Two of Arkansas’ most influential foreign affairs leaders in Congress on Saturday (Jan. 3) threw their full support behind President Donald Trump’s takeover of Venezuela and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Overnight, Trump authorized a military action to enter Venezuela and capture Maduro, who has been president since 2013. Maduro has had a U.S. federal indictment from 2020 for narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, and he’s been investigated by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity. Maduro will be held in a U.S. detention facility and is expected to be arraigned early next week in a federal court, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Numerous attacks by U.S. forces on alleged drug-running boats out of Venezuela preceded Saturday’s action.
In a Saturday press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump told reporters that the U.S. would “run Venezuela” for a period of transition. He did not answer questions on who might ultimately be put in charge. He also said U.S. oil companies would be brought in to manage and improve the oil-producing and refining infrastructure in the country.
OIL, OTHER CARTELS
Venezuela sits on the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at holding around 17% of the world’s total of known reserves. However, the country’s heavy-crude oil requires advanced processing. The inability of the Maduro regime to obtain the expertise and equipment to maintain the system has resulted in declining oil exports.
Last year, Maduro won re-election in a close race against Edmundo González. Many international observers claim Maduro stole the election through a number of corrupt and fraudulent actions. Delcy Rodriguez is the vice-president of Venezuela, but Trump said she could not lead the country.
There was debate about alerting key Congressional leaders in advance of the Venezuelan operation, but Trump said, ““Congress has a tendency to leak. This would not be good.”
In media interviews Saturday after the Venezuela action, Trump doubled down on action in the hemisphere, suggesting that Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and other countries harboring drug cartels and their leaders could face the same action.
“Something’s going to have to be done with Mexico,” the president said in a Fox & Friends interview.
He also said Colombian President Gustavo Petro should “watch his ass.”
’HISTORIC DAY’
Arkansas’ Congressional delegation includes U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He and U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, are part of the “Gang of 8,” a bipartisan group of chairmen.
Cotton indicated in a Fox News interview that he was not bothered by the lack of notification.
“Congress isn’t notified when the FBI is going to arrest a drug trafficker or cyber criminal here in the U.S., nor should Congress be notified when the executive branch is executing arrests on indicted persons,” he said. “And that’s really what you can make the analogy to here.”
Crawford issued a statement endorsing Trump’s move to arrest Maduro.
“First, I want to commend the incredible U.S. law enforcement, military, and intelligence professionals involved in this morning’s raid to arrest Nicolas Maduro,” Crawford noted. “Once again, they have shown themselves to be the best in the world. This is a historic day in the Western Hemisphere, 36 years after the capture of Manuel Noriega, when the U.S showed we will not allow cartels to take over countries in our shared neighborhood. The arrest of Cartel De Los Soles leader Nicolas Maduro shows this clearly.”
“Venezuela could never start the road back to the great nation it once was until Maduro was out of the way. I call upon the Venezuelan people to reclaim their freedom,” added Crawford.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said he is waiting for more information about the action.
“I’m monitoring the developments from the successful U.S. military and law enforcement operation in Venezuela, which Pres. Trump authorized to advance America’s national security and interests, and look forward to learning more details from the administration,” Boozman said. “We applaud our brave, highly skilled service members who carried out the mission to hold Maduro accountable.”
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, said Trump’s action makes the country safer.
“I commend our military, law enforcement, and President Trump for the strikes in Venezuela and capture of the criminal Maduro. Maduro’s illegitimate regime has destroyed countless American lives through drug trafficking and support for violent narco-terrorist organizations all while aligning with sworn enemies of the United States,” Womack said. “Actions in our hemisphere have a direct impact on Arkansans’ daily lives and President Trump’s actions today make America safer.”
OPPOSITION
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Congress should have had primary authority to approve the military action against Maduro.
“Using military force to enact regime change demands the closest scrutiny, precisely because the consequences do not end with the initial strike,” he said. “If the United States asserts the right to use military force to invade and capture foreign leaders it accuses of criminal conduct, what prevents China from claiming the same authority over Taiwan’s leadership? What stops Vladimir Putin from asserting a similar justification to abduct Ukraine’s president?”
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Maduro was a tyrant who aligned with U.S. adversaries, but she condemned the administration’s misrepresentation to Congress in the matter in previous testimony.
“Today’s drastic military operation by President Trump on Venezuelan soil is entirely inconsistent with what his cabinet repeatedly briefed to Congress and goes against the expressed wishes of the American people,” she said. “Because the President and his Cabinet repeatedly denied any intention of conducting regime change in Venezuela when briefing Congress, we are left with no understanding of how the Administration is preparing to mitigate risks to the U.S. and we have no information regarding a long-term strategy following today’s extraordinary escalation.”
U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., have pushed efforts in the Senate to either block the type of action that happened in Venezuela, or force the Trump Administration to first seek Congressional approval through the War Powers Act.
“We’ve entered the 250th year of American democracy and cannot allow it to devolve into the tyranny that our founders fought to escape,” Kaine said.
In comments to Politico, Schiff called the military action a “brazen illegal escalation.”
“Acting without Congressional approval or the buy-in of the public, Trump risks plunging a hemisphere into chaos and has broken his promise to end wars instead of starting them,” Schiff said in a statement.
