American lawyers reacted after Trump announced the operation of Venezuela, the arrest of Maduro
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American leaders responded early Saturday as President Trump confirmed military strikes at night in Venezuela and announced the capture of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife.
Mr. Trump said Maduro and his wife were flown in from Venezuela, but did not say where they were. Venezuelan officials have asked for proof of life. The US Army’s Delta Force, a special forces unit, carried out the operation to abduct them, officials told CBS News.
Maduro, 63, has led Venezuela since 2013. His recent election was criticized by international observers and the US. noticed opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner. The United States imposed sanctions on election officials for allegedly rigging the results, but Maduro remained adamant you are sworn the third time in January.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Saturday morning that Maduro and his wife were charged with narco-terrorism in the Southern District of New York.
It is not clear whether the nation’s top lawyer was referring only to the charges contained in the case against the Venezuelan leader in 2020, or whether there will be new or different charges filed in the trial court on Saturday.
In 2020, federal prosecutors alleged that Maduro and other Venezuelan government officials collaborated with the Colombian guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or FARC, to sell cocaine and weapons to the United States.
The Department of Justice also accused Maduro of leading a criminal organization called Cártel de Los Soles in 2020. The Trump administration has designated this group as a group. foreign terrorist organization last year, although experts have the actor doubted that. The US was offering a $50 million reward with information leading to Maduro’s capture.
Senate Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “who confirmed that Maduro is in US prisons and will face justice for his crimes against our citizens.”
Cotton said Venezuela’s interim government “must now decide whether to continue drug trafficking and collaborate with enemies like Iran and Cuba or act like a normal nation and return to the civilized world.”
“I urge them to choose wisely,” he said.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee said he also spoke with Rubio, who said Maduro would be brought to the U.S. Lee said Rubio “expects no further action in Venezuela since Maduro is in U.S. custody.”
Lee added that the operation “may be subject to the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect American workers from actual or imminent attack,” but did not provide further details.
Democratic lawmakers have criticized the Trump administration for acting inconsistently.
House Select Committee on Intelligence Intelligence member Jim Himes, Democrat of Connecticut, called Maduro an “illegitimate dictator” but said “I see no evidence that his presidency poses a threat that would justify military action without Congressional authorization, and I have never heard a plan for the next day and how we will prevent Venezuela from descending into chaos.”
“The administration must tell Congress immediately about its plan to ensure stability in the region and the legal reasons for this decision,” Himes said.
Senator Andy Kim, Democrat of New Jersey, said Mr. Kim also accused Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of lying to Congress when they met with leaders last month about deadly strikes on alleged drug vessels and said the Trump administration’s goal was not regime change.
“Without the approval of Congress, and the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose the military, Trump has just launched an illegal strike on Venezuela,” said Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern.
A CBS News poll for November found that 70% of Americans would oppose the US taking military action in Venezuela, while 75% said the Trump administration would need Congressional approval. Most of those surveyed also said that they do not see Venezuela as a major threat to the US
