The Trump administration has informed congressional leaders of the U.S. military operation over the weekend that took Nicolas Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan leader, into custody, heightening partisan tensions over the president’s power to deploy force without congressional consent.
Speaking to Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the raid in Venezuela was “a decisive and justified action.”
“We are not at war, we do not have U.S. armed forces in Venezuela and we are not occupying that country,” Johnson said.
The actions of the Trump administration have come under heavy scrutiny by the United Nations. UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo, representing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the UN “remain deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected.”
US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said, “There is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation,” Waltz said.
Maduro pleaded not guilty yesterday in a New York City court to drug trafficking charges, claiming he was “kidnapped” and a “prisoner of war.”
Investor focus remains on President Trump’s claim that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela, and his increasing threats to Colombia and Cuba, as well as his renewed push to acquire Greenland.
According to White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lead the process to implement economic and political reforms in Venezuela.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
