US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials in the Donald Trump administration briefed congressional leaders late yesterday about a military operation in Venezuela, amid growing concerns that President Donald Trump is embarking on a new era of American expansionism without consulting lawmakers and without a clear vision for governing the South American country, the Associated Press notes, BTA reported.
The meeting was held behind closed doors. Republicans generally expressed support for Trump's decision to forcefully remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, but many Democrats raised questions about Trump maintaining a fleet of naval vessels off the Venezuelan coast and calling on American companies to reinvest in the country's underperforming oil sector. country.
A war powers resolution that would prohibit U.S. military action in Venezuela without congressional approval is expected to be voted on this week in the Senate.
“We don't expect troops on the ground,“ said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, after the meeting. He said Venezuela's new leadership cannot be allowed to engage in narcoterrorism or drug trafficking to the United States. “This is not regime change. This is a behavioral change requirement,“ Johnson said. “We don't expect direct involvement other than putting pressure on the new, interim government to do that,“ he added.
Johnson added: “We have the means of persuasion — because, as you know, their oil exports have been confiscated, and I think that will bring the country to a new government in a very short period of time.“
But Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said: “There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered.“
“What is the price? How much is this going to cost the United States?“ Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, then asked.
Administration officials answered a wide range of questions during the meeting, from the possible continued involvement of U.S. troops on the ground to the role of the Venezuelan opposition, which appears to have been isolated by the Trump administration after Maduro ally and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez quickly became the country's interim president.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegsett, the chairman of the Joint Committee on The Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Kaine, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has indicted Maduro on drug trafficking charges, also attended the meeting. The meeting was attended by congressional caucus leaders and the heads of the intelligence committees and the chairs and leading opposition members of the national security committees.
When asked afterward if there was more clarity about who was really running Venezuela, Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said: “I wish I could say “yes”, but I can“.“
Earlier in the day, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned that Trump's actions in Venezuela were just the beginning of a dangerous foreign policy approach as the president publicly signaled his interests in Colombia, Cuba and Greenland. “The American people did not sign up for another round of endless wars,” he said Schumer. After the briefing, he said the meeting, “while extensive and lengthy, raised many more questions than it answered.”
The next steps in Venezuela are unclear. The Trump administration has held talks with Rodriguez, who took the place of its ally Maduro, and has offered to “cooperate” with Washington. At the same time, Trump has been dismissive of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who last month won the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for a democratic transition in the country. Trump has said Machado does not have the support or the respect to run the country.
But Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican and a staunch Trump ally, said he planned to speak with Machado soon, describing her as “very popular, if you look at what happened in the last election.” “Ultimately, I think she will be president of Venezuela," Scott said. "It's going to be a process to get to democracy. It's not easy. There are still a lot of bad people there, so it's going to take time. There will be elections, and I think she will win them," he assured.
Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican and a leading critic of Trump's campaign of raids on suspected drug traffickers, said there were probably dozens of leaders around the world that the United States could allege violated international law or human rights. "And we've never gone in and taken them out of their country. It sets a very bad precedent and it's unconstitutional," Paul told reporters. "You can't argue that bombing a capital and removing the president of a foreign country isn't the start of a war," he added.