Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has joined several Democrats, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in criticizing President Donald Trump for the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The rare bipartisan backlash followed the Trump administration’s claim that the operation targeted drug trafficking.
Highlights
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene joined Democrats in criticizing Trump’s Venezuela operation, doubting the drug trafficking justification.
- Both Greene and AOC questioned why military action targets Venezuela but not Mexican cartels blamed for most fentanyl deaths.
- AOC condemned Trump’s pardon of a major narco trafficker, calling the Venezuela move about oil and regime change, not drugs.
- Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and others introduced a War Powers Resolution demanding Congress approve military action.
Lawmakers from both parties said they do not believe the official explanation and pushed for clarity.
MTG and AOC alike have questioned the Trump administration's motive
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Greene, who had a public falling out with Trump over the Epstein files and will step down from Congress on Monday, January 5, voiced her criticism in a lengthy social media post.
“I’ve served on the Homeland Security Committee for the past three years. I’m 100% for strong safe secure borders and stopping narco terrorists and cartels from trafficking deadly drugs and human trafficking into America,” Greene said.
She continued, “Fentanyl is responsible for over 70% of U.S. drug overdose deaths and fentanyl comes from Mexican cartels made with chemical precursors from China and trafficked across the U.S. Mexico border. Mexican cartels are primarily and overwhelmingly responsible for killing Americans with deadly drugs.”
Greene then questioned, “If U.S. military action and regime change in Venezuela was really about saving American lives from deadly drugs then why hasn’t the Trump admin taken action against Mexican cartels?”
Greene also pointed to Trump’s recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced in the U.S. to 45 years in prison on drug-trafficking charges.
“The next obvious observation is that by removing Maduro this is a clear move for control over Venezuelan oil supplies,” Greene wrote, adding that it could set the stage for future conflicts elsewhere.
“Americans disgust with our own government’s never ending military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it and both parties, Republicans and Democrats, always keep the Washington military machine funded and going,” Greene said.
“This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong,” she said while concluding her argument.
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Democratic Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said the operation had nothing to do with stopping drugs.
“It’s not about drugs,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media. “If it was, Trump wouldn’t have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month. It’s about oil and regime change,” she said, echoing MTG’s statement.
“And they need a trial now to pretend that it isn't. Especially to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs,” she continued.
Both lawmakers questioned Trump's pardon of the former Honduran president
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Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego described the situation as the “second unjustified war” in Trump’s life.
“This war is illegal,” Gallego said. “It's embarrassing that we went from the world cop to the world bully in less than one year. There is no reason for us to be at war with Venezuela.”
Among the Republican commentators was Rep. Thomas Massie, who also criticized the operation.
“The Constitution does not permit the executive branch to unilaterally commit an act of war against a sovereign nation that hasn’t attacked the United States,” Massie wrote in a statement. “Congress has the sole power to declare war against Venezuela. Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution.”
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He joined Democratic Reps. Jim McGovern and Joaquin Castro in introducing a War Powers Resolution in the House.
“If the President believes military action against Venezuela is needed, he should make the case and Congress should vote before American lives and treasure are spent on regime change in South America,” Massie said on the House floor.
“Do we truly believe that Nicolás Maduro will be replaced by a modern-day George Washington? How did that work out in Cuba, Libya, Iraq or Syria?” Massie added.
“Administration officials have not publicly detailed any formal policy or legal basis for such a step, which many legal experts say could be interpreted as a hostile act under international law,” McGovern said in a release.
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
“Whatever this is about, it has nothing to do with stopping drugs. Trump just pardoned the former President of Honduras who was convicted of sending cocaine to the U.S. And last year he pardoned a guy who brought fentanyl in from China via the dark web.”
“To me, this appears to be all about creating a pretext for regime change. And I believe Congress has a duty to step in and assert our constitutional authority. No more illegal boat strikes, and no unauthorized war in Venezuela.”
While the first attempt to pass the resolution has failed, lawmakers say they are confident in the new attempt.