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.