Actions in Venezuela are dividing Americans as they seek clarity from the Trump administration. goals, a CBS News poll finds

US military action removing Nicolás Maduro on the forces that divide Americans, and their views on it connect to what they think US goals are and what they believe is coming next.

At the moment, most think that the Trump administration is among the other targets to try to find access to Venezuelan oil and expand US power in the region – and when Americans think those are big parts of the goals, they tend to disagree.

When people think goals are about giving up drugsgangs and terrorists, they very much agree. That view is largely expressed by Republicans, including MAGA Republicans, who think the move will make the US stronger, and give the project a lot of support.

Either way, that mix of opinions is partly due to the fact that the majority of Americans say the bosses he didn’t he clearly explained the plans of the US and Venezuela.

Looking ahead, the public is expressing uncertainty about what is happening now with the US military and Venezuela. Those who think that US military involvement will be limited approve of action more than those who now foresee more involvement.

And the majority I don’t want to seeing the US has more control in Venezuela.

MAGA’s views on Venezuela’s performance

Even more MAGA Republicans support the act now than they did back in November.

There are at least two reasons: one is that they value the effectiveness of the military, while other Americans tend to be too close to being tested.

Another is that they see more impact: MAGA Republicans are more apt to say that this will stop drugs, make the US stand in the world. stronger, and get other countries in the region to cooperate with the US

Other Americans, by contrast, are more mixed on those influences.

Contextually, the MAGA Republicans are also surprising authorized US bombing of Iran Last summer.

The impact of Maduro’s removal from power on the US position

US military involvement from here

On balance, more are calling the specific operation that removed Maduro successful than not, but about half feel it’s too close to say. That may depend on what they think happens from here.

Very few want the US to have more control over Venezuela now.

Most do not support continued military action if Venezuela is not in line with US interests. And they will not back down from taking military action against other countries in the region if those countries are not seen as cooperating with the US

But Republicans are divided here — especially the majority of the MAGA base: Most would support more military action on any of those cases.

In the region

President Trump

Some say that there are more people who agree with the military action to remove Maduro than agree with the president’s handling of the situation with Venezuela in general; the following follows very closely on his overall approval, and his overall approval has not changed since before this act.

Although they have not yet given broad approval, some groups view Maduro’s removal as less favorable than how they view the president’s overall performance. Hispanics are divided about the move to remove Maduro from the same divide as Americans in general. More independents favor removing Maduro than endorsing Trump in general.

the role of Congress

If we look at the role of Congress: as before the act, when many Americans say that Mr. Trump needs congressional approval to take military action in Venezuela, so today most Americans think Congress will need to approve any military action there.

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This CBS News/YouGov poll was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,325 US adults interviewed between January 5-7, 2026. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide in terms of gender, age, race, and education, based on the Census American Community Survey and the Current Population Survey, and 2024 polls. The margin of error is ±2.4 points.