Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, both Republicans from West Virginia, praised the U.S. military action in Venezuela that resulted in the arrest of President Nicholas Maduro.
“For far too long, Nicolás Maduro has used his illegitimate presidency to push poisonous drugs into American communities, harming our people — including in my state of West Virginia, where so many families have experienced immense pain and suffering,” Capito said on social media.
“I applaud the brave military, law enforcement, and intelligence community personnel who made this operation happen.”
U.S. forces descended onto Maduro’s compound at 1:01 a.m. Eastern time. Maduro and his wife were taken into custody. An indictment against Maduro on drug and guns charges was initially filed in March 2020 and unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
“Maduro has not only illegitimately ruled over Venezuela and its people, but has enabled cartels to harm Americans through state-sponsored drug trafficking into our country — including West Virginia,” Justice said in a social media post.
“I applaud the brave men and women of our armed forces who carried out this decisive action, and applaud @POTUS for his fearless leadership — America will not back down.”
In a press conference today, President Donald Trump said the United States would temporarily take over running Venezuela and that U.S. oil companies would invest billions of dollars in the country’s energy sector.
“We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said in a press conference Saturday morning from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
Neither senator commented on that aspect of Trump’s statement or their expectations for United States involvement on an ongoing basis.
Maduro is widely considered a dictator who retained power last year even as the opposition party and its leader, María Corina Machado, disputed election results. Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year, lives in hiding.
Trump has been vocal with demands for Maduro to step down, and has accused Venezuela’s government of drug trafficking and terrorism. In the weeks leading up to today’s events, Trump has said Maduro’s “days are numbered” and repeatedly warned that strikes inside Venezuela could come “soon.”
Trump has linked the attacks on drug vessels to the fentanyl crisis. However, most illegal fentanyl enters the United States from Mexico, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s annual National Drug Threat Assessment does not list Venezuela as a fentanyl source or transit country.
Venezuela serves as a major transit hub for drugs originating from Colombia, particularly cocaine and marijuana, with experts saying most of that is shipped to Europe.
The Trump administration did not seek congressional authorization to strike Venezuela or capture Maduro.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio Rubio today said that “this was not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on.”
Trump added, “Congress has a tendency to leak.”
Capito concluded her own statement by saying “I thank @potus for finally taking action to bring this narcoterrorist thug to justice for his crimes, and I look forward to receiving a full briefing in the coming days.”