing us further from our regional partners.
“This military action is the next stage in President Trump’s incoherent and arguably illegal Venezuela operation. In recent briefings to Congress, senior administration officials said they were focused on combatting drug trafficking, not regime change, and made clear they had no plan for what would happen if Maduro was removed or overthrown. This was clearly false, and furthermore, a military operation to capture and overthrow a president – even an illegitimate one – is an act of war that must be authorized by Congress. Not only has the Trump administration not sought congressional approval, they did not even notify members of either party in Congress until after the strike had concluded. Protecting democracy should not be done through illegal means.
“The Trump administration owes our country transparency and a clear strategy. The administration must promptly brief Congress on its plan to ensure stability in Venezuela and the region, its legal basis for this action, and its plans for any further use of military force. Our Constitution requires the administration to seek congressional approval, in the form of an Authorization for the Use of Military Force, before they take any further action to commit U.S. troops or take military strikes against Venezuela.”
Senator Coons is Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
Senator Blunt Rochester Releases Statement on Venezuela
Wilmington, Del. – U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) today released a statement on the Trump administration’s operation in Venezuela and capturing of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“For months now, the Trump administration has conducted military operations in Venezuela with no warning, no legal authority, and no explanation provided to Congress. Now, we know why.
“The President has unilaterally carried out armed conflict in the Caribbean and circumvented Congressional approval, as required by the Constitution, because he knew that Congress would not support a senseless and short-sighted regime change ‘mission.’ They went so far as to lie to Congress during our recent briefings, saying that their priority was specifically not forceful regime change.
“The U.S. military is not the president’s personal army. If this continues, nothing stops him from sending American troops around the world to carry out his own reckless foreign policy decisions, which thus far have already negatively impacted our standing on the global stage and continue to erode further the separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution.
“If President Trump actually was concerned about keeping Americans safe from increased foreign drug trafficking, he wouldn’t have pardoned Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez for the same crime he captured Maduro for. His motives are clear, he’s said it himself: use U.S. military forces to seize control of Venezuela’s natural resources and distract from the crisis of affordability he is ignoring on our own soil.
“The administration must immediately brief Congress on its legal justification for this decision and its plan going forward. Congress must take action on Senator Kaine’s bipartisan war powers resolution to prevent further escalation.”
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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
