The United States will no longer allow its adversaries to use the Western Hemisphere as their base of operations. That’s the Trump administration’s message to the United Nations after the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
U.S. lawmakers responded along party lines last night after military and administration leaders briefed Congress on the operation that captured Maduro.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to receive the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
President Trump is under fire from Democratic members of Congress for his bold move. “Their plan for the U.S. running Venezuela is vague, based on wishful thinking,” said Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “When the United States engages in this kind of regime change and so-called nation-building, it always ends up hurting the United States.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson disagreed, saying, “We don’t expect troops on the ground. We don’t expect direct involvement in any other way beyond just coercing the new, the interim government to get that going.”
Earlier Monday in a New York courtroom, a defiant Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges.
Prosecutors say the ousted Venezuelan dictator and his wife worked together to traffic cocaine, allegedly used the government to hand out passports to drug dealers, and were involved in murders and kidnappings.
Asked for a plea to the charges, Maduro told the judge, “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country.”
In her plea, Flores said: “Not guilty. Completely innocent.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz defended Maduro’s capture, saying there is no war against Venezuela or its people.
“We are not occupying a country. This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live. And we’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be used as a base of operation for our nation’s adversaries and competitors and rivals of the United States,” Waltz said.
New video from Saturday’s early morning raid in Caracas shows U.S. war planes hitting Venezuela’s military sites and knocking out power to parts of the city.
The White House justified the military operation and the fact that President Trump said the U.S. is now in charge of the South American country of 31 million people.
Meanwhile, Maduro’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim leader. Rodriguez is a staunch defender of Maduro’s socialist government, whom he nicknamed ‘the tigress’ for her toughness. The 56-year-old Rodriguez, who’s been vice president since 2018, had called for Maduro’s return, but Monday she posted on social media asking the U.S. to work with Venezuela.
Maduro is now behind bars and being held without bail. He’s expected to be back in court in March. President Trump is now suggesting that Colombia and Cuba could face similar actions.
